by Leslie Rupp, Teacher at Central Pennsylvania Digital Learning Foundation
Social distancing doesn’t have to mean that playing games with each other is a thing of the past! Learners do not have to be isolated and bored even through quarantine. Playing is still how we learn, even if we aren’t together face-to-face. Games are still very engaging virtually! Get your learners and their families more involved with education by playing online games.
Make a Game Night
Choose an educational game to include in your family’s game night. For instance, in my own family, the holidays typically meant that we played old fashioned board games such as Trivial Pursuit or Cranium. This past year, even though we could not be together physically due to the pandemic, my family met in a Zoom meeting and played a number of web-based games that brought about much laughter and learning. My brother, who is a brick and mortar turned temporary virtual teacher in Maryland, showed us how to play JACKBOX Games. He has downloaded the paid-for app and gave us a code to play. We played Drawful, which reminded us of old school Pictionary and Fibbage. We had so much fun we didn’t realize we had been on Zoom for over 2 hours!
Image in Public Domain from publicdomainvectors.com
What’s Out There
There are a plethora of Jackbox Games that are entertaining and educational for a low cost. There are also many NO COST games that can be played during virtual meetings, such as Gimkit, Kahoot, and Quizizz.
Check out more ideas for games you can play in a Virtual Meeting!
11 Fun Zoom Games & Activities for Secondary Students
20 Fun Zoom Games For Kids
12 Free Multiplayer Online & Zoom Games To Play With Your Friends And Family
Try out some games on your own! You can play solo games on any one of these platforms.
Screenshot from Jackbox Games
Involve the Family
Invite your learners’ family members to participate in the fun, too! Email game links to them, or include the game links in your weekly newsletter. Show them how they can create games, also! Let them play along and build connections!
Image in Public Domain from Pixabay.com
Leslie Rupp teaches English and History at the Central Pennsylvania Digital Learning Foundation (CPDLF), which is a public, online charter school for students in the state of Pennsylvania. Leslie also works as a Learning Guide, supporting online learners along their educational journey.