This is just a brief copy and paste from an evaluation form I filled in for Buzz: The Schools Quiz.

Issues:

Some questions were very specific to schemes of work that we do not address in Falkirk, and even Scotland.
Some questions were very difficult, some incorrectly worded.

Used:

Mental Maths at the start of Maths sessions. Maths group activity, focusing in on a particular subject area. Writing – use of punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, definitions. General Knowledge quizz at end of day. Choosing activity at Golden Time at end of week.

Outcomes:

Increased confidence amongst pupils. Willingness to participate and cooperate as a group. Increase in willingness to answer questions when not using Buzz. Also used as a reward for those who finish work – so increased motivation to finish work!

Negatives:

Limit to 8 players (with controllers). Difficult to undo any choice made. Some pupils guessing answers immediately rather than giving time to reading and thinking about the answers – no delay in being able to answer.

Student thoughts:

Really inspired by using Buzz! Amazed that they could use a PS2 in school and call it work. Always asking if we can use Buzz! today.

Learning Outcomes:

Increased confidence in their ability. Greater cooperation and better participation with their peers. Reinforcement of knowledge and learning that they have been doing in a subject area.

Additional Comments:

It would be very beneficial if you could save player data or set up a group of players that could be reloaded. Setting up 8 players can take anywhere up to 10 minutes, which limits the pupils time on the actual group. A teacher could set up a group which could be instantly loaded. These groups can be set by ability or other means as the teacher sees fit.