In this post I would like to discuss the positive impact that, I believe, quiz-oriented games can have in our lectures. When I was younger what I liked to play the most were not the usual games that others used to play, such as the sims or black and white...
I really used to enjoy The Weakest Link for example (which is the PC game inspired by a show on BBC). http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/weakestlink/index.html
I also really liked Family Feud, which is also a quiz game:
http://www.gamefools.com/onlinegames/free/FamilyFeud2.html
I have been thinking that such games can be educational for our students and at the same time fun to play. It would be nice if there existed a quiz pack which schools could buy. Ideally this would consist of a set of buzzers (that would be fun..) and what's most important is that the software would allow the teacher to input his/her own questions, and possibly even shuffle them.
I know Moodle has a quiz feature but it is not so fun...
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@Elaine
ReplyDeleteI agree that quizzes may be a fun and effective way of assessing students. I often carry out quizzes and the end of units especially when the final assignment would be in the form of a test. The quiz serves as a quick revision of the topic and helps my students prepare for the eventual test. I have also tried posting some online quizzes in my blog for students to follow. There are tons of them online. I doubt we can use online quizzes as a formal method of assessment of BTEC grading criteria. It would be a great opportunity to try something different and at the same time facilitate our corrections! :)
Here are some website containing online quizzes which I recommend. These are in biology, health science and environmental science. Maybe some of you can find them useful:
ReplyDeleteSelf Check Quizzes - various biology topics - O level standard
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/biology/bio2004/self_check_quiz/scquiznat.php
Basic Quiz on Nutrition
http://www.thefitmap.co.uk/quizzes/nutrition/general/nutrition-basics.htm
Quiz on pollution - Environmental Health
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz29845abc8.html
ProProfs - Quiz Maker - Offers quizzes on various topics and allows you to create your own online quiz. Requires registration.
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/
I can assure you that this is one of the best ways to get the class on tip toes on any subject :)
ReplyDeleteI have tried this with my students and it was so much fun that two hours passed really quickly and they probably learned more about art than they had done to that date.
The way I went about it was very simple:
I recycled the images (of art, design or related terms)of my own power point presentations, and simply added animation to the captions so that the image comes first and it is then followed by the text.
Regarding turns, I simply divided the class into two groups and one member of each group had to make their way to the white board as soon as they knew the answer, grab the marker (which I left on a table in the centre, and write the answer. One marker meant that only one team has the right to guess. If they get it wrong the other team can have a go but will get half the ponts.
I must admit it did create a bit of a commotion however it was so much fun and they really learned (cos there was a challenge involved) that in the end it was well worth it.
NB for those of you who make use power point presentations I suggest you invest in a remote controlled mouse with laser pointer because it really makes life easy :)
Learners (even at our age) appreciate any form of 'game' during lessons. I also include team games in my lessons as revision and I find that it is motivating and that it is requested again and again. I find they also remember the content more.
ReplyDeleteI found an interesting link from SCIE (Social Care institute of Excellence). This site contains Multimedia E-Learning resources and related publications which can help to teach Social Care. They can be downloaded or used online.
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/index.asp
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you that Quiz Games provide a fun way for teachers and students alike to learn and teach at the same time. I have already tried quizzes in class and they always attracted attention and were much more productive than normal lessons.
A little bit of competition does no harm at all.
I think that it all depends on the group of students you have and your personal skills in leading a quiz. Surely not everyone is a born quiz-master! So first of all one must know how to build the enthusiasm and hype in students.
ReplyDeleteI have had very positive experiences using Quiz games in BTEC Modules. The majority of times students were interested and keen to participate and earn 'points'. There were always those, however, who would not participate and simply drift away with their team members, waiting to leave in any moment.
Twice I experimented with using Moodle's Quiz System. It was interesting as this provided a true measure of assessment outside the classroom, with immediate feedback with each question answered. To add more positive tension, I opened the quiz for just a few hours on a particular day, so that those who were really interested had to find the time to join and participate. The statistical information which is automatically generated was also of great help, for me and for the students. Setting up such a quiz is quite time-consuming though, and one must plan it carefully in order to be effective!
Teaching methods based on educational games are not only attractive to school children, particularly during their primary years, but also to higher education students even at University. In my opinion this is an untapped potential that needs to be explored. For example, quizzes can be used instead of traditional exercises. Definitely this approach would motivate students to put extra effort into the exercises and gives teachers an opportunity to monitor learners more effectively. Quizzes may also be used while lecturing to improve students’ participation.
ReplyDeleteMany studies have suggested that students who identify their learning styles can use the information to improve comprehension and memory. Summarising lectures and designing them into quizzes is a very effective way to revise a topic. This helps students to refresh their memories, concentration and thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in saying that quizzes are very effective and I include this in my lectures. This creates a conducive environment where students enjoy learning. Presenting these quizzes on a screen gives them a visual and audio style of teaching which helps them to improve their knowledge.
