Hello everyone. I am Hinako, your Japanese language instructor. This time I would like to introduce Blooket, an online game that can be played in person or in an online class and is free enough to have fun.
We recommend Blooket for these teachers!
Teachers who like Kahoot and Quizizz but want to play a different game!
A teacher who has a particular student who absolutely always comes in first when he does a quiz!
I am not sure if this is a good idea, but it is a good idea. By the way, teachers who use “GENKI I” textbooks can take a peek at all of Lessons 1 through 12 (3rd edition) if they like.
Why did you incorporate Blooket?
There are many online quizzes like this, such as Kahoot, Quizizz, Quizalize, Quizlet, QuizN, Nearpod’s Time to Climb, etc. They basically have an “if you can answer all the questions correctly and quickly, you will get a good ranking” system. However, I thought that too many quizzes of this type might be putting pressure on some students. Some might think, “I can’t do it anyway,” and some might think, “It’s boring. The textbook I use, Genki, has a lot of vocabulary to memorize. I have to memorize at least 50 words per lesson, which is not bad since the syllabus is based on sentence patterns. I am currently teaching a short-term intensive course in the spring, so I have to memorize more than 50 words in a week, which is a tough class. I was afraid that some of the students might lose heart if they had to take an online quiz where the teacher only evaluates the best, in addition to the hard work of memorizing. The goal is to answer the questions correctly as quickly as possible, but with a little “luck,” you can even get first place.
Blooket game types
Recently, we have added about three more to this, and the free version offers 12 different quiz types. This article introduces our student’s favorite, the “Gold Quest,” in the upper right corner.
The teacher shares the Game ID and asks the students to enter with their phones or other devices.
Like Quizizz, the four basic steps are (1) questions and answers that appear on the individual’s device, (2) correct answers, (3) opening the treasure chest, and (4) earning (and sometimes losing) money. (See the screener below.) The best feature is that you can also take money earned by others.
It’s just so cruel. They take all the money other people have earned and crawl up to the top. The picture below is from an actual class. On the teacher’s screen, you can see who took how much. The students are frantically looking at their screens, so they don’t have much time to look at this screen. When we do this in class, “Oh No,” “OMG,” etc., are all over the place. But when they are taken away, they take it back! Students continue to solve the problems silently, complaining and trying desperately to get their money back without being discouraged. To prevent trouble, we asked the students to enter the Game with their nicknames to avoid being identified. I ask them to enter the Game with their handles. If they are children, they might get into a fight. It’s only a game,
Games that end on time
Another reason I use Blooket is that I can finish quizzes on time. When I played Quizizz, I had to wait for someone to complete all the questions before I could finish the Game (except for the forced termination). Kahoot would go faster if everyone answered the questions correctly as quickly as possible. Still, sometimes it takes a long time because some students always think about each question until the last minute.
The default time for [Gold Quest] is 7 minutes, but for 50 questions or so, I recommend a setting of around 5 minutes. I think you should stop when you want to do a little more and then do the rest as homework. If the number of problems is small, it may be better to shorten the time so that you don’t have to solve the same problem repeatedly. If you want to make a lot of problems, you can import them from Quizlet, so you can cause problems quickly.
Recommended for classes with different levels
In addition to being able to set the time, the way the questions are asked allows students who answer correctly to solve more and more problems. In other words, they are asked to do more and more quantity. Also, for challenging students, there is no time limit per question, so we let them take their time to find the correct answer. If all students in the class solve the same problem simultaneously, as in Kahoot, they will feel the pressure of time, and some will be frustrated because they know the correct answer but cannot answer the question. This is also recommended for classes with a significant difference in level!
Beware of overdoing it.
How about sometimes you get lucky and decide on the best three?
I would recommend playing Kahoot, etc., and letting them play this Game occasionally for a spice factor. But be careful not to overdo it. I once had a very bright student tell me that he didn’t want to have his money stolen today. It is fairer for this type of student to accurately assess his or her ability. So, I think it is not a bad idea to do this type of quiz occasionally.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Hanakin Japanese language teachers who have been with me through the experiment, leading to the actual classroom and online.
Thank you for reading.
