Gimkit
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Jasper Francis Cropsey, Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, 1864
What is Gimkit?
What is Gimkit?
Gimkit is an online educational tool designed to facilitate competitive review of class material in a monitored setting. Termed a 'live learning game show,' Gimkit disperses a set of multiple choice questions that students can answer to gain 'money.' In Classic Mode, these online points can then be used to buy power-ups that earn students more cash to get ahead of their classmates.
What's the Point of the Game?
What's the Point of the Game?
Students answer a pre-approved list of review questions from class, and try to answer as many questions correctly as they can and earn as much money as possible. The teacher can set a total amount that students need to win the game. Here is how it looks when you get a question correct versus incorrect.
How do Students Use Points?
How do Students Use Points?
Students can use money they have accumulated to buy various upgrades in the shop, which yield numerous benefits. There are
Money Per Question: Amount of money you lose and gain per question
Streak Bonus: Bonus that stacks when answering multiple questions correctly.
Multiplier: Every dollar in or out gets multiplied
Insurance: Only pay a percentage back when answering incorrectly
Essentially, every upgrade increases the amount of points earned per question.
What's the Goal?
What's the Goal?
The teacher can design the Classic game to function in three modes:
Time: Students answer questions and see who can earn the most in a given amount of time.
Race: Students race to gain a certain total of points first.
All In: Students play until the class collectively earns a certain number of points.
How Does This Work as a Teacher?
How Does This Work as a Teacher?
As the facilitator, I can create custom question sets for individual topics or units. On the 'Kits' tab, I can create different groups, and even merge different groups together to make bigger question sets. Thus, making a cumulative review set is simple and easy!
Application as an Educator
Application as an Educator
As an educator, I would use Gimkit primarily to review class material and concepts that we had already learned in class. Typical class review games are always fun for students, but Gimkit creates a competitive environment that lets kids have fun without realizing that they are learning. As students experiment with strategy, they unknowingly are cementing in that foundational knowledge that they will subconsciously remember in the future. I would use Gimkit to review terms at the end of a unit or before a test. I could also create homework assignments for students to complete throughout the semester.
Drawbacks and Progress
Drawbacks and Progress
One issue that I came across in my journey with Gimkit was the possible dominance of one player. Because the game is strategy oriented, it is possible for a small amount of players to be much faster than the others. When testing my question set with my classmates, I realized I was answering questions much faster than them because I knew how the game worked better, as well as being more familiar with the questions.
As a result, with me playing, I dominated the competition, simulating how that scenario might play out in a classroom where a few students have a better grasp of the material than the others. This dominance kills the strategy and fun that comes with a game, as students feel powerless to beat the faster player.
Other Drawbacks
Other Drawbacks
Gimkit is fantastic for creating question sets, but those questions always have to be multiple choice. Thus, for topics that require more complexity and cannot be separated into correct and incorrect categories, Gimkit is designed to separate answers into black and white distinctions.
Additionally, many students are naturally not as competative as others, and may not wish to be rushed when it comes to content review. In classic mode, students may feel pressured or left out if they never have won before.
Possible Solutions to Drawbacks
Possible Solutions to Drawbacks
There are multiple different modes in Gimkit to change the environment of the game. One of these is a mode titled "Boss Battle," where one player is pinned against all of the others. This flips the dynamic of the game on its head, as a dominant player that may demotivate other players in Classic is now competing against everyone else in the class. This is a possible solution to balance the skill level in the classroom
Solution #2
Solution #2
Speaking of different modes, for the students who do not like the competition of Gimkit, there are different games that can be assigned as homework assignments that do not need to be done live in class. One of those modes, "Farmchain," has students answer questions to grow crops and earn money on their virtual farm. This mode would have students earn a certain amount of money in a given time frame, and may ease some of the anxiety that may come from in-class competition. This game could even be played in the background during the entire semester, with questions being added as we get to each unit in class!
Solution #3
Solution #3
Concerning issues about the complexity of multiple choice questions, I do not believe that in the end, that that would be an issue concerning Gimkit. One of my focuses as a history teacher will be balancing critical thinking skills and foundational knowledge, and I think that Gimkit is a fantastic tool to focus on the latter. Using multiple choice questions, you do not get the complexity that may be required for certain subjects in history, but the essential facts that need to be known will always be covered using these question sets. As an educator, I would not use Gimkit to teach material but rather use it as a tool for review and cementation of base-facts.
Gimkit Video Tutorial
Gimkit Video Tutorial
Untitled: Dec 13, 2022 11:46 PM.webm
Try My Review Game!
Try My Review Game!
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