Easily Make Reviews into Gameshows!

You can see how involved students get!

Today’s article for the RTT Teach Abroad August Blog Carnival, If you'd like to contribute to next month's Blog Carnival, please contact Dean and he will help!

Kahoot is a REALLY easy game to set up. You can check out my other post how to find and create your own Kahoot which will be published tomorrow.

What you'll need to use Kahoots with your students:
1. WiFi access: Technically it doesn't need to be wireless internet if they are using laptops or computers directly plugged into the internet, but since most of my students use tablets or cell phone WiFi works best.
2. A monitor: It is really important that all students can see  the monitor. If you have an IWB or projector those work best!
3. Devices: Students will need to have a phone, tablet, laptop, or computer that can access the internet. You don't need to make it one student per device; this can be done in small groups with two-five students per device
4. A Kahoot relevant to your class either made by you or others.

Kahoot basically allows you to make multiple choice quizzes that students can all answer. It makes a great review game, quick quiz, or an exit exam. 

To start the teacher starts the quiz. This will show the Game Pin (figure 1 to the left) on the monitor all students will see. On their devices they enter the Game Pin and then their name (or if they are working in groups their team name). Then their name she should be displayed on the monitor for everyone to see. Once you start the quiz keep in mind that the questions are displayed on the screen with each answer having a different shape and color. Students' devices will ONLY show the colors  (see figure four). If students can't see the monitor they will not be able to play.

You can set a time limit for each question from five seconds to two minutes, but once all of the students have answered the time is up regardless of how long you have given the students.The countdown will play as well as your graphic, the questions and answers.

After all of the students have answered, the correct answer will be displayed as well as a breakdown of how students answered (figure 2). This is an easy way to see not only if the students are mostly getting it wrong or right, but also which incorrect answers they are guessing. Are they missing the modals? Do they not know the irregular verbs? etc. Notice that it doesn't specify who gave which answer! This also takes some of the pressure off students. Unlike calling on a student when they answer this way no one knows if they get it wrong.

I usually take this time to go over why each answer is wrong. Ask the students, "why is blue wrong?" After you've gone over it, you press next and the scoreboard will pop up. Students get points for answering correctly; the faster they answer the more points they get. At the very end of the game the student with the most points will be declared the winner.

I feel like I should briefly point out that I often think that technology in the classroom is superfluous. Teaching our students how to use the internet as a tool to search properly is important. Being able to interact with different software programs is important. However, often teachers tell me, "Oh yeah my students are doing this online and it is awesome," and all I can think is, "how does this really help them more than a pen and paper does?"

This is one of those situations where technology isn't making your class more dynamic. You aren't encouraging more critical thinking. You could make a very similar game using post its and a marker. The perks of this compared to paper alternatives are:
 1. Technology Students LOVE the technology. It makes them more involved and most of them beg for it later! After you finish the Kahoot you can download the statistics to see how your students did. The spreadsheet will show how many questions students go correct and incorrect. It also does a breakdown of each question, and each students' answers to each question. This lets you know what questions are tricky for your students. 
2. Breakdown The technology makes it easy for you to get a breakdown of what questions students are getting right and how specific students are doing.
3. Efficient Pretty fast to set up; for me faster than most review games requiring a bit more prep
4. Paperless! Better for the Earth and your school's budget.

Let me know if you try out Kahoot and what you think! I personally didn't love it when I first tried it, but my students BEGGED for it every day after. Anytime my students like an activity I think it is probably worth sharing.

Finnish Infographic

If you don't have time to check out On Top of the World you can also check out this infographic on Finland's school system.

Note that one of the things discussed by Maria Kouta is the, "No Homework in Finland,"myth. She states that homework is given, just not on the scale seen in other countries.

Book Review: On Top of the World: How the Finns Educate Their Children

The Finnish flag

That orange section in Finalnd

If you teach anywhere in the world you have surely heard about how, Finland has, “the best education,” in the world.

Many of the educational forums or Facebook pages I am a member of will often reference Finland’s educational system in research, news articles or memes.

