One of the myriads of tools that has popped up in this space is Gimkit, a unique and powerful platform for both student and teacher. In this article, we are going to discuss the origins, mechanics, benefits, and significance of Gimkit on modern education.
Origins of Gimkit
Josh Feinsilber (a high school student at the time) and a group of his friends started Gimkit. Its origin story is unique in that it was developed by students who suffered the pain points of regular classroom learning and wanted to make it more fun! Gimkit has been on the scene for a while now and has taken classrooms by storm!
At the heart of Josh’s mission was a simple but profound goal: to design a learning tool students would actually use. Unlike traditional educational software, which can seem rigid, uninspiring and even a bit boring, Gimkit was built to be interactive, competitive and — most importantly — fun.
How Gimkit Works
At its heart, Gimkit a live quiz game platform on which students can correct answers to earn virtual money.
Play The Game: After preparing the kit, the teacher starts a live game. Students join via a link using a game code on their computers or mobile devices.
Earnings and Outlays: Whenever students respond to a question, they can earn virtual money. They can spend this money on power-ups, that can include everything from multipliers that boost earnings to abilities that make it harder for opponents.
Gimkit offers multiple ways to play: Includes standard mode (individual based game play) as well as team (group quiz competition) and periodic special seasonal modes to mix it up.
Key Features of Gimkit
Gimkit’s success is due to a few unique features that set it apart from other educational tools:
Gamifying Engagement: The biggest draw card of Gimkit is its ability to make learning a game. Because the platform is competitive and you can gain virtual cash and spend for things on the platform, it keeps students going.
Customizability: Educators have the ability to create customized kits that align with their curriculum and ensure that content is relevant to what students are learning in class.
Real-Time Feedback : While students play, teachers are provided with real-time feedback on their progress. This provides educators the ability to see what students struggle with and adjust their teaching accordingly.
Collab and Compete: Gimkit’s team mode promotes collaboration, and individual modes encourage friendly competition. Using these two different approaches helps students remain engaged in the work as they build understanding of the content.
Accessiblity: Gimkit is available on a variety of devices, from smartphones and tablets to computers. This means that all students can engage, no matter which device they have.
Different Power-Ups and upgrades: You can buy all power ups and upgrades. How students decide to use their virtual dollars will determine their odds of winning.
Reasons To Use Gimkit In The Classroom
It has a ton of benefits for both students and teachers. These include:
Enhanced Engagement: Conventional learning methods often do not engage the students, especially in the current age of digital technology. Gimkit solves the issue pretty simply – it transforms lessons into games that students actually want to play.
Better Knowledge Retention: Research has found that gamified learning helps users retain what they have learned better. This way, when they relate and connect the dots, chances of retaining that information increases.
Instant Feedback: Gimkit provides teachers with instant feedback on how well their students grasps the concepts. This lets timely interventions take place and makes sure no student falls behind.
Promotes Critical Thinking: The strategic components of Gimkit, like what power-ups to buy, when to use them, helps promote critical thinking as well as decision making skills.
Encourages Teamwork: Team modes created an environment of camaraderie and cooperation among students. Teamwork also develops social skills as all players work together towards a common goal.
Versatile Use: Gimkit can be adapted for different educational contexts, whether it’s in-person classes, homework tasks, or distance learning. This gives it an important advantage as one of the tools of a modern classroom.
Challenges And Limitations Gimkit
Although Gimkit can be a great resource for getting students engaged, it’s not without its challenges and limitations:
Cons: Over-Reliance on Gamification: Some students may become more invested in the game element than the learning. There needs to be balance to ensure educational value is not compromised by it.
Concerns over Screen Time: There is legitimate concern about students spending too much time in front of screens with the increased use of digital tools. Educators must use Gimkit as a supplement, not the only tool.
Cost: Gimkit has a free tier, but many of the best features are locked behind a paid subscription. For schools with small budgets, this can be a hurdle.
Tips For Teachers Gimkit
Here are some tips for teachers to get the most out of Gimkit:
Use It As A Supplement: Gimkit is best used as supplemental to traditional teaching. It should not supplant lectures, discussions or other modes of teaching.”
Promote some Strategic Thinking: Prior to beginning a game encourage your students to consider how they will spend their virtual money. This will enable them to think strategically.
Game Modes: Change up the game modes. This also helps keep students from getting bored and allows them to remain engaged.
Have Students Help in Kit Building Having students create their own kits will have them more invested in the learning process. It also allows them to learn through teaching.
Use in Combination with Other Tools: Gimkit integrates well with other educational tools such as Kahoot! You are also integrated with Microsoft Teams, Quizizz, and Google Classroom. Multiple tools can give us a well-formed learning experience.
The Future Of Gimkit
With it being so successful and well-received, Gimkit has a bright future ahead of it. The developers are constantly adding new features and modes, meaning the platform doesn’t become stale or get old. Future developments may be:
Advanced Analytics: More advanced analytics would provide teachers with greater insights into their students’ performance and learning trends.
The New Sentence: Add more tools to collaborate with other users, including group projects and shared kits
Integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS): A seamless integration with popular LMS platforms such as Moodle, Canvas, etc. would allow teachers to use Gimkit with their existing workflows.
Conclusion
Gimkit has changed the means of students to learn interactive, competitive nature and fun of education. Thanks to gamification the ability to play the game, its able to keep the students engaged with both learning and enhance their retention of knowledge. Though there are hurdles to using Gimkit it can be a mobile powerful tool in any educator’s toolbox when implemented thoughtfully. Exciting things are happening in the world of Gimkit, and they’re only going to help shape the future of learning even more.
