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Group Multimedia App Review

June 26, 2020 /

Quizizz will be the subject of our group app evaluation. As a group, we decided on Quizizz after reviewing Leona’s app evaluation and posted our reasoning in our blogs.

 

Quizizz is a multimedia application that allows for the creation of an interactive quiz. The app provides a multitude of options for the composition and formatting of the quiz-games. Quizizz allows for real-time group participation or individually completed “homework” assignments. Additionally, Quizizz is a valuable database to collaborate with fellow teaching professionals. Quizizz is free and can be accessed on a web browser or downloaded as a mobile app.

Justification for the use of Quizizz in the classroom

Gamification is an educational tool being implemented by many teachers in their classrooms and beyond. A wealth of data exists to support the use of gamification as a pedagogical tool, and its benefits are well documented (Management Association Informational Resources, 2018). However, one cannot simply “throw it into the mix” a teacher must be able to implement multimedia learning principles as are outlined in the Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Mayer 2014). Furthermore, lessons involving gamification have to be carefully tailored to meet the needs of all learners in the learning environment (Oliveira, Bittencourt 2019).

One form gamification can appear as is quiz-games, and they are currently being used in a variety of learning environments (Meirose, Klatt 2017). Quizizz is a great way to implement gamification in the form of quiz games, and peer-reviewed data exists to support this (Jalani, Hasim 2020). Quiz -games were listed as a top trend in EdTech by the ISTE at their AGM, and Quizizz was named as a prime tool to administer the use of quiz-games in the classroom (Trust 2017).

Currently, the world is facing an unprecedented crisis in the form of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Education is one of the hardest-hit sectors of society as teachers and learners have had to hastily make the switch to mostly-online instruction (Poth 2020). Until now, many teachers have resisted using digital tools in their classrooms, but that has become impossible, so teachers must collaborate to create practical lessons and build interactive, experiential, and meaningful learning environments (Poth 2019). Therefore, now more than ever, gamification is a vital part of education and quiz-games such as Quizizz are a valuable way to implement this (Trust 2018).

How to Use Quizizz Effectively

Quizizz Through the Eyes of a Teacher

I used Quizizz for the first time today and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. I started off by creating an account which was very quick and easy. Once I got to the home page I started creating my own quiz. I created a six-question quiz on the geography of Canada. The first thing I noticed was that there are a lot of options for the style of question. There was the option to create my own multiple choice, checkbox, fill in the blank, poll, or open-ended question. There was also the option to get a question from another person that has created a quiz on the same topic using the teleport feature. I can also edit any questions that I teleport if I would like to add different answers or alter the question. Once I started creating my own questions I noticed that I can change the type of question I would like to have partway through, as well as change the amount of time that students have to answer each question.


There is also an option to add a math equation, an image, or audio to each question. I can also add a quiz image and a grade range to help keep my quizzes more organized. The quiz can be made public or private and there is an option to change the language in which the quiz is created. One feature that I found interesting was that there are different game modes. The quiz can be taken through the teams, classic, or test option. In order for the test option to be used the students have to have their own account which can be done individually or as part of a classroom on your account. The teacher can also assign the quiz as homework if they have utilized the classroom option, as well as get reports on results once the quiz has been taken. Another part of this application that I enjoyed was the abundance of options for the teacher to select from such as if the students can pick their own name, if the answers get revealed after the game, is a leaderboard shown, is a timer shown, if they would like to create a meme deck to utilize after each question, and many more. There is also the option for the teacher to try out the game themselves, as well as copy a shareable link for others to try on their own. Overall, the application was very easy and efficient to use and I can definitely see myself using and recommending this to other educators in my future practice.

Quizziz: A Learner’s Perspective

 

EdTech Rubrics (completed specifically for Quizizz)

1.

2.

MetaQuizz

References

(see our annotated version here)

Information Resources Management Association (Ed.). (2018). Gamification in education: Breakthroughs in research and practice. IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5198-0

Jalani, N. A. B. M., Hashim, H. B. (2020). Quizizz: ESL students’ perceptions in rural school. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 10(3), 23-27. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.10.03.2020.p9904

Mayer, R. (2014). Introduction to Multimedia Learning. In R. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 1-24). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1017/CBO9781139547369.002

Meirose, J., Klatt, C. (2017). Jeopardy games: A comparison of three free resources. Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 14(2), 51-55. DOI: 10.1080/15424065.2017.1314204

Oliveira, W., Bittencourt, I.I. (2019). Tailored gamification to educational technologies. Springer.

Poth, R. D. (2019). Connecting technology and pedagogy. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 35(3), 124-125. DOI: 10.1080/21532974.2019.1622916

Poth, R. D. (2020). Embracing the unexpected: K-12 education and online teaching in the time of coronavirus. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 36(3), 146-147. DOI: 10.1080/21532974.2020.1774039.

