There are much better ways to study than gazing at a stack of flash cards. Let’s see how technology can turn studying into a game! Tony Vincent has collected some of the best websites to help students learn and retain information. Websites like ClassTools.net and PurposeGames.com let students customize what they want to study and turn it into a series of activities and games.
- 9:00-10:30 Introductions, Bingo, Crosswords
- 10:30-10:40 Break
- 10:40-11:30 Game-Making Sites
- 11:30-12:30 Lunch
- 12:30-2:00 More Game-Making Sites
- 2:00-2:10 Break
- 2:10-3:30 Class Games, Wrap Up
Most of the tools mentioned on this page work on laptops and tablets. A few only work on laptops and a few only work on iPads.
Flippity is a series of online apps that turns what you enter into a Google Sheets template into online games. Games include a Jeopardy-style quiz show, interactive flashcards, crossword puzzles, online Bingo boards, MadLibs, and quizzes that generate a certificate when completed. Get started by going to Flippity.net and choosing a template. You’ll be prompted to make a copy. A Google Sheets document will open with sample information that you replace with your own. The document will include directions for publishing your game.
Create your own online crossword puzzle at CrossWord Labs. Simply enter a title and your words and clues. When done your crossword is saved at a URL that you can bookmark or share with others. You can fill in your crossword online. If you're correctly filled in the word, the letter will turn green. If the word is wrong, the letter will be red.
Works in the web browser on laptops, iPads, and tablets.
BingoBaker.com is a free website where you can create online bingo cards by entering text or dragging images from your computer onto a grid. Bingo Baker provides a Play Link. Each time that link is accessed, a new board is generated with the text and images you entered. The web address for the Play Link works on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Bingo Baker provides a Call List you can use for when you host the Bingo Game. Bingo Baker does not keep score, so, as the host, you’ll need to check over winning cards yourself.
Enter words and clues to instantly create flashcards, self-tests, and study games on Quizlet. You can search the hundreds of thousands of sets already made and use or adapt them. Quizlet is free to use, but you can upgrade for $25 a year to have the ability to upload images, add voice recordings, and remove ads.
Works in the web browser on laptops and as an iPad app and Android app.
ClassTools.net has many different games you can create with your own content. You have lots of options for turning what you want to study into a game with the Arcade Game Generator and Dustin Game Generator. These activities require Flash. But the PacMan Quiz Generator and Connect Fours Quiz Generator don't use Flash and work on mobile devices. With each of these games, simply give the game a title, enter questions, and provide a password so you can edit the game later if you wish.
Create and play activities, quizzes, and games using the free TinyTap app for iPad/iPhone and Android. TinyTap activities can have multiple pages and each page can have different interactive elements, like puzzles, question blanks, and multiple choice questions. While you can't create games online using a laptop, you can get a web link that can be used to play on the web on laptops and desktops.
PurposeGames is a free website where you can make labeling games. Simply upload an image and then label hotspots on that image. When played, you are given the label and must click the correct hotspot.
Works in the web browser on laptops, iPads, and tablets.
At BrainRush you can create and play four different types of learning games: cards, buckets, sequences, and hotspots. Brainrush games adapt to match your skill (it repeats questions you answer incorrectly).
Works in the web browser on laptops, iPads, and tablets.
Games played as a class...
Why games? One reason is to turn something that might be boring into something exciting! Watch The Fun Theory videos for inspiration.
NPR has a story titled Why You Love That Ikea Table, Even if It’s Crooked. The Ikea Effect is the name for the psychological phenomenon that occurs when consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created. Researchers found that when people use their own labor to construct a particular product, they value it more than if they didn’t put any effort into its creation. Read their paper The Ikea Effect: When Labor Leads to Love. By creating your own study aids and games, you might just value your learning a little more!