Regardless of how long you’ve been teaching. You’ll know how important it is to capture your students’ attention right when you begin a lesson. For virtual classes, the games that might engage your student and keep them interested would be different. Therefore, In this guide, we will explore Games For Zoom Classes.
It is our hope to help you make your Zoom classes less boring, more engaging, and, yet very impactful.
Why Are Games Important?
Playing games is important for adults too! Games for adults are a fun way for the adult to fuel their “imagination, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional well-being.” It was also found in the British Medical Journal that playing games, particularly board games, is a “relevant way to preserve cognition and to prevent cognitive decline or dementia.”
Additionally, “other stimulating leisure activities like reading, traveling, gardening, doing odd jobs or playing sports do not offer the same advantages and ease of practice as games. This is why games are still very necessary.
The CAP Coordinators find this true as they have talked to many mentors who have enjoyed learning new games with their mentees and relay that they learn new ideas all the time and feel like their time is so good for their overall well-being and did not expect that benefit!
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Do Playing Games Improve Learning?
Learning is becoming increasingly global these days, and it is gaining momentum. Technology plays an important role in modern teaching methods. Technology is used in modern education to impart knowledge. Students and educators have both been affected by the growing use of digital games and applied sciences in learning environments.
Game-Based Learning (GBL) is an effective method for improving both teaching and learning. Adding games to your lesson plan is all it takes. Teaching large groups of students with differing personalities, abilities, and learning preferences are one of the biggest challenges for educators. In an era where everything is digital, students can expect a variety of activities, rewards, surprises, and humor to stay interested in what they are studying.
Today, one of the main challenges is capturing learners’ attention and engaging them in the learning process. Education is not just about memorizing facts. Through an effective learning process, students will be able to gain real-life skills and knowledge, not just information about learning.
As a result of game-based learning, you retain more knowledge and skills than any other method. You can only learn effectively if you are fully engaged in your learning process. To make learning effective, game-based learning requires games that are well designed and have well-implemented learning tasks.
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Importance of Games In Improving Learning
An educational game that is well designed could combine educational objectives with the fun of a commercial game or a custom-built game. Self-learning and problem-solving skills can be greatly enhanced by games designed specifically to educate children.
Introducing subject matter into games is what is meant by game-based learning. There is something to be learned from any type of game, whether it is something casual or something more serious. In the learning process, there are three ways to incorporate games and activities.
Learning games are designed and developed by students to meet their individual learning needs; second, educators, trainers, or developers create educational games on their own to meet learners’ knowledge levels; and third, prefabricated commercial games are integrated into the classroom activities for effective learning.
Students work together, communicate, interact, and collaborate in teams through Game-Based Learning. The brain is stimulated with strategic games. Gamification creates an engaging dynamic that can inspire learners to develop skills and make a connection emotionally to learning.
Students can be taught using customized games, assisting them to become more confident and independent thinkers. Games-based learning is characterized by the fact that students receive immediate feedback on their performance, along with suggestions for improvement.
Adapting an educational model to in-game dynamics can be a challenge when implementing a Game-based Learning approach. Both the objectives and the curriculum must be met.
Modern education has shifted its focus from lectures to games. Games have become an essential element of learning. Having mastery of the basic skills of reading and writing is not enough to integrate well into contemporary society.
Learning new approaches to achieve goals and objectives through interactive learning is a benefit of this method. The latest trends in game-based learning are expected to boost students’ knowledge and skills, as well as their learning efficiency.
30 Games For Zoom Classes
1. The A-Z Game
This fun alphabet game requires students to come up with as many words as they can relating to the assigned topic – 1 word for each letter of the alphabet if they can. For instance- The topic of fruit- A: Apple B: Banana C: Cherry D: Dragon fruit etc.
2. Zoomed in Picture Guessing Game
Then, have the class guess what the zoomed-in photos are off by writing down their guesses. After all of the photos have been displayed and all guesses recorded, invite your students to share their answers. If your students guess the most correctly, they win!
3. Hangman
Let’s kick this off with a simple game – Hangman! In this game, one player tries to come up with a word and indicates how many letters it is made up of, while another player or player guesses the letters. Whenever a player guesses a wrong letter, they draw one part of the hanging man away from them, which increases their chances of losing. This game can be played online or on a board.
4.. t-Home Scavenger Hunt
Students should be given a list of items to find and allocated a timeframe for finding them. Students should share their findings with the class after returning to their seats at the end of the time. With its fun, movement-based learning, this ZOOM scavenger hunt is perfect for young learners.
5. Charades
Charades is played by acting something out, without using words, and having the students guess what you are or what you are acting out. It is the perfect game to review vocabulary or concepts learned in the previous lesson.
6. Simon Says
A great way to check if your students are awake and listening are to play this game. It can be incorporated into the study phase of a class to test students’ understanding of body parts, for example, if a lesson had dealt with this.
It also doesn’t need to be directly linked to the content of the lesson, and can just be a fun way to wake up your class by saying “Simon says shake your hands in the air” and “Simon says jump up and down” for example. The class would follow the instructions shouted by “Simon” who is the teacher.
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7. Sharks and Fish
Students are paired off with one being a shark and the other a fish. The fish should follow the shark around and imitate their actions. This is a great game when wanting to give your learners a brain break and a chance to have some fun in class.
8. Freeze Dance
To give your learners a fun and silly experience, play a song and tell them to dance and freeze when the music pauses. If students do not remain frozen while the music is paused, they will be disqualified. Engage your learners in a dance competition and encourage them to think of the most creative moves!
9. Finish the Story
This game helps students stretch their imaginations to the fullest. Using the whiteboard feature, the teacher can write a sentence on the screen to begin a story. After the teacher has given a hint, the student finishes the sentence. The next player must complete the sentence before starting their own.
