Blooket: A Getting Started Guide for Teachers
Finding new online resources and websites to engage learners in classroom review can be challenging, even for experienced teachers. You might already be familiar with some of the most popular ones, like Kahoot and Gimkit. Today there’s a growing list of new websites that make it easier than ever to engage learners! Blooket is one of my favorites for offering gamified opportunities for skill practice.
Since educational games on the site can be used both in class and outside your classroom to review content, Blooket is an excellent addition to the websites you’re using to keep students on track this year. Today I wanted to share more about the site and how to use it in your classroom.
What is Blooket?
Have you integrated Blooket into your classroom yet? Blooket is a free, user-friendly platform that offers a wide array of educational games designed for review and practice. These games are thoughtfully organized by subject, grade level, and topic, making it effortless to find the perfect fit for your lessons. Whether you prefer to create your own content or utilize pre-made options crafted by other educators, Blooket provides the flexibility to cater to your teaching needs.
This interactive tool seamlessly combines classic game elements with quizzes, transforming traditional lessons into engaging activities that can invigorate any subject area. With features like leaderboards and awards, Blooket fosters healthy competition among students, boosting motivation and participation.
As a teacher, you’ll love how straightforward it is to design vocabulary practice, review games, formative assessments, math drills, and more using Blooket. Its intuitive interface ensures that both you and your students can navigate the platform with ease, making lesson planning and execution seamless.
Why Choose Blooket?
- Free and Accessible: Blooket is completely free to use, with an easy-to-navigate interface that requires no technical expertise.
- Diverse Game Modes: Explore various game modes such as Tower Defense, Gold Quest, Café, Factory, and Battle Royale, each offering unique ways to reinforce learning.
- Customizable Content: Create your own game sets tailored to your curriculum or choose from thousands of existing sets created by educators worldwide.
- Engaging Competition: Leaderboards and awards add a fun competitive edge, encouraging students to strive for their best.
Getting started with Blooket
You might be wondering, how does Blooket work? The great news is setting up an account and getting started is quick and easy. Even better…it’s free!
1. Setting Up Your Blooket Game
a. Creating Your Game Set
- Design Your Set: After creating your question set, decide on the type of assignment you want to assign.
- Assignment Type: As the teacher, set all assignments to “Host.” (Use the “Solo” option for student-created activities.)
2. Choosing Your Game Mode
Blooket offers a variety of game modes to suit different classroom needs. Here are the primary options:
a. Hosted Game – Live Mode
- Simultaneous Play: Students participate together in a live game session, promoting friendly competition.
- Participation Tracking: Monitor student engagement and progress in real-time.
- Team or Individual Play: Choose to assign students to teams or have them compete individually.
- Game Duration: The game ends when all questions are answered or the time limit is reached.
- Room Settings:
- Password Protection: Set a password to control access.
- Public vs. Private:
- Public: Anyone with the link can join.
- Private: Only invited students can participate.
- Post-Game Analysis: Review individual performances and share results with your class or keep them private.
- Reusable Sets: Reuse the same question set by creating a new game session.
Features You’ll Love:
- Customization:
- Randomize Student Names
- Allow Late Joiners: Perfect for students who arrive late or are engaged in special services.
- Question Limits: Set the number of questions per game.
- Multi-Device Participation: Students can join using computers, smartphones, or tablets via the Blooket app.
b. Homework Mode
- Assignment Tab: Use the “HW” tab to assign games as homework.
- Set Goals:
- Time-Based: Specify a duration for gameplay.
- Token-Based: Set a target for tokens earned through play.
- Due Dates: Assign specific deadlines for homework completion.
- Progress Monitoring: Utilize the Student Engagement Portal to track student progress and ensure they stay on task.
- Game ID Sharing: Generate and distribute a unique Game ID for students to access the homework assignment.
Many Game Options to Choose From
Bloket, Blookit, Booklet, Blooklet, Bloomet…I’ve seen and heard it all. While your students may not be able to remember the site name quite right, I promise they’ll remember it and ask for more.
One thing students love about Blooket.com is that there are many game options. It’s like a learning arcade! This makes it great for differentiating based on student interests.
Here are just a few of the Blooket games students can play:
- Deceptive Dinos – Become a top paleontologist! Find fossils by answering questions.
- Gold Quest – Amass riches by answering questions
- Crypto Hack – Answer questions to mine cryptocurrency and hack others.
- Fishing Frenzy – Cast your line to reel in the biggest fish in the sea!
- Tower Defense – Answer questions, build towers, and design a defense system to protect yourself from the Blooks.
- Cafe – Run your own cafe! Serve food to customers, restock supplies, and get upgrades by answering questions.
- Factory – Answer quickly to upgrade your Blooks and make virtual cash in your factory.
Benefits of Blooket in the Classroom
Blooket is a great tool to use in the classroom because it’s so versatile. You can use it for review, homework, or even as a fun way to introduce new material. It’s easy for students to access, even from home. And it’s a great way to keep students engaged in learning.
Plus, the results page provides valuable data that can help you track student progress and identify areas of need. It’s also great for setting up review games to keep skills fresh and reduce the need for test prep mode in spring.
If you’re looking for a fun and interactive way to engage your students in learning, check out Blooket! You’ll be glad to add this great site to your repertoire of online games.
For those kiddos who love gamified learning, introducing this site can offer an exciting way to learn that’s also very academic. It can be used for many subject areas and topics, so it’s great for all learners!
Do you use Blooket in your classroom? What are your students’ favorite games? Be sure to share in the comments below!