View source for Teams increase student motivation

__NOTOC__

Teams bring out the best of both competitive and cooperative behaviour in kids. The Teams feature lets you integrate team-based competition into the flow of your classroom. 

'''Some parts of this video are now out of date. [http://www.screenr.com/embed/VC0s| See here] for a more up-to-date alternative'''


<flashow>http://content.screencast.com/users/Yacapaca/folders/Jing/media/ffcd016c-2938-4018-8405-218f29450c07/bootstrap.swf|quality=high|
bgcolor=#FFFFFF|
width=704|
height=555|
allowscriptaccess=always|
flashvars=thumb=http://content.screencast.com/users/Yacapaca/folders/Jing/media/ffcd016c-2938-4018-8405-218f29450c07/FirstFrame.jpg&content=http://content.screencast.com/users/Yacapaca/folders/Jing/media/ffcd016c-2938-4018-8405-218f29450c07/00000069.swf&width=868&height=714|
allowfullscreen=true|
scale=showall</flashow>



'''FAQ'''

<ol><li><strong>How do I see toggle between team and individual results in the whiteboard?</strong><BR>
There's a button in the bottom left corner of the whiteboard. Teams should appear automatically if there are team results to show, but I had one report of this not happening.</li>
<li><strong>How do I see the average percentage for each team?</strong><BR>
The whiteboard is calibrated across the bottom.</li>
<li><strong>How do I view results based on the best score of each student?</strong><BR>
The whiteboard will respect whatever filters you have set for the Quiz Results page, including first/second/best/all quiz results.</li>
<li><strong>Does the whiteboard update in realtime?</strong><BR>
It updates as soon as quiz results come in. This means that nothing appears until the first quiz is completed. If you want to maximise the effect, set your quiz to only show half the available questions, and then allow the students two or three goes. This way, the board will be constant motion through most of the quiz period - most especially as the fast finishers will be consistently trumped by their more diligent colleagues.</li>
<li><strong>What is the best number of teams?</strong><BR>
The most popular configuration is to group the students into teams of 4 or 5. The number of teams does not seem to matter. Yacapaca will support any team from 2 students to half the class.</li>
<li><strong>How do I keep students in the same teams?</strong><BR>
Any one student set can only have one team configuration. Previous configurations are not remembered. So, don't re-set teams unless you are prepared to lose your previous team results. This is something of a weakness; if teams prove as popular as I hope, I will find a way to improve it.</li>
<li><strong>Can I manually move students between teams?</strong><BR>
Yes, just drag and drop from the Manage screen. Notice how the team strengths will update as you do so.</li>
<li><strong>Can I change team names?</strong><BR>
Yes, and you are encouraged to do so. Just click on the team name in the Mange screen to edit it.</li>
<li><strong>How can I leverage students' motivation to achieve maximum learning?</strong>
<ol><li>Run the quiz at the start of the class, or even as homework before the class.</li>
<li>Place the students physically together in their teams, and give them time to study together. Mentor, but don't teach.</li>
<li>Run the quiz again at the end of the class (<em>not</em> as homework). Award prizes to the winners, and to the biggest improvers. </li></ol></li>
</ol>


'''Tips'''
* offer a prize, even if it's nominal.
* keep the same teams over several quizzes (the system does this by default).
* set the teams in advance, and give teams time to study together.
* engage each team in a debate about the best strategy for winning. It is preferred that they work out for themselves that actively coaching their weaker members will result in the biggest lift in points.
* encourage rivalry.