Podcast Reflection #4: iQuiz

I listened to this podcast from Learning in Hand by Tory Vincent. It is a really interesting video that is full of information on an ipod app that is called iQuiz. It is only 99 cents, its a game which students will love, and it is educational. There are many pros and cons to this app that I would like to share. First, it is an app that you can use as a teacher to make quizzes for students but is also a game so the students will enjoy it. It is already installed on the newest ipod nanos so you don't even have to buy it! It has graphics, music, and gives statistics on a students individual level. It is a multiple choice quiz or you can make them True/False questions. One of the benefits of this is if the  answer is false, at the end of the game it will explain why it is false so the students learn the correct answers and why. All of this can be done on a Mac or Windows computer that will allow teachers to make the quizzes, put in the correct answers, and give explanations for wrong answers or false answers. You can change the fonts, colors, and backgrounds to make it more fun for your students. Also, the winning and losing message is adjustable so you can put in anything you would like for motivation and praise. Now, this sounds like a great app and I believe it is but there are a number of drawbacks. First, the only ipods that can use this game is the 5th generation and newer. Since it is a video based game the ipod must have the video option. Also, the game has a timer on each question so you must answer it in a certain amount of time or you miss the question. The timer cannot be turned off or slowed down which is a drawback to the educational purposes. The game iQuiz drains the ipod battery very quickly. The biggest drawback to iQuiz is if a student brings their ipod to school and syncs it with the schools iTunes they can access all of the quizzes saved. Now, once they go home and connect it to their library it will be deleted but it is still not a good thing for they students to be able to access them ahead of time.

iQuiz has some really cool options and could be beneficial to some students but you have to be careful with this game as well. If you would like to get quizzes from other people there is a website that you can go to, http://iquizshare.com/ and it has quizzes that can be edited to fit your students. I would recommend looking into this app for your students or children to play with but keep in mind its drawbacks.