Top Ways to Celebrate Game Show Month

July is game show month!

How did the summer month get to have this illustrious title? Well, July tends to be a month that is traditionally...nontraditional. Employees are on vacations, there are a lot of new hires gearing up for the next quarter, the office can be very busy or it can seem very slow. . . so it's a great time to utilize game shows to engage, motivate and train.

So what are some ways you can celebrate game show month?

• Play our game of the month: The Game Show Blitz, and test your knowledge of game shows past and present.
• Organize a game show tournament that runs through multiple training modules and days. Display a leader board in the office or training room to keep competition going.
• Bring your classroom game show online or into your webinar with QuizPoint and AllPlay Web
• Incorporate videos, pictures and your own sounds into your game show for a highly visual, highly sensory multimedia experience.
  
• Download our latest version of Gameshow Pro v4 with 10 new game board designs.
• Try a new game show format--Gameshow Pro alone has 6 different styles. Varying the game play can add freshness to a classroom game show.
• Have trainees create their own questions as part of a mid-training review, then use them in the game show to review.
  
• Catch up on game show hosting tips in our comprehensive learning center.
• Use a Classroom Feud-style game show to preview content and generate curiosity around a topic.
  
• Join our Facebook Fan Page for frequent, exclusive tips and updates.
• Get ready for our beta version of Gameshow Pro v5--coming in late summer!

Individual Assessment vs. Team Play

We've talked quite a bit about the strength and appeal of team competition in game shows. However, there are times when individual play may be more appropriate--even in a training setting.

Team Play:
• Allows contestants to be "safe"
• Enables trainees to learn from their peers
• Utilizes competition to add energy to the room
• Allows a trainer to get a general sense of group progress/review en masse, etc.

Individual Play:
• Allows a game show to become a less-stressful assessment tool
• Illuminates individual knowledge gaps
• Caters to those who may be opposed to team play

However, there's a third "blended" approach--team play with audience-response pads--that allows you to both group people on teams, and individually assess them. This mixed approach combines the competitive elements and the supportive environment of a team with the specific assessment element that appeals to the accountability of learning management systems.

1. Find a program that can accommodate the blended individual/team approach--like AllPlay or our upcoming release of Gameshow Pro (version 5)--with individual keypads and team gameplay.
2. Assign keypads to individuals. Usually this can be done beforehand, or you can do this when students are in-classroom.
3. You can either assign students to teams, let them assign themselves, or split the room once students are seated. We recommend seating teams apart from each other so correct answers don't get "passed around". There's still a team cohesion even though team members may not be close in proximity.

Each individual's answer will go to their team's score--the final tally being the total percentage of correct answers per team. On the back end, you can also track individual responses by keypad, but during gameplay, responses can remain anonymous to give the experience of a safe, fun learning environment.