Have the Students Make It
I’m a big fan of Catlin Tucker. In one of her blog posts she asks the question “Who is doing the work in your classroom?” Teaching responsibility and creating leaders starts with giving students responsibilities and having them make decisions. Instead of you staying after school creating a Quizizz game for students to practice, as Tucker says, “Have the students do it!”
Quizizz
We know gamification works. Students do get excited to do a Quizizz. It’s just multiple choice questions in a game format, but you will see high fives and cheering. Something you almost never see from filling out a worksheet, despite it being the same questions. Kahoot is similar to Quizizz; mix it up and try a variety of platforms for students to create activities with.
Have students sign up either with an email or their Google account.
When creating an account they will indicate that they are a student.
Quizizz privacy policy allows for students under the age of 13 to create an account.
And after signing up as a student, Quizizz asks “What will you teach today!” Student empowerment for the win!
Create a Quiz
In the menu on the left hand side is the option to “Create a Quiz.” Warning: Quiz creation is not supported from a mobile device or tablet.
Add Questions
It is very easy to create questions in Quizizz. Simply type the question and answer choices. On the left hand side is a button to add a new question. If the students already have the questions planned out, creating a Quizizz can be done in minutes.
Shareable Link
When students click “Finish” they have to option to get a shareable link. This is NOT the link to take the quiz. It is the link to share with another creator to allow them to make a copy for themselves. Have students submit this link to you! A Google Form is a great way to collect this link, then you can have a spreadsheet with student created activities. Also, keep using the same Form every year so you have an ongoing list!
Take Each Other’s Quizizz’s
For students to take each other’s Quizizz’s they need to click on the “Homework” button. (I will refrain from ranting about how it should be called independent practice rather than homework.) Students will find the big green button that says “Homework” and click on it.
Change the Due Date!
The next screen asks the student to set a due date for their quiz. I learned the hard way that if you hastily set up a Quizizz and have an “oops” about the due date… you’re kinda stuck. It ends the quiz with no way to extend the due date. Make sure students choose a due date that gives classmates, including those who are absent, enough time to complete the activity. My mindset is to select the last possible option for a due date to give maximum time.
Game Code
As my 5 year old always says “easy peasy lemon squeezy.” The kids just need to share the game code. No student links required.
Joining a Game
Post the join link for students (which is generic for all Quizizz quizzes). Students just type the join code and they are in!
Share the Game Code
A low tech way to share the code is to have students write it on 5 post-it notes and put them on 5 student desks. Or just write them on the whiteboard.
Another way to share is to use a Google Form to collect the game codes and share the link to the spreadsheet with the list of codes on it. Or create a collaborative Google Slides presentation and have each student add a slide with the game code.
Use a Padlet to have students share their game codes.
Google Classroom users can use the “Create a question” option. Leave ON “Students can reply to each other.” Ask students to create a Quizizz and their game code is the answer to the question.
Students will be able to see the responses of game codes of other students, thus able to easily play their peers games. Peers can reply back with how they performed on that peer’s quiz.
QuickShare Screenshot
If your students are using Chromebooks and can install the Quickshare Screenshot Chrome extension they can take screenshots of their score for the peer Quizizz’s. The link to the screenshot is automagically copied to the clipboard allowing students to simply paste (Control V) their evidence.
Pull Student Questions
If you had the students share with you the “shareable link” you can use those activities to create your own Quizizz based on student created questions. So after practicing the Quizizz’s of peers the students can take your Quizizz.
Bonus: Students Make Meme Sets
Allow students to create create meme sets in Quizizz to allow for some fun personalization. In the Quizizz menu is an option for “memes.”
