Marvel, Gimkit & Empatico are absolutely, well…Marvel-ous!
Three tools for cooking up engagement at the end of the year
Spring is in the air and students can finally get outside and be kids. Even big kids (like yours truly) have trouble sitting inside for too long. Add in a dash of standardized tests and a sprinkle of final projects and a looming end of the year, and things can get raucous in the classroom. I know mine did! Sometimes a novel learning tool can be just the recipe needed to engage students in a kettle of bubbling, end-of-year stew!
Let’s take a look at three new & very different tools that leverage the 4-C’s to engage students.
1 — Gimkit is an online game show tool that has been described as Kahoot on steroids. It fosters collaboration and critical thinking and geared towards students that can navigate the web independently.
2 — Marvel is a tool for prototyping apps and inspires creativity and critical thinking in students grades three and up.
3 — Empatico pairs your elementary students with a partner classroom for the ultimate in collaboration, communication and critical thinking activities while experiencing empathy for others.
Gimkit is a game show for the classroom that requires knowledge, collaboration, and strategy to win. It was developed by Josh Feinsilber (@JoshGimkit) when he was a Jr. in High School. This video gives a good overview and demo. The first five kits are free.
If using Gimkit for formative assessments, the app generates a report detailing what your class needs help on. Individual reports allow you to help specific students as well. (Interested in other similar gameified digital learning tools? Check out the podcast from Vicki Davis — Cool Cat Teacher and Jon Corippo @jcorippo.)
Gimkit has several interesting features in addition to the game. You can use it for asynchronous assignments which are automatically graded. There is a group-work feature that allows students to contribute their own questions. And, it allows you to import any of the existing 200 million Quizlet sets with only a few clicks or search and reuse Kits made by other Gimkit users.
Marvel is a unique prototyping tool that lends itself to creativity in every classroom. This web tool and app (free for one user with one project) allows students of all ages and any discipline to creatively learn and share. It is designed to be an app to prototype other apps and empowers students to design an app without the cost, knowledge, or work of writing code. It can also be used in a multitude of other ways in the classroom.
Student steps to project creation:
- Design a layout for each screen on the app, digitally or on paper
- Add them into the app
- Easily create links from one screen to the next
- Share the code with other students to view and interact with on the web or in the app
Empatico empowers teachers and students to explore the world through experiences that spark curiosity, kindness, and empathy. The free tool connects classrooms around the world and combines live video with activities designed to foster meaningful connections among students ages 6–11.
It is easy to get started. Just set up a free account, select a few pre-planned activities you would like to do with your partner class. Then indicate your when your class is available to meet and Empatico will auto-match you with another class!
A few of the premade activities to do with your partner class include; School Tour, Ways We Play, Community Cartographers, Weather out the Window, Everyday Energy, Festivals Around the World and Folktales to Learn From.
The end of the school year can be a challenge, but with the right ingredients, a dash of novelty, and a heaping helping of the 4-C’s, it also can be a great time for learning.
We can be found on Facebook and Twitter and you can comment below. Follow along with the hashtag #Innovate624 and let us know what tools are cooking in your classroom this spring!
