As a teacher, there is a need to balance between content and fun. At times, the content can be rather dry but, life must go on and you have no choice but to power through the lesson. If you are sensitive towards the displeasure of your students, you will find it difficult to power through 2 hours of class with students slowly falling asleep. It almost feels like you are wading through mud trying to reach the finish line of your class. I can tell you from experience, it ain't fun.
This has led me to try out different apps, anything to make the lesson fun and entertaining for the students. Before I start off, I would like to point out that the first two apps in the list can be used to deliver content whereas the final one is more of a brainstorming app. So, let's start off with the first on the list:
Sploder
This is a 2D game maker. It doesn't require any programming skills and you can just drag and drop the icons to build your own game. It took me about 15 minutes to create a level of a rather short game. Its pretty fun to do and definitely a fresh new way of teaching. Sploder is free to use and allows you to create a few types of games.
Personally, I would prefer platformer whereby you can create a game where the students get to choose between two answers. If they were to select the wrong answer, they may fall into a pit of lava or advance to the next level. The image below shows the game editor, you get a myriad of options where you can change the background as well as the weapons to use.
I constructed a game some time back about nouns, here's a screenshot of the start of the game:
This is what happens when you take the wrong route:
The creation of it has somewhat of a learning curve. However after creating your first game, it gets easier creating the second, then the third. The best thing of all creating a game like this is that you will be able to assign homework in the form of a game. How cool is that? Furthermore, the game can be shared via Facebook or link so it is quite easy to distribute the game/homework to the class.
Kahoot
Kahoot is a great way of testing the students' prior knowledge before a class. After the initial test before a class, you can deliver your content to the class and have a post test at the end of the class to assess the students' level of comprehension. That way, you can keep the class engaged, knowing that they will need the knowledge delivered throughout the class to play.
What makes Kahoot fun is how it rewards the students. This is done by rewarding the students by how quick they answer the question as well as if they answer the questions correctly. Students who are able to answer the right answer consistently and quickly will be able to get streaks, increasing their final score. In addition, Kahoot generates a spreadsheet of how the students performed at the end of the class. Thus, you will be able to identify which questions the students are having issues with. This is a great way to identify the gaps in the students' knowledge.
The platform offers a great way to gamify tests. In order to play Kahoot, you will need a class with a computer and students with mobile devices or computers. This may not be applicable if you teach in an area without any internet. However, if you do, it is fun for all ages. Kahoot is quite easy to use but only allows you to create multiple choice questions. Thus, if you are looking for tools that can prompt students to write short essays, perhaps, the next tool is for you.
Google Cardboard
Google cardboard is an affordable way to bring virtual reality to the classroom. If it is used in tandem with Google earth and other VR games, it can serve as a springboard to generate ideas. Google cardboard and all the other tools here are merely tools and the theories and teaching methods behind it should always be more important than the tool itself.
Personally, I like using Google Cardboard with Google Earth. It allows the students to 'visit' other places and talk about it. In addition certain apps such as Halloween ride can be done offline. I did a lesson plan on how to conduct this here. There are many other ways to use Google Cardboard. However, bear in mind that you would have to purchase it online. It was sold for about 5 dollars in my country. It may not seem like much, but if the class size is huge, you may have to pay a sizable sum to execute the project.
I've tried all these methods and they have helped made my classes fun. Give these tools a try and if you have any questions, do let me know in the comments below. Steem on!
