Ice-Breaker Tuesday: Virtual Trivia Bonanza: Unleash Your Knowledge!

Are you and your students ready for a brain-teasing challenge? Join us in this virtual trivia bonanza where participants will showcase their knowledge, enjoy friendly competition, and gain insight into the course content. Whether you're looking for an interesting way to engage with course content or foster a sense of community between online learners, this Virtual Trivia Bonanza is the perfect activity! So, gather your friends and get ready to test your skills against each other in this thrilling game. 

This interactive ice-breaker activity aims to engage participants in an asynchronous online course by challenging their knowledge and fostering friendly competition through an exciting virtual trivia game.

Instructions:
1. Announce the activity: Send a course-wide announcement or post in an introduction Module explaining the ice-breaker activity. Provide clear instructions and a suggested timeline for participation.

2. Set the rules: Share the following guidelines with participants:
- Participants will compete in a virtual trivia game.
- The game will consist of a series of multiple-choice questions related to the course topic or general knowledge.
- Participants will have a set time limit to submit their answers for each question.
- Encourage participants to refrain from searching the internet for answers and rely on their own knowledge.

3. Select the trivia questions: Prepare a set of trivia questions related to the course topic or general knowledge. Ensure a mix of difficulty levels to cater to participants with varying levels of expertise. Aim for a total of 10-15 questions.

4. Designate a platform: Choose a platform for participants to submit their answers asynchronously. I would recommend using your LMS quizzing tool so that you can include a timer and also be able to tell how long students took to complete the entire quiz (and how long they spent on each question. You might also consider using a third party tool like Kahoot. Make sure the platform allows participants to input their answers privately. 

5. Start the trivia game: Post the first question on the designated platform, along with the options for participants to choose from. Clearly state the deadline for submitting their answers.

6. Answer submission: Participants will submit their answers privately within the designated platform, ensuring that their responses remain hidden from other participants until the activity concludes.

7. Reveal the correct answers: Once the submission deadline has passed, share the correct answers with the participants. You can do this by posting a summary of the correct answers or providing a separate document for participants to review.

8. Determine the winners: Calculate the scores based on the number of correct answers submitted by each participant. Announce the winners or participants with the highest scores in a celebratory manner. Consider providing virtual certificates or small prizes as incentives to further engage participants.

9. Your involvement: As the facilitator, actively engage with participants throughout the activity by posting questions, responding to queries, and maintaining a lively atmosphere. Offer hints or interesting facts related to the questions to keep participants engaged and encourage discussions around the trivia topics.

10. Reflection and discussion: In a follow-up discussion or reflection forum, invite participants to share their thoughts on the activity. They can discuss their favorite questions, challenges faced, or interesting trivia facts they learned. Encourage participants to reflect on how the activity relates to the course content or their learning experience.

Through this Virtual Trivia Bonanza, participants will showcase their knowledge, enjoy friendly competition, and foster a sense of community within the online course. It will create an exciting and interactive environment where participants can engage with the course content in a fun and engaging manner. So, gear up for a brain-teasing challenge and unleash your knowledge in this thrilling virtual trivia game!

I'd love to hear your ideas on this ice-breaker. Share them in The Online Educator Facebook Group!

Would you like me to spotlight one of your ice-breakers? Share your assignment HERE for an opportunity to be spotlighted in The Online Educator Blog.

Happy Ice-Breaking!