An element of competition encourages students to work harder whilst the teacher can assess students to evaluate abilities and plan and extend her work.
I liked the idea by Shaz. Students easily get alienated if they see slides used time and time again so the use of techniques such as quizzes would be effective for the teacher and fun for the students. I will try to use something similar in my subjects.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to programming teachers like me, one interesting technique would be to let students develop some program and make a competition whereby programs by different students play against each other. The most intelligent program would eventually win. This sounds very nerdy but I know that it has been used very successfuly at the university.
Quizzes are definitely a great way of involving students during lessons. A quiz challenges students to think and really try their best. Grouping students to work together also encourages collaboration in a fun environment. Some competition, in my opinion, will be beneficial to the students themselves.
ReplyDeleteObviously, the quiz must be planned ahead and managed correctly. I have noticed that through the use of quizzes, even those students who may have lost interest in a subject are willing to take part and really do enjoy such an approach to a lesson.
Many lecturers often set quizzes after covering a certain topic, in order to give students an indication of their knowledge in the subject, prior to an assignment/exam. There is the tendency however, of setting quiz questions which are of the same level of difficulty as the questions set in the final summative assessment. In fact research shows that quizzes are effective, when they only vary slightly from examinations, as students tend to use the questions set in a quiz to help them study for assignments.
ReplyDeleteAn alternative option for using this pedagogical tool is to carry out quizzes before the lecture or discussion takes place. Such quizzes are not administered to indicate any material students should know for an exam, but are held to possibly increase the probability that students read the material they are given before the lesson and therefore minimize the possibility that a student gets lost completely throughout an explanation.
Garbin, C.P. (2006), showed that quizzes held prior to a lecture help students better their grades, even if the level of questions set in the quizzes is different from that of the exam. In addition, the format in which quiz questions are set, does not affect student performance in questions having different formats in a final assignment. If for example quiz questions are objective (such as multiple choice, fill in the blanks etc.), students still do well if questions set in the exam are of essay-type.
Narloch, R., Garbin, C., & Turnage, K. (2006). Benefits of Prelecture Quizzes. Teaching of Psychology, 33(2), 109-112. doi:10.1207/s15328023top3302_6.
Categories of adaptation in learning environments include Adaptive interaction. This refers to the adaptations that take place at the systems interface. These adaptations are intended to facilitate and support the learner’s interaction with the system. However while doing this; the learning content is not changed in any way. These adaptations could include different graphical, colour schemes etc., to accommodate user preferences and requirements or disabilities. These interface adaptations are usually independent of the content.
ReplyDeleteAnother category is Adaptive course delivery. This mainly refers to the adaptations that are intended to tailor the course to the individual learner. The intention is to optimize the fit between the course contents and the user requirements and characteristics so that optimal learning result is obtained. The most typical examples of adaptations in this category are dynamic course restructuring, adaptive selection of course material (Brusilvovsky, 2001)
Another category of adaptation is Content Discovery and Assembly and this refers to the application of adaptive techniques in the discovery of learning material and sources. The adaptive component of this process lies with the use of adaptation-oriented models and knowledge about the users typically derived from monitoring, both of which are not available to non-adaptive systems that engage in the same process.
Another category is Adaptive Collaboration Support which is intended to give adaptive support in the learning process that involves communication between the multiple persons and potentially collaboration towards common objectives. Collaboration and cooperative learning communities of learning and social negotiations are always highly encouraged (Wiley 2003).
Paramythis A., Loidi-Reiseinger S.; Adaptive learning environments and e-learning standards; 2003
I have to admit that I was not aware that quizzes could be used at post-secondary level to motivate students to learn. I therefore read with interest all the contributions above since I agree that students can be positively influenced with this teaching method.
ReplyDeleteOn researching the Internet, I confirmed what Jason said that it is flooded with quizzes that can be used in class. There are also a number of software applications for higher education as well. For example a new mobile game application, Lec-ture Quiz, is quoted as “can be used within lectures in higher education to promote strong student participation and enable variation in how lectures are taught.”
The concept is to provide a lecture game using the technology and infrastructure already available in lecture rooms like the PC, a video projector, network connection, and the students' mobile phones. The architecture of the game application consists of a server, a client for the students and a client for the teacher. The game is a multi-player quiz game with a variation in game modes where an unlimited number of players can play simultaneously.
Some of the problems I see with quiz games in lectures in the scenario of MCAST and the BTEC course structure are the following:
1. Would BTEC accept quizzes as part of the teaching methodology of their courses?
2. Can quizzes be used as a form of assessment? Would that be acceptable?
3. Who would be responsible to set up a quiz? If it is the lecturer, will enough training, time and resources be allocated to make this exercise a success?
