At the start of each unit in her Honors Biology class, Jacqueline DuPree, science teacher, opens Canvas and posts a link to a Gimkit, a study game that is used to prepare for quizzes or tests.
“Gimkits, I think, are engaging for students and simple review for terms and definitions,” DuPree said. “Sometimes in biology, there are lots of terms and definitions to remember, so having an engaging way to review those terms and definitions is key in memorizing.”
Dupree has been using a similar study game called Kahoot ever since she started teaching, but she started to use Gimkits two years ago because of the variations in the type of games Gimkit provides.
Study games like Gimkits, Kahoots and Blookets are used by several classes, and can be used for memorization, learning and general studying.
“When Gimkits haven’t been provided, I always get questions on where the link is,” Dupree said.
Larry Jewell, sophomore, used to use Gimkits to study for his classes, but now that his classes are getting harder and more complicated, Gimkits don’t work as well for him.
“It’s just too complex for some boring visual answers,” Jewell said.
Now Jewell’s classes provide study materials, such as packets that can provide longer and more complex answers than a Gimkit can.
Jewell began using study games with others, and discovered that it was very complicated to gather enough people to practice and he now prefers to do Gimkit by himself.
“Blooket has a lot of gambling games,” Jewell said. “You have to get an answer correct, spin a wheel that takes a long time, and then you get to do another question, but for Gimkit you can just do a dozen in a row before you actually have to play the game.”
Isabelle Ter-Hovhannisyan, sophomore, has previously used games like Blooket for learning vocab in her Spanish and biology classes.
“I think it’s, it makes studying fun, and I get to like study in a fun way, and it helps me memorize faster,” Ter-Hovhannisyan said.
Ter-Hovhannisyan likes to play a specific minigame called Fishing Frenzy in Blooket, which allows players to answer questions to cast a line and hook fish, with the goal being having the most weight.
“They’re really good for memorization, and I can memorize fast and quick in a fun way,” Ter-Hovhannisyan said.
Ed Scalf, science teacher, uses Wayground in his classes as a type of informal assessment.
“You know, let’s get our kids to go and do them and see how much they know and don’t know,” Scalf said. “It’s a way for myself and for the kids to go and identify things they understand and don’t understand, and reteach things that they need a little help, more help with.”
Scalf said online interactive games are quick and the competitive aspects of them can have a positive effect on students.
Mahita Karnati, junior, uses Wayground in Scalf’s Medical Interventions class, a game that helps motivate her.
“They prepare me for the test, and sometimes my teacher even puts the questions from those games on our test,” Karnati said. “My teacher gives a point extra for like the top three, so that motivates me to go quicker, but also be accurate with my answers.”
Karnati prefers Wayground because she said it has boosters which make it more fun to play with her friends.
In comparison to studying with websites or textbooks, games like Wayground and Kahoot make studying much more fun for Karnati, especially with her friends.
“We can just try to win over each other, but it’s just like a fun way to like learn, but also have a brain break, yeah,” Karnati said.
