Who wants to be a Smart Student?

When I did my final Teaching Placement last year, which seems so long ago, I was browsing online one night and I came across a link on Facebook which had an interactive game in Filipino. I recognised the game and it was Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The original British version of the show debuted on 4 September 1998, and aired on ITV with Chris Tarrant as its host until 11 February 2014. International variants have aired in around 160 countries worldwide.

I know students at post primary level love games and quizzes and are really engaged with them, so being inspired by the show, I created my own version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ for the classroom with a new name ; Who wants to be a Smart Student?

I downloaded blank templates of the game on Google images and made it an interactive game through a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation with live sound effects from the show which I recorded on YouTube and saved. I even gave the options available on the show – Phone a friend, ask the audience and 50/50, which takes two answers away and leaves two to choose from.

My first one (the prototype as I call it ) was for a First Year History class last year and I based it on Section II Studies of change on the Junior Cycle History Syllabus.

When we finished the topic of the Age of Explorations and Discovery I concluded with a written assessment and then this game on the Friday. This game covered significant points on the syllabus with questions looking at

• Why people wanted new sea routes
• What made the voyages possible
• The main consequences of these voyages
• An account of one exploration
• A particular focus on an explorer (The People in History question ties in with this)

The students loved it and always asked when the next game was. You can download the Who Wants to be a Smart Student prototype game here Millionaire Quiz History 1. I have used this game in Religious Education also and was particularly helpful when I was assessing the students about the Ten Commandments. This interactive game has gone down a treat in every classroom that I have taught in. It is great as an assessment for learning (AFL) tool whether it’s at the end of a term , week or at the end of a topic. Some teachers have used it as a Hot Seat Quiz which works well also.

I have included my game ‘Who Wants to be a Smart Student?’ as a simple, easy to use, FREE resource for you to download and use as much as you like.

Here it is —-> Millionaire Quiz Blank Copy.

All you have to do is edit the game and type your own questions in to test your students. You can make them as difficult or as easy as you like depending on the level of ability in class and it doesn’t take long to make at all which is a bonus! The only suggestion I would have is that sometimes the boxes aren’t big enough for answers so simply click the ‘Insert’ tab on the top of your screen and insert a textbox and write in your answer.

As a prize for any student who gets to One Million, I give out prizes which could range from good notes in their journal, earn points for their class, jellies or homework free tickets. I often let the students know when we will play this game and the students study hard when they know that any one of them could be picked to play and try hard for themselves and their class group.

On a slightly separate note, if any teacher is showing their classes the film Slumdog Millionaire, there is fantastic lesson plans and ideas here to use and it would be useful to use this game ‘Who Wants to be a Smart Student?’ in conjunction with this lesson as a form of assessment as the ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ gameshow features throughout the film.

You can view this game and many other FREE educational tools and resources and various ways to assess students on our lecturer Enda Donlon’s (@donenda ) newly formed website Project 252 which has hundreds of Ed Tech contributions.

For any questions about the game or if you are having an issue setting it up, please let me know via Twitter @5j16MsDignam and I will help in any way that I can. I hope your classroom comes alive with this resource and that you find it useful in teaching, learning and assessing!  🙂

Sources Used

1. Slumdog Millionaire images from www.fanarttv.com and www.channel4.co.uk.
2. No Homework Ticket image from http://www.hooverwebdesign.com
3. Who Wants to be a Millionaire images from http://www.playbuzz.com
4. Idea generated from Who wants to be a Millionaire in Filipino on Facebook via http://www.slideshare.com

DCU Postgraduate Open Evening

Hello everyone and welcome to our class blog, EDRE5S ; Resources in the Curriculum. We are current students in the Religion and Education (Post Primary) Masters programme in Mater Dei Institute of Education. We set up this blog to share our favourite resources,   which we have gathered over the past number of years through Teaching Practice, our studies and our present teaching experiences. We are hoping that we can share our information and learn from one another with various methodologies, resources, strategies, digital learning through a positive, collaborative process here on the blog.

As many of you will know, The DCU Institute of Education has been established through the incorporation of the Church of Ireland College of Education(CICE), Mater Dei Institute of Education (MDI) and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra (SPD), with DCU. The Institute will be located on DCU St Patrick’s Campus (formerly St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra). The new Institute will bring together over 4,500 students of education across all sectors from early childhood, to primary and post-primary and further education and training. This incorporation heralds a new era for education in Ireland, by creating the largest critical mass of teacher education expertise on this island across the full continuum from Early Childhood through Primary and Secondary to third and fourth Level. The new Institute of Education will be of national and international significance and will conduct pioneering research in priority areas for 21st century education. For more information on the DCU Incorporation process, click here.

I felt it was important to mention that this coming Tuesday evening, the 23rd of February, DCU Institute of Education is hosting a Postgraduate open evening. You can avail of this Postgraduate programme that we are currently doing, which is grounded in research methodology and contemporary issues in Education and Religious Education. The programme is primarily aimed at those second level teachers interested in ongoing professional development in education, mentoring and leadership, religious education and digital pedagogy in second-level schools. This degree is available as a one year full-time or two year part time programme.

On Tuesday evening, various programme representatives will be available to discuss your study needs, the course that suits you and show you around the campus.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 23, 2016 – 16:00 to 20:00
Which campus?:	St Patrick’s Drumcondra
Venue:	Library Foyer
Is registration required?:	Yes
Registration Link:	Click here to register for the event
Free of charge or ticket price:	Free
Target Audience:	All Welcome

You can find more information on Postgraduate programmes here.

For more information please feel free to contact:  Nuala.Byrne@dcu.ie