In addition, when I did my Masters in Spain we studied how the education in Finland was unique. We mainly focused on the attitude people have towards teachers as well as the training that teachers have.

Even with this background, I found the book really interesting. Part of what I really liked about it is it was written by the mother of three children (aged 7, 9, and 12). I really like that it is written by a mother, not an educational expert or a curriculum designer. 

Basically, with the fame of the Finnish educational system, Maria is often asked about what makes their system so much better than everywhere else. She doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but in how in a quick 14 chapters she answers the question: what are the Finns doing in their school?

I found On Top of the World: How the Finns Educate Their Children a nice overall summary of how the educational system works. Some of it was new to me, and some of it was review, but none of it was pretentious or useless.

She ends the book with several key takeaways I feel I can implement as an educator:

·         Communicate with the parents!

o   My colleagues and I have discussed how this can be different with different schools. Some schools don’t encourage communication with parents. Other schools foster it! I think the key is to remember that parents are your allies, not enemies.

·         Encourage students to learn another language.

o   As a language teacher…I may be biased

·         Don’t be afraid to add a physical nature to your lessons

o   Not every lesson can be a soccer game, but getting students to move around can be helpful.

·         Use “playing” as a learning tool.

o   We all learn better when we aren’t trying to learn! Maybe try a vocabulary game!

·         Respect students as individuals

o   Understand that not all students will succeed at the same things.

If you want to read a concise compilation of how the Finnish education system works, this is a fast, easy and simple read I encourage you to look into. Plus, it LESS than a dollar!
No time for the book? Check out this infographic on Finlands.

Video Games as Literature Assignments

My students are big into technology. I don't think that is really rare in students nowadays, but this is one of the first classes that has been so vocal about it! When I let them know that their assignments can be done virtually they literally tell me, "We love technology"

As a result this year when I started the, "Adaptation Project" I wasn't surprised at all that students were excited. They usually do a great job (as seen in last year's blog post), but this year a group of students asked if they could make an adaptation video game instead of a standard video. Always up to let my students be creative I said yes! The only extra was that they would need to make a, "making of the video-game" video since one of the requirements was that I hear voices.
In the end they came up with this:

Keep in mind that they did create a game! What you are watching now is me "playing" the game (I recorded it).

Interested in having your students create their own video games? Well, these don't involve that much English but Sploder is a good place to start. It doesn't require much skill and can be personalized. Later your students can explain why they chose to depict the story a certain why.

If you have had your students coding (via something like the hour of code) you could probably get more complex.

What do you think? Is an assignment like this suited for your students' levels? How would you change it? What sites would you use?

Simulations in the classroom

Have you ever had students bring in old items from home, issued them fake money, and let them buy items from one another? It is a great way to get students using vocabulary in a lifelike situation! You aren't role playing; rather, students are really exchanging currency for products. They can haggle, contemplate the worth of something, and budget. This is called a simulation.

Simulations are very popular in all types of educational settings because they help students see that what you are teaching them in the classroom is valid in the real world. Why are simulations so successful? Think back to when you were younger. If someone said, "The oven is hot; don't touch it" what did most children do? Touch it!

It isn't (usually) because they are trouble makers. We want to experience things fro ourselves rather than trust what someone says. The child thinks, "maybe the oven is hot to some people, but maybe I won't think it is hot," or, "well how hot is it?"

Simulations are great because they show our students that what we are talking about is real. They also let us discuss what we want to with our students knowing that they all have a shared background.

Finally, they are one of the ways I encourage teachers to help students open their schema. For example, if you were going to teach about social hierarchy you could ask a series of questions about their own experiences interacting with different classes or you could use a simulation from Shilo Morlang's book, 10 Sims for Teachers involving a deck of cards. Once they have all finished the simulation, you can discuss what it reminds them of, how they can see it in other parts of their life. This is a great way to be sure that your students are prepared to have the knew knowledge of their class, "stuck" in their brains!

On a related note, check out this video made for teachers at my school on different ways to help students access prior knowledge.

What's your favorite simulation to use in class?