10. Tic-Tac-Toe
With pairs of students, play this classic game. Each student must create a row of their assigned symbol in either a vertical, diagonal, or horizontal direction. Whoever wins, gets to go up against a new opponent. With this beautiful wooden tic-tac-toe board, you can play it for free online or face-to-face.
11. Odd One Out
The game can be used to identify words that don’t fit into a certain category, such as. Among the four categories, banana, apple, hat, and peach, “hat” is the odd one out as it is a fruit and clothing falls under the clothing category. It is sure to get your class thinking about the reasons something does not belong and is classified as the odd one out.
12. Logo Quiz
The logos of various companies are the basis for this trivia game. Students can play it during fun breaks in class. Even students who are unfamiliar with logos could use their mobile devices to search for them.
13. Would you Rather (Kid version)
Give your students two options and ask them which one they would prefer. Learning how to think critically and argue is possible through this type of game. Putting quick games such as these into your weekly lesson plans will allow you to use them in the future.
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14. Two Truths and a Lie
New groups can play this game as a means of building teamwork. It involves each student telling two truths and one lie about themselves and letting the class guess which statement is false.
15. Pictionary
Besides being used in the classroom, Pictionary can also be played in groups. Each team has one student draw the given object on the screen while the others guess what they are drawing. Students who guess correctly are given the opportunity to draw next. There is even a drawing site where students can play Pictionary online – how fun!
16. Top 5
Compared to Family Feud, Top 5 is the ideal online classroom game. Each category is introduced by the teacher. Then, students are given a specified period of time to come up with 5 of the most popular answers that are relevant to the category. Thereafter, the teacher reads out the 5 most popular answers, and the students who chose those answers receive points.
17. Mad Libs
Mad Libs is an old-fashioned word game in which students are required to give a part of a speech according to the prompt left in the story. It’s a great idea for the teacher to write the words down and read out the story at the end! Come up with your own to find out how hilarious some of these stories can be!
18. Rock Paper Scissors
Another familiar game is Rock, Paper, Scissors, which is also easily adapted to be used in the current ZOOM classes. For your convenience, we have linked an online version so that you can play online with your students.
19. Guess the Sound
Play this game with your students and they will love it! By doing this students are motivated to learn and their listening skills are improved. Then, at the end of the tape, have your students share their answers as to what the sound is.
20. Where in The World
Geo Guesser allows students to review concepts related to different regions across the globe in an online game designed for older students. Students are required to make a selection between a real answer and a fake answer.
21. Boggle
By playing a classic word game, students can enhance their virtual learning experience by playing Boggle. By connecting adjacent letters, students can form words. Longer words score higher.
22. I Spy
By playing this simple game, students are able to practice their vocabulary and observation skills. It is a game where the students each say I spy…, after which they either say the first letter or the color of a random object. Afterward, the other students try to guess what the item is, and the first person to correctly guess wins.
23. Word-Association Games
Assign each student a word and ask them to describe what that word means to them, for instance, sunny, beach, ice-cream, holiday, hotel, etc. Introducing new concepts through this game is the perfect way to begin a lesson.
You can also use it to determine your student’s pre-existing knowledge of the subject matter and the amount of studying required. Play a word association card game for free online.
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24. The Name Game
You can use this quiz game at the end of class to evaluate your students’ understanding of concepts. Ask your students to add three more names to the digital whiteboard that pertain to what was studied that day.
25. Jeopardy
There is no better way to design subject-related trivia questions than with this Jeopardy creator. Ask your students to fill in the blanks, answer questions, unscramble sentences, and determine whether or not statements are true or false
26. What’s the Question
Make the students guess which question the answer is by writing the answers on the board. This is a fantastic game to use in a class on question forms. Any topic and age group can be used with it.
27. Whose Weekend
Monday morning is a great time to play this game! As part of this game, students write down what they did over the weekend and send a private message to their teacher. A teacher then reads out the messages one by one and students guess what each person did over the weekend.
28. Kahoot!
Kahoot is a fun multiple-choice quiz game that can be used in the classroom. Teachers can use this computer-based learning game to grade-specific levels and topics according to their specifications.
29. Heads or Tails
Students can stand up to choose heads or tails. Should the coin land on heads, the students who chose heads will remain standing. If the coin lands on tails, the student is disqualified. Flip the coin again until only one person remains.
30. Compound Word Quiz
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While you teach grammar, keep your learners engaged by using a game-based approach to teaching compound words and phrases. Ask your students to create their own compound words for this fun word game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zoom Free?
Zoom offers a free limited plan that is very basic. One-to-one meetings are free for 2 hours. A paid-for account is required for video communications between a large number of people for a certain period of time.
How do you Make a Virtual Meeting/Class Fun?
Spend some time getting to know someone you’ve just met. Meetings with unfamiliar people and possible new platforms are made more comfortable when participants feel comfortable. Facilitating interesting discussions and asking questions are two other ways to get people talking. Don’t forget to add a fun element by playing games!
What Games Can you Play on Zoom?
A Zoom-based classroom can easily accommodate most games. Games such as Pictionary and Charades, which require student interaction, work well and can easily be used to enhance a lesson.
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Conclusion
Zoom meetings can get boring if a lot of the conversations are one-sided or when a report reading becomes long. In hosting long meetings, you can use some of these games for zoom classes to keep everyone active and interested.
References
- WeareTeachers – 20 Fun Zoom Games for Kids
- MarieClaire – The 28 Best Games to Play on Zoom Right Now
- EverythingMom – 15 Educational Games to Play on Zoom with Students
