Bioman ~ Adding Some Gameplay to the Science Classroom

Free!

Bioman is a website that uses gamification to engage students in scientific learning. To begin, users will need to click a game category from the left of the screen, and games will load. Users can then read a description of the game and, if interested, click its title to play it. As users play a game, they will be presented with different information, options, questions, and challenges that each relate to a specific scientific area. At any time, users can click the “Home” button or click on another game from the left of the screen to exit a game and select a new one.

Bioman also includes quizzes aligned to different disciplines in science. To access them, users can click the “Quizzes” button and choose the topic and quiz they wish to take. Users will then input their name and the quiz will present them with multiple-choice questions to answer. As they do, the quiz will inform users if they were or were not correct.

Finally, teachers can register with the website by clicking the “Teachers” tab on the website. Next, they will be required to enter their email address and password, confirm their email address, and then setup a class. At this point, teachers can assign a specific game for their students to play. When students finish playing their game, they can enter in their teacher’s email, and the website will automatically input their scores to the class page.

Instructional Ideas for Bioman

1. Teachers can assign a game and use the class page to record scores. If students do not earn a specific score, teachers can require students to play the game again until that score is achieved.
2. Teachers can combine a think-pair-share activity with this website. To begin, the “think” will be when teachers assign students a game to play and have them play it. As they play, students can record the principles the game taught, content covered, and areas for future study. After all students have played the game, they progress to the “pair” part of the activity, where they discuss the information they recorded with a partner. Finally, the “share” part is completed by having each pair offer ideas related to the game and information they recorded. As information is shared, teachers can write it on the board.
3. Teachers can pair this website with Quizlet. To do so, teachers can have students create a new flashcard deck in Quizlet and then assign students a game to play from this website. As students play the game, teachers can require them to record and define a specific amount of terms used in the game. Once they are finished playing the game and record the terms in Quizlet, teachers can have students define the terms and then complete the different activities in Quizlet as a way to study them.
4. To assess student learning, teachers can have students complete a quiz about a specific topic included in this website. When finished, students can take a screenshot of their results and email them to their teacher for grading.
5. After taking a quiz, students can write questions for that topic, which were not addressed in the quiz. Students can then send their questions to the teacher, who can create a new quiz based on those questions using the Easy TestMaker. Teachers can then have students take the quiz!

Screenshots of Bioman

Screenshot of Bioman

Screenshot of Bioman