Technology Connections. Games for Building Community

by Heather Moorefield-Lang and Ida Mae Craddock, June 2021

To create a community of learners who support each other's growth and healing, games are often a light-hearted point of entry. Games are all about creating community. In this column, we focus on digital tools for gaming in an in-person, virtual, or hybrid environment.

Many games in school are directed at acquiring or practicing specific content. This is not that. Below, you will find games for either a virtual or hybrid environment aimed toward creating community—arguably our most important role in this coming year.

Kahoot! — https://kahoot.com

Often used for quizzes, Kahoot! can be used to engage students in classroom discussion or help students get to know each other or highlight community commonalities. For example, questions like "Is cereal a soup?" are both fun enough to create an inside joke and the data is a useful jumping off point for a conversation about constructing effective arguments. Nothing brings students together quite like some healthy competition.

Battleship — http://en.battleship-game.org

A classic strategic game that can be played pairing students together to think about strategy. This would be a great game for math classes to teach if / then statements and in history as an activator for naval stories.

Name that Tune — https://www.youtube.com/c/kidzbop/playlists

It does not matter where you are, playing Name that Tune is always a crowd favorite! Use an easy Kidzbop playlist or your own favorite music source (YouTube, Spotify, or Pandora) to create a custom playlist of tunes. Then, play small snippets of the tune until students guess what it is. Be sure to cue up your playlist in advance and keep your screen hidden so students can't see the titles. KidzBop is a perennial favorite for the K-6 crowd and you will learn a lot about students' musical tastes.

Skribbl.io — https://skribbl.io

This online version of the familiar Pictionary game is best played over video chat because, while there is a guessing box, there is no chat function. The best conversation is verbal and makes for real engagement. You can create a private room, no accounts are necessary, and the vocabulary is strictly G-rated.

Bingo — https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator

Bingo can be played with vocabulary words and definitions. It can also be used to increase engagement and community. Try replacing vocab words with funny things in class. Do the announcements always interrupt the teachers? Put it in a space! Does Mr. Smith down the hall, come to ask why the copier is broken again? Put it in a space! Stay positive, but have fun making a bingo that's all about your learning community.

Assassin

A perennially fun game, Assassin has students die dramatically on camera as the others attempt to figure out who the assassin is. The creativity and laughter generated by the increasingly dramatic virtual deaths is magical and a great way to build community. In its purest form, it can be played both in-person and in a hybrid environment. There are also a host of games that follow the same structure including the popular Among Us (download for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.innersloth.spacemafia) and the browser-based Town of Salem at https://www.blankmediagames.com.

Games can have purpose beyond review or instruction. The games above can be used in a variety of spaces to help students bond together over laughter and shared experiences. As we begin this year where students are recovering from deep trauma, consider using games to build a community of learners and create a supportive, welcoming, friendly place.