Week 8: Gaming with Genially!

Link to digital escape room template: https://app.genially.com/editor/67cb62429aef34da5e2d6ac5

Example of Interactive Image

Intro

Have you ever wanted to create a game for your students? Have you ever wondered how teachers can create more interactive resources? Do you value hands-on learning in your classroom? Do you want to efficiently and easily create quizzes? Check out Genially! It's a great web-based resource with all of these options and more

Cost/Audience

Genially is free to use. The free plan offers an abundance of features, but if teachers want even more exclusive options, there are plans for $4.99 or 9.99 a month. Genially is also good for all ages. I could see the AI and other more complex and makerspace-focused areas of the resource being ideal for older kids, whereas the games might appeal to younger audiences.

Features

Here are some of the many great educational features Genially offers:

• Interactive Content: With Genially, you can create your own videos and animations without the need for coding! These interactive opportunities are created with "click to explore" technology, which is as simple as it sounds. You can make any picture interactive by adding embedded links to videos, animations, questions, fun facts, and more with just one click!
• Games: Multiple gaming options can make your school library even more fun! There's the option of digital escape rooms, live games and quizzes reminiscent of Kahoot, and other options like countdowns, dice, and randomizers that will help you create teams. 
• Quizzes: With Genially, you can create many different types of quizzes. They could be multiple choice, true or false, open response, timed, or a bit of everything. These quizzes can have images, and you will be able to track your students' progress.
• Audience Engagement: With this feature, librarians can get real time statistics and updates of how their students are interacting with their resources. Through live quizzes, lectures, polls, and Q&As, librarians can connect with their students through the screen.
• AI: With AI, librarians can create voiceovers to make lessons more accessible and can use it as a tool to help create quiz questions or inspiration for games. AI can also be used to edit and rewrite text, remove the background from images, and translate things into other languages. 
• Media Embedding: This allows librarians to embed videos, links, and other online content into one place. 
  
• Class Workspaces: This allows librarians to create online classes where they can group resources together, so everything is in the same place. This helps add efficiency and helps students and librarians keep track of each other.

Accessibility; With the ability to translate words and do voiceovers, Genially takes users of all abilities into account. This could enhance the interactive opportunities, so that even visually impaired or non-English speaking students can participate.

Use in a School Library: Genially has many uses in the school library. I can see librarians using it as a way to engage students. The live games and digital escape rooms can be fun opportunities to go over important library concepts like digital citizenship, copyright, and more. It would be good to do this every so often to check in and assess the students' progress. I can also see librarians making lessons or guides through the interactive content feature. Genially also could serve as a good window into AI, especially if librarians want to ethically introduce that concept to their students.

Conclusion

Genially is a great place for creating your own interactive resources. If you have the urge to format your lessons as games or other interactive experiences, this is your best bet! I would highly recommend this resource :)