Using Blooket in the Classroom

Blooket is a gamified education platform that allows teachers host interactive review games for students (Stewart, n.d.). Teachers can choose from a variety of synchronous and asynchronous game modes with different modalities and theming to suit student needs and preferences. Students can create accounts and collect “Blooks” by answering questions correctly in-game. As they answer questions correctly, students earn points and energy boosts to beat the competition. At the end of a round, Blooket automatically generates a data dashboard to monitor individual and class performance. In addition to live games, teachers can assign games as “Homework” for students to access independently. Manchester School District does not provide a Plus subscription to teachers, and most features are available for free, so this post will be focused on the free service.

Audience

Blooket is an incredibly flexible platform, designed to appeal to students across grade levels from elementary through high school. The game-based format makes reviewing content more enjoyable for students, and gamified instruction has been proven to increase engagement (Bajpai, 2023). Blooket can be used across disciplines including math, science, social studies, and language arts, so almost any teacher can use this tool.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Gamification has been shown to be an engaging, effective instructional strategy to increase student participation (Bajpai, 2023). The colorful graphics and healthy competition help to motivate students as they review content. Teachers can also easily choose from pre-built sets or create their own custom sets, so it can be a low-prep activity to keep students engaged. A potential drawback is that the games can be distracting, or even too fast-paced for some students, and many students have found ways to “hack” Blooket, which defeats the purpose of the review games.

Budget

The vast majority of Blooket’s features are completely free for students and teachers alike (Blooket, n.d.). The free version of Blooket allows games for up to 60 players and access to most of the game modes. The paid subscription – Plus – offers games for up to 300 players, access to verified curriculum, exclusive game modes, and enhanced data reports following games among other features. This Plus subscription costs $59.88 for the year, while the Plus Flex subscription costs $9.99 a month and includes all Plus features but provides more flexibility in cancellation. Group pricing is also available on request.

Training and Rollout

Blooket is a fairly intuitive, simple program, so teachers will not need much training to succeed with the rollout. The website includes a Help page with content directed at educators and students, with a section for FAQs (Blooket, n.d.). The Help page includes introductory videos and troubleshooting instructions to help teachers master the program. Since Blooket offers this support, it will not be necessary to host training workshops or sessions for teachers. However, the technology integrator should create an introductory video with a walkthrough of creating a set and hosting a game to help teachers get started. Additionally, the integrator can offer individual sessions with teachers if they require more support.

Equipment Needed

Both the teacher and students need a device to use Blooket, and it’s accessible via both phones and computers. However, Blooket works best using a computer browser. No special hardware investment is necessary, but the teacher may want to have a classroom projector to present the Blooket game for the class to see while playing.

FAQ

Q: Do students need accounts to join a game?

A: No, they can join games without making a user account, but students may choose to make their own account. Teachers are required to have an account to host a game.

Q: Can I create my own question sets, or do I need to use sets that have already been created?

A: With the free account, teachers can create their own sets OR use those created by the community. The paid subscription allows teachers to copy sets from the library and edit them, which is a feature that is unavailable to free users.

Q: How do student join the Blooket game?

A: After creating a set, select the blue "Host" button" and select your preferred settings for the game. Then, have students join by going to play.blooket.com on their computers.

Q: This all seems overwhelming. Can you walk me through?

A: Take a look at this video to help you get started in Blooket! Many of your students will have already used Blooket, so they might be able to help you too. Additional help directly from Blooket is also available at this website.

All FAQ answers are paraphrased from the Blooket Help page and personal experience, tailored to meet the needs of teachers in Manchester School District. Access additional support by contacting administration or your building technology integrator if you can't find the information you need here or in the Blooket help center.

References

Bajpai, T. (2023, August 11). Play, learn, succeed: Exploring the impact of gamification on children’s learning. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/play-learn-succeed-exploring-the-impact-of-gamification-on-childrens-learning

Blooket. (n.d.). Blooket: Level up your classroom. Retrieved on April 26, 2024 from https://dashboard.blooket.com/upgrade

Stewart, B. (n.d.). Blooket: Level up classroom engagement. Blooket. Retrieved on April 26, 2024 from https://www.blooket.com/