Youth workers and educators can use games and social tools for different purposes such as course management and group communication, for mind-mapping and brainstorming, for creative repetition, for programming or also for evaluation of progress and access learning. Let´s see some examples.
Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy to create, share and play learning games or trivia quizzes in minutes. Thanks to Kahoot! youth workers can evaluate the youngster` knowledge on different topics through a series of multiple choice questions. The format and number of questions is up to the creators, and also it´s possible for them to add images, diagrams and videos that can amplify youth engagement. After such a game, youth workers can also encourage youngsters to create and share their own Kahoot! on the same or different topic. Kahoot! can be also play in teams, where each team can share a phone, tablet or laptop. The Kahoot! team mood can help youth develop their collaboration skills, teamwork, leadership skills and good communication while having fun.
Mindomo – Mind maps can be used effectively in non-formal education, either by individuals or by teams working on the same mind maps. Through mind mapping, youth workers can guide youngsters not only to master a great variety of concepts, but to develop essential learning and thinking skills: generating new ideas, synthesizing and structuring information, problem-solving, decision-making, using evidence to support claims, accurate planning. Therefore, a good way for youth workers to create mind maps is with the help of a digital tool such as Mindomo. Mindomo is an online, web based mind mapping tool, featuring functionality only found in the most advanced mind-mapping applications. Accessing Mindomo can be as easy as opening any modern web browser when you have an Internet connection. Mindomo can be used to organize brainstorming results to build up a mind map of topics to develop and study as well as can help youth workers to create lesson plans and gather research materials.
Moodle is a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments. Thanks to Moodle, youth workers can create their own e-learning courses and engage their target groups. Moodle can be scaled to support the needs of both small groups or large organizations. It is web-based and so can be accessed from anywhere in the world. With a default mobile-compatible interface and cross-browser compatibility, content on the Moodle platform is easily accessible and consistent across different web browsers and devices. Moreover, youth workers can communicate via messaging, forums and mobile notifications with the youngsters as well as monitor their progress easily.