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JogNog Study Games

By Ken Roberts

Posted on 2012-09-25

JogNog

JogNog is an educational game site which engages students in test preparation in a fun, lively way. “This is crazy….it’s really fun but you’re also learning!” exclaimed one player. Students enter an ancient city and are challenged to “build towers” by correctly answering a series of test preparation questions in a limited amount of time. The game is enhanced by cool sound effects and visuals that may appeal to fans of video games. Players are given the chance to re-take the challenge until mastery and they “complete the tower”. At that point, they may alert a parent or teacher, via email, and request a form of “compliment” in return. One suggested compliment is “a special dessert”. Questions for the quiz towers are often aligned to textbooks or standardized state tests which cover a core curriculum. For example, one tower prepares students for the eighth grade science component of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Other towers cover mathematics and language arts at levels ranging from elementary to high school. One versatile feature of JogNog is the ability for teachers to write their own towers. Questions may be written for a particular textbook or pulled from existing towers. After completing a unit of study, teachers may even challenge students to work in groups to write and edit their own tower of questions to be played by the class. Student feedback on this site has been very positive. Working at their own pace, students gain confidence as they practice answering multiple-choice questions under time constraints. The ability to access JogNog on mobile devices such as the iPhone allows students to get valuable test preparation on-the-go. This is an appealing alternative to test preparation booklets for many students. Teachers also benefit by using valuable class time to prepare the class for the hands-on or open-ended writing portion of state assessments. For teachers looking for a fun, interactive way to help students review the core curriculum, this product is an excellent choice.

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