Quizzes

BrainPOP quiz site (Source: Screen capture from BrainPOP, www.brainpop.com)

Quizzes are pedagogically similar to drills in that they are based on a behaviourist approach of mastery through repetition, and they are thus aligned with web 1.0. However, they may be more motivating than drills as they frequently incorporate an element of scoring or competition, and they may even take the form of puzzles (such as hangman, crosswords, or worth sleuths) or simple games (where gamification elements have been overlaid on traditional learning activities). Quizzes, puzzles and simple games may incorporate multimedia elements, and they generally involve some limited weak interaction (that is, student-machine rather than student-student interaction, as defined by Lindsay Clandfield and Jill Hadfield).

A quick online search will turn up a large number of websites containing educational quizzes, puzzles and simple games; many of these now charge a subscription fee, though some provide a certain amount of access for free. You might like to check out the free materials on language sites like 20Q and Dave’s ESL Cafe, or maths and science sites like GeoGebra and Shodor. Some of these, and many similar services, are now available in the form of mobile apps.

While they are underpinned by behaviourism and are web 1.0 in nature, quizzes, puzzles and simple games could conceivably be employed as part of a more complex guided discovery approach to learning. If, on the other hand, students are asked to create revision quizzes, puzzles or simple games for each other using one of the many free quiz creation services (such as Armored Penguin, EdApp, Hot Potatoes, Puzzlemaker, Quizlet or Quiz Maker, which range from simple older tools to more sophisticated newer ones), this will introduce a more constructivist approach. Note that complex, collaborative games, which are more web 2.0 in nature, are discussed on the main gaming page.