If you know me, you know I can get really passionate about some things, and when I find something I am passionate about, I want everyone to know about it. Last week, we hosted our first Tech Tuesday and had a decent turnout. Three out of four grade levels attended, including the tech director, instructional coach, and our building principal. So, I decided to revisit Blooket (blue-kit) this week, but before I get to that, I want to share that I did a thing. I put myself out there; I shared my blog. Yes, I know the point is for others to read this and to learn something that they can use in his/her own classroom, but y’all, I shared my blog with my colleagues, and they liked it. Now, did they really like it or did they just say that they liked it? I’m not sure, but I am going to go with them. They actually liked it, and it helped them.
Now, I mentioned that when I am passionate about something, I want others to know about it and hear from others who are using the tool. I wanted to know if my grade level was the only one using this amazing tool in our district. Turns out we aren’t! Third-grade, fifth-grade, seventh & eighth-grade science, 9th-11th-grade history, and Junior English all using Blooket. That’s a wide spectrum for one tool. I decided to interview some of these teachers who are using this tool, and then I went two steps further and chose one of my own students and a parent to interview. I changed all of the names to protect the privacy of the interviewees.
Kate
Kate is a 5th-grade teacher. Kate likes Blooket because it is a gamified opportunity for skill practice. It grabs students' attention and is engaging to them. It is easy to use. You can create your own content or use pre-created options from other teachers. Fifth graders like friendly competition in their learning. Blooket is a great tool for vocabulary practice, review games, formative assessments, and math fact fluency. Kate was drawn to Blooket because it is fun, has many options, is user-friendly, and is free. Kate uses Blooket for live practice and for homework assignments. I use it for vocabulary practice, to review skills, and to build confidence in math fact fluency. When asked how often she uses the tool, she said it depends. Once students are more confident with math tasks, I will use it as a way to build fluency with algorithms/strategies. Blooket encourages students to solve problems quicker and pinpoint strategies that help them become more efficient in solving math problems. I use it to practice vocabulary. Kate recommends Blooket to fellow teachers because the students love it. There are many game options to choose from, and it is great for differentiating student interest.
Jessica
Jessica is our Junior High science teacher. Jessica likes using Blooket because she can add her own questions. Her students like Blooket because of the games. Jessica was drawn to Blooket because she was looking for a fun way for students to review for tests. She has the paid version of the site because it allows her to save data from the reviews to assign skills for individual students to practice. Jessica recommends Blooket to others because “Most of my students really appreciate having it as an option for studying. They are very engaged, and it is an excellent way to keep track of who is practicing and where they are at in their learning.”
Dawn
Dawn is a secondary English teacher who likes using Blooket. Dawn states that her favorite part of Blooket is that she can import Quizlets into the website. She can set the kids up to study on their own Quizlet and then use the same concepts in a class competition. She also likes that you can post a Blooket into Google Classroom for students to play independently. Dawn was drawn to Blooket when she saw the secondary history teacher using Blooket during an instructional round. Dawn uses Blooket for vocabulary review once a quarter. Dawn says she would recommend Blooket to a fellow teacher because “It’s fun, novel for the kids and keeps students engaged.”
Jen
Jen is a parent in our district. She has four children and has one in each building. One is in high school, two are in the intermediate, and one is in the primary. Jen has seen her students use Blooket in different settings. This fall, her youngest missed school and could participate in the class Blooket review session while they were two hours away, thanks to the wonders of the internet. She used her mobile hotspot on her cell phone, and her child could connect using her tablet. She states her children like Blooket because it is fun, and they are excited when they get to use it.
Taylor
Taylor is a student in our district. She loves Blooket and is excited when she gets to use the website. Taylor told me that it makes learning fun. She likes to play games. She can answer questions, score points, and sometimes even win! Taylor likes it when we play as a class, but she also likes it when we play independently. Simply stated, "I think it's fun!"
My son is in college, and I have a high school helper in my classroom this year. Both have used Blooket in high school, mostly for review. They both like Blooket as it is fun and the questions are on their screen, whereas with Kahoot! the questions are not on their screen. (They have to select a color/shape to answer, which gets confusing.)
After doing multiple interviews, I am so happy to hear others in my district use this amazing tool. The more I use Blooket, the more I want to do more with it. Next week, we have our review day, followed by an assessment. I want to use Blooket not only as a review tool but also as an assessment tool. I feel like the kids would respond well to it because they love the tool that much.
All in all, Blooket gets a thumbs-up from me. Not only is it suitable for our littles, it is a tool that can be and is being used in multiple grade levels. So, if you still need to give it a chance, I hope these reviews help you take the plunge and try it!
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