Factile is a free learning website that enables teachers to create Jeopardy-style quiz games that can be played in the classroom or remotely using Buzzer Mode. Teachers can create their games from scratch or they can search among thousands of premade game templates to start with.
Teachers have four options in Factile for easily creating Jeopardy-style games. Factile offers (1) an easy-to-use editor for manually creating a game with text, images, videos, sound or equations, (2) a new AI tool called AutoGen for quickly generating questions based on a topic and grade level you provide, (3) an upload feature from Excel or Google Sheets, and finally (4) a new Question Bank feature where teachers can add up to 300 questions and generate multiple games from that Question Bank for those big reviews or more flexibility to create different games from the same Bank.
Factile also provides the option to create flashcards from games and share them with students for individual review and practice.
It’s clear why Factile is called the Ultimate Jeopardy Game maker – Teachers have access to a myriad of customization options, allowing them to play with different Jeopardy rules while adding a personal touch.
For instance, you can add your own mascots, change the game board color, insert background images, insert images and videos to questions and answers, insert math equations into games, add sound effects to enhance engagement, and adjust over 100 Jeopardy game play settings such as timer length, scoring options, buzzer activation options, player display options, sharing options, moderator options, game play options and much much more.
Once the game is ready students can play it in six ways: Factile Jeopardy-style (the classic Jeopardy game style), Multiple Choice, Memory, Quiz Bowl, Interactive Choice, or as Flashcards. Students do not need Factile accounts – if you play in Buzzer Mode the teacher just provides students a PIN to join a game so nice and simple. The teacher can share flashcards or a self-paced Jeopardy-style game with students for them to study on their own.
There are lots of teacher-friendly management options too like the ability to organize games into folders, save or copy public games, integrate with Google Classroom, download answer keys, save in-process games for continuation later, etc.
What is Factile Buzzer Mode?
The Buzzer Mode enables users to ‘buzz’ into a game from a mobile device or computer to create that game show-like experience in the classroom and improve engagement. The teacher starts the game, shares the game PIN with the students and the students join the game using that PIN.
Once in, the students have a mascot to represent them, a virtual buzzer button, and can see the game board with the live question or answer. The teacher can choose to have students answer verbally or to type their answers. One of the great things about Buzzer Mode is that it lets you keep track of which player or team elects to answer a question first and gives your players an easy way to elect to answer a question.
Watch this video to learn more about Buzzer Mode
[VIDEO] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojZIX2cvK2w&t=1s
Factile Game Modes
With Factile, when you create a game you enter 30 questions and answers. From there you can play games in different modes all with the same 30 questions and answers giving you the flexibility to change game types depending on the topic or just to change things up a bit. There are six different game modes that can be played – four are moderated where the teacher runs the game and two are self-paced where the teacher shares a link with students for them to study on their own.
Moderated Game Modes:
1. Factile Mode (Classic Jeopardy-style):
This is the classic moderated gameshow-style game. You will display up to 30 tiles and play by selecting a category and point value with students competing to answer each one (eg “World Oceans for 100”). The student or team with the most points wins!
2. Multiple Choice
Factile games can also be played as Multiple Choice games. Simply open a game for play and click on “Play as Choice”. The gameboard is displayed with up to 30 tiles like in Factile Mode but now students will see a question or clue with three options to choose from. If you use Buzzer Mode, team members will be able to answer questions directly from their devices and earn points.
3. Classic Memory mode
Factile allows you to play games as memory games. Players need to match question and answer tiles. ‘The game board displays numbered tiles and the players select which tile to “flip” and then try to match that tile with its corresponding Question or Answer.’ Players can also use the Q/A Hint button on the right side to help with identifying which cards are question tiles and which are answer tiles.
4. Quiz Bowl:
Factile’s Quiz Bowl is modeled after the popular 1950’s College Bowl game show. Teams first compete for a “Toss-up” question and then the team that answers that correctly has a chance to answer up to three increasingly difficult “Bonus” questions.
Self-paced Game Modes:
5. Interactive Choice mode
The interactive Choice mode enables players to play a multiple choice Jeopardy-style game on their own while the teacher tracks their progress and views performance analytics. Teachers just share a game link and PIN with students and `define a time window during which the game is “open”. This mode is especially useful in distance and asynchronous learning settings where students engage in self-paced review activities. Interactive Choice mode does not require a moderator.
6. Flashcards
Factile games can also be played as Flashcards for quick, repetitive learning. Teachers can share a link with students who can then view the game in flashcard format. Students can mark cards to repeat if there are questions they need more repetition on.
How much does Factile cost?
Factile offers four different plans: a free plan (with no ads) with limited features (e.g., create custom games, share games, play public games, etc), a Home/School Basic plan which costs $48/year and adds Buzzer Mode with some customizations, a Home/School Plus plan for $7.50/month or $72/year that adds teacher collaboration and Question Banks, and a Business Pro plan which costs $9.50/month or $90/year. For all the Pro plans, it is easy to start and stop the plans online.
Final thoughts
Factile stands out as a versatile and user-friendly platform for educators seeking to infuse gamification into their teaching methods, offering a plethora of options for creating engaging, customizable, and interactive learning experiences. Whether it’s through the excitement of a Jeopardy-style quiz, the interactive engagement of Buzzer Mode, or the self-paced study of flashcards, Factile caters to various learning preferences and settings.
The platform’s adaptability extends to remote learning environments, where tools like screen sharing and different game modes ensure that interaction and participation remain high. While the free version offers ample features for classroom enrichment, the reasonably priced Pro accounts unlock a wealth of advanced capabilities, making Factile an excellent tool that fits into the modern, digitally augmented classroom.
