More Play = More Learning

Get To It With Gimkit!

@LisaBerghoff

Research has shown that learning is "helped by experiences that are playful- that are joyful, meaningful, actively engaging, iterative, and socially interactive". (Ross, 2023) We definitely see in our own classrooms that when we are able to incorporate games in learning, students are more actively engaged and the learning is more impactful.  I love bringing games into my classes but sometimes making up games and putting together the materials can be so cumbersome. Kahoot came out in 2013 and it was such an innovative idea because it brought game show energy into the classroom. Now, there are so many game-based platforms designed for learning and one of my absolute favorites is Gimkit.

Gimkit was founded by a high school student. Josh Feinsilber created Gimkit as a school project during his junior year. Instead of earning points, students can earn virtual currency, which they can invest during the game to boost their score. Games can be played live or can be assigned as independent practice. There is also a flashcard mode that students can use for their own study purposes. I find the KitCollab feature to be particularly useful. Using KitCollab, the students create the questions. You have the opportunity to view them and decide if they are worthy of playing in your class game. 

Let's take a look at the features of Gimkit.

1. Create A Kit

When you create a kit, you have the choice to

•  Add questions manually- Add multiple choice or text input questions. You can also add audio, images, and equations.
• Create with flashcards- You can import from other flashcard sites where you may have already created flashcard sets. The flashcards you create in Gimkit can also be used by students for practice.
• Create with KitCollab- Share a link with students and have them submit questions and answers.  You decide what gets through to the game. 
• Add from a question bank- You can see questions that have already been created by others on your topic. Choose to add specific questions or take the whole darned kit.
• Import from a spreadsheet- Someone does this I'm sure. If you have questions and answers in a spreadsheet format, you can import them here. Some of the other sites you use may also download in this format. 

2. Play In Class (highly recommend)

Ok. You have made your kit and clicked "all done". Now you get to decide how you want to play. Here's what I suggest to start out with.

• Play live in class
• Choose the game called "Tycoon". This is the original and looks similar to Kahoot. You and your students will be very comfortable playing this way.
• Once you choose Tycoon, you will have settings to adjust. Here is what they are. Get excited!
• Game Goal: How will your students know when the game is over? You can set a specific period of time and see who gets the most cash until the timer runs out. You can make it a race and say the first person to get XX amount of points wins. Last, you can choose "all in" mode. This is where the class collectively has to reach a certain cash goal. I love the idea of my students working together so I often choose this one. 
• Class: You can create a class and then when your students join with the link, they are automatically enrolled. This is great for future Gimkit games. Or don't, the choice is yours. If you don't create a class then students join the game using the code and enter their name. You can set it to automatically create friendly nicknames. 
• Starting Cash: If you want students to have some cash in the bank at the start of the game, you can enter the amount here. 
• Music: You can decide if you want the Gimkit music turned on.
• Clapping: Gives students an opportunity to clap. Who doesn't love a round of applause?
• Join In Late: This is a smart addition. If a student comes in late, they can still join in the fun (and the learning) instead of just sitting there until the game is over.
• Click continue and you will get a screen to share with students giving them the game code to join.

3. Play Independently (also recommend but for different reasons)

Don't have time in class to play? You can assign games to be played independently, which can be a wonderful way to study, practice, and reinforce those skills that you are working on in class. You actually have two options for students to study and play independently. 

• First, you can send them the link to the practice set. When you are in edit mode, you will see a link in the panel on the left that says "practice", it's got a cute little coffee cup next to it. That link will open the questions for your students without all of the bells and whistles and cash and prizes. It's questions and answers, simple and effective.
  
  
  

• Your second option for independent practice is to assign a game. Click the button that says "Assign HW" and you can choose from several games for students to play using the questions from that kit. Cash Tycoon is the "classic" version but you can choose other games as well. Ask your students, I bet they will have their favorites. You can set a due date, and a cash goal or a question goal. I like to set a question goal because sometimes the students want to play more and answer less. This makes sure they are actually interacting with the material as much as possible. Each game has it's own set of parameters you can set. 

4. Have Students Create The Game Content

I cannot emphasize this enough. When students are involved in creating these games, not only are they more likely to retain what they are learning, but they will be more engaged and invested in the activity. Gimkit's KitCollab feature lets this happen so seamlessly.

When you are in edit mode, just click on KitCollab and then click to enable it.  You will be given a link and a qr code to send or project to students. Then, when their questions are submitted, that is the area where you can review them and determine if they are worthy of being part of your kit.  There is virtually no work to be done on your end. Once the questions have been approved, you can have the students play the games using the content they created. Amazing!

5. Review The Data

When you create a class, you can view the dashboard and see everyone's progress. You can also look at each item and see where students are struggling and where they are excelling. This is a critical step as this formative information can help inform future planning and opportunities for students to grow and make progress.

Ok! If you have made it to the end of this post, you are ready to get started with Gimkit. I'm always here to help you on the back end OR I'm more than happy to come to your class and help you run it in real time. Just let me know.