4. Will the quizzes be considered as part of the allocated time per unit delivery? This is a hot issue since course unit times are being reviewed/reduced.
From what I have read on the blogs over the last two weeks, I believe that MCAST should have a teaching methodology committee (if it does not exist at the moment and maybe I am not aware of it) to evaluate innovative teaching techniques and come up with ways and means how they can be tested out and if proved successful, implemented on a larger scale within the MCAST teaching community.
I was always in favour of e-learning quizes for educational purposes. I use to do these kind of quizes at the end of the scholastic year when the syllabus is over. The reason behind this would be a good indicator whether the students understand all the topics done during the year and a test for me to find out where the students are strong and weak. It is a group exercise that motivate students and to participate. This helps and proved that student will improve exam and course performance.
ReplyDeleteQuizzes are always fun, even if they are not done online. Even the Moodle quiz feature is a break from the usual "receive-receive-receive" part of learning to "provide". And that's what I like about quizzes as a whole: they allow the user answering them to not only self-assess himself or herself as to how much he or she managed to learn, but also allows the user to contribute something, not just receive. The fact that the user is also entertained while doing so is a bonus. :)
ReplyDeleteThe traditional method of teaching sometimes is a bit boring for students. Implementing e-learning can help the student to be more active rather than being passive in the classroom. In my lectures, I try to implement blended learning, in which I resort to both traditional and a more contemporary e-learning methods! When it is possible, I use software, videos and power point presentations in order to involve the students during the lesson. Interaction in class increases the student’s attentiveness to what would be at stake.
ReplyDeleteTalking about quiz games in lectures, I agree that it is one of the best ways in which students can do a quick revision on a subject. A quiz is prepared, the class is divided in groups and they would have to compete and challenge each other. In this way the students have the opportunity to revise subjects, memorize important points and pay more attention for the lesson.
Mariella
I agree with the comments posted that quizzes do arouse student interest more than conventional lessons. However what worries me is the time factor. A well-designed quiz takes time to implement in class. Do we in reality have extra time to allocat during the scholastic year (especially those of us who teach BTEC) for quizzes which might easily take the best of two hours?
ReplyDeleteAs regards motivation, there might be students who are interested to compete, but there might be others who are simply not interested or who lack the knowledge about the subject in question. I think that if we are going to use such quizzes to get feedback about student learning, we might not get a clear picture after all.
Quiz games on Moodle might on the other hand motivate students to get in contact with study material from their homes. It will definitely be much better than asking them to get their notes and revise them!
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ReplyDeleteIn our area quizzes and interactive games can test student’s knowledge of painting techniques, artists, periods and movements in the history of art and other art-related information. With certain type of quizzes and games they can learn to recognize major works of art, compare and contrast different art work and notice details and other elements in art and design. These activities can make art content fun and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteOne can find similar quizzes in important museums websites such as the Tate`s, Victoria and Albert`s, Getty`s and so on… young students can learn to notice artistic important elements and constantly train their observation skills. This will keep them also updated on what is happening in various important galleries and museums all over the world……..
http://www.tate.org.uk/families/before/questionquiz/
http://www.getty.edu/gettygames/detectives/
I use a variant of 'deal or no deal' as an online quiz because many of my students follow it religiously :) I also use online quizzes for PSD especially sex education because it makes them feel more at ease.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to note that one can create quizes that are playable on normal DVDs with software like Adobe's Enore or Flash. Can you imagine the possiblities there would be if each Institute invested in such? Interactive Media students can also be given assignments that could create these which will be useful in the future for other students to be tested about their subject.
ReplyDeleteI have already made use of quizez in the classroom, and the first reaction of the students was one of enthusiasm because at least they are having fun while learning. Should we be more open to their mindset?
Students can also find online free interactive Art Quizzes. In some of these quizzes you are asked to associate words with visuals. When you get to the end of these quizzes, you will be asked for your name and email address so you can receive a result, an interpretation and suggestions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.famous-artists-school.com/index.php/
I agree with Steve and Josette. I have to add that even adult learners find quizzes and games involving. Having some experience with adult learners, I can say that they enjoyed games and used to challenge and involve themselves more in order to show their mates that they are the best.
ReplyDeleteWorking with youths at different levels also helped to involve students mostly when extrinsic motivators are added to these quizzes. Students are more ready to involve themselves and challenge other students for a small reward.
I have read with interest all the contributions above. Shaz’s idea sounds great. I look forward to try it out next year. I cannot answer Louis and Doreen, I’m afraid, because my course does not form part of BTEC. However, I wholeheartedly agree that it is a great method as an initial indicator to how much the students have understood a particular concept. Likewise it is an indicator of whether I may need to change my teaching style for that particular topic!! In a conventional setting, I use the answers given by students to create a class discussion about the concept in hand.