Trust, T. (2017). The top five trends in edtech according to ISTE 2017. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 33(4), 126-127. DOI: 10.1080/21532974.2017.1350082

Trust, T. (2018). 2017 ISTE standards for educators: From teaching with technology to using technology to empower learners. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 34(1), 1-3. DOI: 10.1080/21532974.2017.139898

Group App Review Decision

June 20, 2020 /

Out of the four apps that members of our learning pod researched – Quizizz, Reading Eggs, Sushi Monster and Epic! Books – we have decided to conduct our final evaluation on Quizizz.

We reached this decision by discussing the different advantages and disadvantages of each app in terms of functionality, technicality and pedagogical design, as well as the extent of which Mayer’s multimedia learning principles were able to be followed and applied.

Essentially, Quizizz is a free interactive multimedia application used to create short review games in varying forms such as multiple-choice, checkboxes, fill in the blanks, polls, or open-ended questions. Easily customizable with a high level of teacher and student control, Quizizz gamifies formative assessment using unique features such as class leaderboards and feedback ‘memes’ in a way that is accessible to a wide range of learners. As such, Quizizz works to fulfill a large number of Mayer’s multimedia guidelines, including the feedback, signalling, and segmenting principles.

In particular, a powerful feature that led us to favour Quizizz above the rest of the apps was its ability to indirectly facilitate content creation (beyond teacher curation) through student-submitted questions or by building individual review games. While still practical applications, Reading Eggs, Sushi Monster and Epic! Books remain tools that only support the consumption of pre-designed information and activities and do not offer any additional opportunities to facilitate higher-order thinking skills.

In our group, we plan to dive further into the different ways to integrate Quizizz into classroom learning. Moreover, by evaluating Quizizz from a student perspective, we hope to highlight the many benefits of gamification and collaborative group review, which Quizizz’s platform provides.

Overall, we are looking forward to learning more about this interactive and multimedia learning application and how to implement it effectively into our classroom practice!

EDCI 337- Sushi Monster

June 17, 2020 /

Welcome back!

The application that I have chosen to individually evaluate is called Sushi Monster.

Sushi Monster is a math application that focuses on addition and multiplication using a series of levels. This application has the visual of a monster in the middle with a number tag on him and a conveyor belt with various numbers around him. The student is to tap on the various pieces of sushi to add or multiply to the number shown on the monster (and in the top left corner). There is a scoreboard in the top right corner for students to see how they are doing throughout the game, as well as a number sequence section in the top middle so that students can see what numbers they have chosen in a sequence. Under the scoreboard, there is also a stopwatch that shows students how long they have taken to complete the level (there is the option to remove the stopwatch in the settings menu).

Evaluate the application with respect to relative multimedia learning principles.

This application aligns with quite a few of the multimedia learning principles (Mayer, 2014). Some of the principles that it aligns with are the multimedia principle, split-attention principle, redundancy principle, signalling principle, and the learner control principle. Overall, the application appears to use a sufficient amount of the multimedia learning principles in a way that allows for students to be engaged in the material, but not overwhelmed by how much is going on.

Include your personal experiences and impressions while using the application from an instructors’ perspective.

While going through this application there are a variety of things included that I did like and some other things that I would have liked added.

When I first opened the application and hit play it takes me to a screen where I can either choose addition or multiplication. From here I can select level one and start playing. The act of getting to the actual gameplay was quite simple for me which I liked. Once you pass level 1 you can progress to level 2 and so on. I liked the feature of having the option of a timer for those students who will want to challenge themselves or for those who just want to practice in an untimed environment. I also liked how they had the animation of the monster eating the sushi and of the little character putting them onto the conveyor belt. There is also the option of having music and audio for any students that may want it.

A couple of things I would like added are an option for subtraction and division, more levels, and possibly audio of each number being said one it is tapped on.

An option that I thought about is for students who want to time themselves they could have a page where they could write the date, level, score, and time so they can see how much they improve throughout the year.

Overall, the app is very simple and straightforward to use and I could envision teachers using this for any students who are struggling with or would like to improve their addition and multiplication.

Evaluate the application using one or more multimedia and interactive learning tool evaluation rubrics.

I used the UWO rubric for my assessment of Sushi Monster. Overall, this application fits into the “works well section” of the rubric. A couple of areas for minor concern however are its lack of presence as a free desktop application and the lack of collaboration options for the application.

References:

Anstey, L., & Watson, G. (2018, September 18). A Rubric for Evaluating E-Learning Tools in Higher Education. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/9/a-rubric-for-evaluating-e-learning-tools-in-higher-education

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (2016). Sushi Monster. [Mobile application software].

Mayer, R. E. (Ed.). (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139547369

 

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