Whether I am a mom responsible for my children, or an administrator in charge of a school, or a teacher in charge of a classroom, I am always in charge of producing an effective learning environment. Osher et al. (n.d) suggests the three phases of creating safe and supportive schools are to assess and evaluate, engage and educate, and use good decision making and implementation for the programs (Osher, n.d). In order to create an environment of belonging and engagement, teachers need to add these elements of engagement. Students need to know it is their work, their ideas, their books, and their goals to set and make (Alber, 2017). When children or students are seen as important stakeholders, the teachers can be seen more as facilitators and the engagement can happen organically. Blooket, GimKits, and Bamboozle are three tools that can create this type of active engagement and raise student achievement.

With any use of technology, there will always be advantages and challenges to using a resource or tool in the classroom. I went to my son’s high school open house last night and heard a teacher say, “We try not to let paper be a distraction to succeeding. The paper might get wet, the supplies might not be in class, or they might not be prepared so we make it really easy for the student to be able to succeed only using his or her iPad” (R. Aske, personal communication, September 2, 2022). My love for paper and pen could be described in another whole article, and the importance of building responsibility beyond technology is a crucial piece that educators, parents, and communities need to take into consideration. Yet, what struck me about this teacher is that he wanted to make good use of the time in class. I appreciated that forethought and drive to not just allow students to do workbook page upon workbook page. Another one of my child’s teachers of a higher-level math class just handed them a workbook at the beginning of the year and just told the students to just let them know if they had questions and worked on his computer every day.

One of the most important ways to meet the needs of each student is to create an engaging system that has a support team to implement it (Lynch, 2019). When a teacher just gives workbooks or just uses class time to explain the assignment in ten minutes and allows the rest of class (which could be up to 60 minutes) for homework, there is no support system put into place. The teachers should be planning group projects, experiences to share, acting as a facilitator or adding a type of gaming element into the classroom for a more engaged instructional piece to the practice. Without this type of initiative, teachers are losing out on chances to create engaged learners and create a healthy school culture.

In contrast to the benefit of using technology to meet needs, the challenge of using technology tools is that one teacher may work by themselves rather than collaborating because the other teachers may not feel comfortable using the technology. Odden &Picus (2020) argue improving schools that combine teachers into collaborative groups who use data to improve instruction will raise student achievement (Odden, 2020). This data can come from these technology tools. Just like when teachers talk to each other, they grow in knowledge, when students talk together, they challenge each other, give multiple perspectives, and can encourage each other to be better learners. In this way, both teachers and students can hold each other accountable for creating a rigorous learning environment. “So, then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Romans 14:12).

In order to create this healthy collaborative environment that will raise student learning, I will dive into the three top tools for student engagement focusing on what I call the three Cs of implementation of technology: connectivity, cost, and classroom design.

Click picture to go to site!

Blooket (pronounced blue-kit) is an interactive gaming system that creates an adventure that can be laden with treasure chests or a student can be a city planner that has to put “blooks” into the city to defend it from creatures. The connectivity is user friendly. This device will work well with both iPads and chrome books because it only uses an internet browser to log in. There is no special app needed to download from self-service, but can be easily logged into by students in kindergarten to adults. The cost to connect is free with no money needed to open up different games or templates for the activities. Lastly, this resource works well as both a whole group activity and as a small group activity for classroom design. It is student paced and yet also has competitive elements included to make the tasks more engaging to the students. I have done it both in class and online with students and it is engaging to all students from first grade to high school.

Click picture to go to site!

The next technology tool is GimKit. This activity is a gamification task that invites the user into being on a spaceship and having to choose who to vote off, similar to the game Among Us. The host can also choose to build a wall as a class and beat their own time. Connection is user friendly only needing to log in. As far as cost, it is free to play GimKit, and upgrades are only needed to unlock various other template designs for the games. The engaging classroom design of this tool is the fact that you can choose to have students collaborate or play against each other. The game can also be finished when a certain time is met or by voting people off.

Click picture to go to site!

Bamboozle is the last of the technology assets. This is a game similar to Jeopardy where you fill in the questions and the students answer questions for points. The connectivity is easy for even first graders to do as they only need to login and add a join code. The cost is free with upgrades coming with a paid subscription that allows for more bonus questions like adding more Bamboozle options such as giving points or doubling points to the students. The classroom design can be used in class or remotely. The engaging piece of the design is that the host or teacher can add videos or photos to show when the answer is right or add them directly to the questions to help the student to have a clue for the right answer.

You can try it out yourself! Or have your child!

(This is one created to test your CVC words and a little something for my fellow Liberty Students!)

Of the three, the most user friendly and engaging is Blooket. This is a resource where not only is the content practiced, but in each design template, there is a problem-solving logic that one can use in order to get the most points. Setting up Blooket is easy as one, two, and three. First, the teacher will choose a question set or create one themselves. This allows for variety and differentiation. Next, the host will select a game mode. There are unique game modes to choose from as well as limited seasonal modes. Then, the teacher can host it on a large screen in the classroom or share the screen if one is hosting it with students who are not with you. The engagement will begin even as the instructions are being displayed. Be one of the first to try the newest game: Click to play HERE.

The important part to know as you utilize Blooket is that while the student is engaged in learning, the teacher can get data at the end in how well the student did. It is more important to focus on the teaching aspect than what technology tool one will use. With these detailed reports of Blooket, teachers can understand how well their students did and identify areas where a child may need more practice. This aspect is important whatever technology tool one chooses to use. It allows an educational leader to dive deep to understand who the students are and what they really know. Teachers using data to make instructional decisions for all students will build a culture and climate where everyone feels comfortable (Schmidt, 2022). When people feel comfortable, they will build a healthy school culture. This healthy school culture encourages teachers and students to approach education from a more engaged and flexible perspective, expanding the curriculum based on specific assessments that highlight students’ progress throughout the year (Zimmerman, 2018).

The environment is an important part beyond the tools and tricks a teacher may use. If the surrounding atmosphere is calm and organized, the students will feel calm and ready to learn. A heart at peace gives life to the body (English Standard Version Bible, Proverbs 14:30). This peace will envelop a community for better student learning. This peace will allow the educator to stay away from busy work workbooks, and build engaging activities using technology, while also continuing to grow as a community as the students involved feel like they belong to a place of intentional class activities and peace.

References

Alber, R. (2017, April 8). Intervention for failing students: What matters most? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-matters-most-student-academic-intervention-rebecca-alber

English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://www.esv.org/Proverbs+14/

English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://www.esv.org/Romans+14/

Lynch, M. (2019, October 15). Types of classroom interventions. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/types-of-classroom-interventions/

Odden, A.R. & Picus, L. 0 (2020). School finance, a policy perspective (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9781259922312.

Osher, D., Kanter, E., La Hayne, S. Moroney, D., Money, J. & Nolan, E. (n.d). Trauma and culturally sensitive practices for guidance. file:///Users/aryg/Downloads/building-equitable-safe-supportive-schools.pdf

Schmidt, K. (2022, January 11). Top teacher: Naperville third grade teacher builds confident students with unique techniques. Daily Herald. https://www.dailyherald.com/entlife/20220111/top-teacher-naperville-third-grade-teacher-builds-confident-students-with-unique-techniques

Zimmerman, E. (2018, October 18). Data Driven Instruction: How Student Data Guides Formative Assessments. EdTech. https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2018/10/data-driven-instruction-how-student-data-guides-formative-assessments-perfcon

Three Effective Technology Tools to Elevate Your Teaching