ReplyDeleteTake heart, however….!! During our tutorial session with Ms Vee she introduced us to “Hot Potato”! No; this is not a recipe for the warm barbecue nights ahead of us. It is a programme which helps the lecturer to build up a portfolio of these stimulating exercises online. I have tried it and it looks and feels great.
And, believe me, if I could make head and tail of it, then so can all of you!
Personally I have never used quizzes in my class- except from playing hangman with a group of italian students when I used to teach english in a language school some ten years ago. Coming to think of it however it had been a very effective way to engage them and keep their attention span...which was not much !
ReplyDeleteBeing 18 year olds with much more interesting things on their minds than learning vocaboulary in the middle of July, the experiment had been a huge success.
The good thing about quizzes is that it draws on humans' natural instinct to be competitive. our natural impulse for the survival of the fittest is still embedded somewhere deep in our minds and quizzes could be a natural way to makke students get out the best of their potenntial.
Quizzing in e-learning can become quite interesting tool. I have tried to use quizzes in real class but at times students aren't really as cooperative as one would want them to be and if there is no absolute class control, the task could rather get the lecturer a headache :). With e-learning it is different since I found out that quizzing software can most of all:
ReplyDelete- Add Flash videos (view an animation or video vignette prior to answering a question)
- Submit Questions All at Once
- Use a time line
These tools would help in getting the students more interested, whilst still serving the purpose of the quiz.
I have to say that quizzes are a special and authentic technique which helps in teaching and learning. I have tried this teaching approach once or twice in my classes, and it worked out superbly. The successful basis for an ideal quiz as part of a lecture is to advice and let students be prepared for it, and look forward to participate. Usually, in teaching, we try not to assess the students’ knowledge on what they were not taught. However, quizzes violate this idea by assessing students on various concepts.
ReplyDeleteThe most popular aspect with the use of quizzes is found to be the fact that it keeps students on their toes, eager to participate, listen, evaluate, and indirectly learn and remember. Like any other teaching method, if a teacher uses a quiz for a punitive reason, that is not a valid basis for its use. Moreover, quizzes are not ideal for assessment, as some of the students may not have studied. As such, quizzes should be graded but not recorded. Teachers may also save time here by allowing students to correct their own work as the quiz is discussed in class. Quizzes can surely reveal progress of students in their learning.
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ReplyDeleteEducational Simulations
ReplyDeleteSimulations also allow students to learn by playing. They teach first and entertain second; they are "real" or virtually real. They reproduce activities so well that real learning takes place. Students become participants, not just listeners or observers. They will surely motivate students since they have an entertainment value. Some simulations are designed for specific age groups and they take into account the developmental level of the students. In some situations students can take on responsible roles and they can find ways to succeed.
“The use of simulations puts the teacher into a new role -- a role that is the inevitable result of the evolution of the role of the teacher in education. Most teachers recognize that their role is no longer that of a presenter of information and that students are no longer sponges for facts.” (Robert. E. Morgan)
In the tutorial we had mentioned the use of Hot Potato for compiling online quizzes. I have previously used a rather easy-to-use system provided by Google. (A Gmail account is required to access these). It is very useful since results are obtained electronically on a spreadsheet and so you can easily correct the results using some formulae in Excel. I have also used Google docs - form to create online student course evaluation for my portfolio.
ReplyDeleteThe link below provides a quick tutorial on how to use Google docs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1L0wpmqlY
Il-kwizz jagħti ċans lill-istudent jiżviluppa ħsieb kritiku u kreattiv filwaqt li jfittex soluzzjoni adegwata għall-problema li sab ma’ wiċċu fl-inqas ħin possibbli – żewġ ideat ewlenin li tgħallimna tul dal-kors pedagoġiku u li għandna napplikaw kontinwament fil-klassi. L-aħħar darba li ħloqt kwizz għall-klassi – qgħadt attent li nagħmlu ta’ livell għoli biżżejjed għall-intelliġenza tal-istudenti – student minnhom qalli li siegħa ma rahiex ittir.
ReplyDeleteŻvantaġġ għall-għalliem hu li jekk ma jsibux lest, se jeħodlu ħafna ħin biex jippreparah. Imma l-vantaġġi huma bosta. L-iktar wieħed ovvju hu l-interazzjoni u l-parteċipazzjoni istantanja tal-istudent fil-klassi bil-projector, jew mid-dar online. Il-kwizz fl-istess ħin ikun qed iħejji lill-istudenti għall-assignment li jkun ġej, għax dan jista’ jinbena fuq l-istess prinċipji. Kwizz jista’ jintuża fil-bidu tal-kors biex l-għalliem jieħu feedback mingħand l-istudenti biex jifhem x’livell għandhom f’dak is-suġġett partikolari, inkella fl-aħħar tas-semestru, lejliet l-eżami, biex jintuża bħala mezz ta’ reviżjoni.