Gimkit is a live-learning game show that works for groups as well as independent study

Gimkit is an app-based digital quiz gaming platform that can be used by teachers and students to learn. This applies to both in class and at-home learning situations.

The idea of Gimkit came about through a student working on a high school project. Since he found game-based learning particularly engaging, he designed an app that he thought he'd most like to use in class.

The current very polished and well-presented version of that project is an app that offers quiz-based learning in several ways and even has more games coming to add further ways to engage. It's certainly a fun way to learn, but will it work for you?

What is Gimkit?

Gimkit is a digital quiz game that uses questions and answers to help students learn. The platform can be used across a host of devices and, usefully, can be used by students on their own smartphones, tablets, or laptops.

This is a very minimal and easy-to-use system that is created by and maintained by students. As such, it's very accessible for the K-12 age group, with intuitive controls.

As you can see above, the questions are clear with multiple choice answer options in boxes that use lots of color for clarity. Students are able to submit questions that the teacher can allow to appear in the game being played.

This offers class-wide games, live, or individual games, at student pace, so it can be used as a classroom tool but also as a homework device. A rewards system helps to keep students engaged so they want to come back for more.

How does Gimkit work?

Once signed up for Gimkit, a teacher can begin right away. Sign up is simple as an email can be used or a Google account – the latter making it easy for schools already setup on that system. This is especially the case for roster importing. Once a roster is imported, it's possible for teachers to assign individual quizzes as well as live class-wide modes.

)Students are able to join a class game via the website or an email invite. Or they can use a code that can be shared via the LMS platform of choice by the teacher. All this is controlled via a central class account that is run by the teacher. This allows not only for game controls but also for assessment and data analytics – but more on that below.

Games can be held live, during which students submit questions that the teacher moderates and others answer. This can work well if the quiz is projected on the main screen for everyone to work through as a class. It is possible to collaborate in groups or compete against one another. Since there is a five student limit on the free version, the big screen or group options work well.

What are the best Gimkit features?

Gimkit offers KitCollab mode that allows students to help build the quiz with the teacher before the game begins. This can be particularly useful when the class is split into groups and the challenge of coming up with genuinely tough but helpful questions works in everyone's favor. 

Kits, as the quiz games are called, can be created from scratch, imported from Quizlet, imported as a CSV file, or picked from the platform's own gallery where you can modify them for your use.

In-game credits are a great way of keeping students engaged. For each correct answer, this virtual currency is awarded. But get a wrong answer and it will literally cost you. These credits can be used to invest in score-boosting power ups and other upgrades. 

Millions of combinations allow students to work to their own strengths and build their individual profile. Power-ups include the ability to use a second chance or to get more earning potential per correct answer.

More than ten games are available with more in the works to add even greater immersion to the quizzes. These include Humans vs. Zombies, The Floor is Lava, and Trust No One (a detective-style game).
While the live games are great for class, the ability to assign student-paced work is ideal for homework. A deadline can still be set but it's down to the student to decide when it gets done. These are called Assignments and are graded automatically.

Teachers can use their dashboard to view student progress, earnings, and more formative data that can be useful in deciding what to work on next. One great feature here is the measure of how students did at a game being separate to their academic ability in the task. Ideal for those that may know the answers but struggle at the gaming side of things.

How much does Gimkit cost?
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Gimkit is free to start using but there is a limit of five students per game.

Gimkit Pro is charged at $9.99 per month or $59.98 annually. This gets you unrestricted access to all the modes, and the ability to create assignments (play asynchronously) and upload both audio and images to your kits.

Gimkit best tips and tricks

Have the class build a quiz using the KitCollab feature except have everyone submit a question they don't know the answer to – ensuring everyone learns something new.

Pretest the class

Use Gimkit as a formative assessment tool. Create pre-tests to see how well students know a subject, or don't, before you plan how you want to teach the class.
Get groups for free
Get around the pay restriction limits by having students share a device in groups, or using the whiteboard to project the game for a class-wide effort.

This site offers 29 different brain games including ones you may know such as Chinese checkers, Sudoku, Mastermind, and Chess. However, there are many unique games like Rotate where you decide which pieces need to be rotated to see the picture or Memocoly where you memorize the colors you see in order after a quick flash. It also provides 13 different word games like unscrambling words quickly in Anagramania, or trying to figure out what word the moving letters make in The WordHunt Game. Not only can you play any of these 42 challenging games, you can choose from 30 different languages including Spanish, French, Italian and many more. 

Here a great educational gaming site produced by BrainPop. Founded in 1999, BrainPOP creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement.  There is a myriad of games including math, reading, health, social studies, science, and English on this site.  Get lost in space or tinker with sports games.  Something for every style of learning here.

The count down is on!  Is your brain ready for the ultimate concentration needed for the classroom after summer break?  If not, then log onto the many math concepts up for review with this great interactive game for early and intermediate elementary students.  Review the recognition of the Arabic and written form of numbers, shapes, multiplication, fractions and percentages.  The games can be played alone or with two players. On each level there are several variations of each game so you will get a lot of practice. See if you can collect a drawer full of socks by the time you finish your review. 

Does your elemenatry student need a fast paced game that will test a variety of mathematic skills as well as reflexes when using the computer mouse?  Practice fractions, counting money, understanding spatial relationships, perimeter measurement, and basic arithmetic calculations such as adding, subtracting, simple multiplying, and dividing while earning points.  There are five levels that increase with difficulty during this interactive game.  An additional well-noted aspect to this game is the necessity of following directions carefully.  There is constant switching between asking what is largest, then smallest, first, last,
and so on, so students must be aware of what each question is asking.

Some days we're just inundated with too much computer time.  You know the feeling - eye strain, back pain, and neck cringes all begin to surface.  For kids, that bit of antsy behavior begins to flourish as well as repeated trips for items needed while working on their lessons on the computer.  This is the time to break out the cards and have a bit of fun!  Give your brain a rest and let it recharge before the next lesson.  

This activity uses four randomly selected numbers to create an equation that equals a fifth number. It gives users a chance to practice different mathematical operations and to practice writing equations correctly. It even includes separate teacher/leader version link at bottom of page.  Best of all you are still learning while you are having fun!