Gamification can serve as a remarkable levering tool for learning. At Teach on Mars, we’re convinced of this and keep it in mind when designing new activities. With Guess What, our aim was to enable our authors to create a multilevel gamified experience.
The overall concept of Guess What’s very simple: every question has one or 4 images and learners type their answers using their keyboards. The game needs to be easy to understand and sufficiently enjoyable in order for it to be multiple times. But it doesn’t stop here! The Guess What game boasts new mechanisms waiting to be explored. Based on the option you choose, you define the outline of your pedagogical activity and offer your learners a brand-new gaming experience.
New mechanisms to explore
The first game option is to choose between 1 and 4 images to add to your question. Depending on the choice you make, you either have a simple visual quiz or a more complex deduction game.
Here’s a list of options to explore:
- 1 image: a “classic” image quiz. A game similar to the Quiz Game, in which learners have to guess and type their answer, instead of choosing from a pre-set list.
- 4 images: a deduction game. A game reminiscent of the 4 Pics, 1 Word app. You show 4 ingredients and learners have to guess the fragrance. You show 4 products and learners have to type the launch year.
- A mixture of questions: the ultimate guessing game. As an introductory activity or final quiz, this configuration offers you even more possibilities.
More innovations
The other major innovation of Guess What are the pre-defined levels of play. At the start of the activity, and according to the settings the author selects, learners can start their game immediately or choose from two or three different levels of play.
Each difficulty level has its own game mechanics:
- The “Easy” level gives learners the number of letters in the answer, as well as the first letter of each word. Keep in mind that the number of points learners can earn is limited.
- The “Intermediate” level also reveals the number of letters in the answer. The intermediate level doesn’t place any limitation on the number of points earned.
- The “Expert” level goes further: learners have no clues to guess the answer and have to try their luck by typing their answer using their keyboard. In exchange, the number of points earned is higher than for other levels.
You can choose whether to provide several levels in your Guess What activity or not, and this isn’t directly linked to your content. Individual questions aren’t associated with a single game level, the level’s activated for all of the questions in your activity. You can decide to choose only one of the three levels and turn the game into a simple and effective pedagogical activity. Or you can up the stakes for “Achiever” profiles, by allowing them to try out different difficulty levels or by challenging them to earn more points if they pass the “Expert” level.
Game modes to match your pedagogical objective
One of the first questions people ask us when designing a new game is, “Do you receive the correct answers?”. With Guess What, we wanted to enable our authors to feel more guided when configuring their game. That’s why Guess What provides two different game modes: “Against-the-clock” for competitive and gamified play and “Retention” mode, for more leisurely experiences, focused on learning and memorising concepts.
What does the choice of game mode imply?
- “Against-the-clock” mode provides a time trial game (like a Quiz game or Scramble game). The correct answers are accessible at the end of the activity to revise and learn from any mistakes.
- “Retention” mode provides a non-timed game with the correct answers accessible after each question. Learners can see their answers as they go and receive an explanation at each stage to facilitate learning and recall.
Guess What…
As you have seen, Guess What’s a metamorphic, multi-potential activity that (we hope) is sure to satisfy your appetite for edutainment. We can’t wait for you to give it a go, and for it to enhance the content of your courses and pathways thanks to the many possibilities it offers:
- Choice of number of images per question
- Choice of one or several difficulty levels
- Choice of game mode: against-the-clock or retention.
Guess What … The new game’s now available in our Mission Centre! If you have questions on how you could best use it for your content, or curious what our UQ coach could mean for your organisation, don’t hesitate to contact us!
