Online “Learning” Games. Are They Effective?

There are many online games, such as Kahoot, that promise to make learning fun. Many of these games are used in classes at Blake, although not all are effective. “Honestly, I think these apps are overhyped and overused. They are good but you don't learn much,” said Elise Matney, a 6th-grade student.

In this article, I have reviewed the top five most used learning games, Kahoot, Blooket, Gimkit, Quizziz, and Quizlet. Each review contains the pros and cons of the game, as well as ratings. These ratings come from a survey with 34 responses from 6th and 7th graders.

Kahoot

Overall: 3.5 stars

Fun: 3.3 stars

Learning Effectiveness: 3.8 stars

Pros

It has a good balance of learning and fun. Students mostly look at the same screen, not individual laptops, which fuels connection while also enabling competition. There are multiple game modes, but not so many that it becomes hard to decide which to play. Players give feedback to the host through a survey at the end of the game.

Cons

It is restricted with its question options unless you have a paid subscription.

Blooket

Overall: 3.8 stars

Fun: 3.9 stars

Learning Effectiveness: 3.4

Pros

It’s very fun. You can earn points in each game, which can be used to customize your account. These points make students want to keep playing. You can play by yourself/solo.

Cons

Because it is more of a video game, it can sometimes distract you from learning the material.

Gimkit

Overall: 3.8 stars

Fun: 4 stars

Learning Effectiveness: 3.5

Pros

Same as Blooket. The teacher/host can play too.

Cons

Same as Blooket. It doesn’t have a solo mode, like Blooket.

Quizizz

Overall: 3.7 stars

Fun: 3.3 stars

Learning Effectiveness: 3.9 stars

Pros

It focuses only on the material you’re supposed to learn. It gives good feedback on which questions you got wrong.

Cons

It’s less fun than other options. It has less competition than other options. It only has one game option. It is restricted with its question options unless you have a paid subscription.

Quizlet

Overall: 3.5 stars

Fun: 3 stars

Learning Effectiveness: 4 stars

Pros

It is very learning-based. It allows different methods of learning, such as talking with a chatbot, having a “test” about the terms, and more. These are different than the game modes of the other games, which are all the same method of learning, through fun and games. There is a small amount of competition in the “matching” game, which makes the game more fun, while not distracting from the learning material. You can upload sets to other programs, such as Gimkit.

Cons

It isn’t very fun. It doesn’t have multiple-choice questions, just terms and definitions.

Overall, these games are very similar. The best game for learning material is Quizlet, while the most fun games are Gimkit and Blooket. Kahoot is in the middle for both categories, which makes it a good option for classrooms. Nothing particular stands out from Quizizz, but it’s still a fine game for reviewing material. None of these games replace a teacher and are best used for reviewing and studying material you already know.

The information in this article comes from a survey with 34 responses.