Using Boom Cards™ in Your Classroom

It’s been a year since the Pandemic officially started. Our province shut down during Spring Break 2020, which will be our one year anniversary, in a couple days. Though our government made education “optional”, many teachers had to make the jump to online learning and fast. With the continuation of online learning, I began using Boom Cards™ to supplement learning.

Boom Learning – The Makers of Boom Cards™!

I never heard of Boom Cards or Boom Learning until I was attending a webinar in May 2020 on teaching Language Arts online. The teachers in that session were so excited about Boom Cards and how they were using them. I started some research and thus began my relationship with Boom.

Boom Learning was created by a husband and wife team, Mary and Eric Oemig, who both use to work for Microsoft. Boom Learning is a platform, not a marketplace. When you purchase or sell Boom Cards, you are essentially purchasing or selling a link. The Boom Cards do not leave the website.

Teaching Online

Since last spring, I have been teaching online. For the 2020-2021 year, it is mornings only. Regardless, this style of teaching is not my thing. I miss the connections and immediate feedback I can give students. Students are also not getting as much instructional time and practice time as they would be in the classroom. Boom Cards are a great supplement to math and other subjects. Though we will create interactive notebooks via the internet, I want to give students something that is more kid friendly for them. The response from them is quick and enthusiastic. I talk more about Boom Cards in the Hybrid Classroom here.

My students like that it’s on the computer (still a cool factor) and they don’t need a pencil. Feedback is immediate and many decks are fun or cute. I recently worked on an order of operations deck and it’s much more enjoyable doing it on Boom Learning than on paper and pencil. My students also choose the theme of decks I create!

Using Boom Cards in the Classroom

I appreciate the feedback received from teachers who use Boom Cards in their classroom. Teachers use them on their Smartboard™ or Whiteboard for whole class instruction. Depending on how many tablets or devices are in the classroom, Boom Cards can be part of your math centres, literacy centres, or independent work time. Are you using Boom Cards in your teaching? I would love to hear about it.

I used Kahoots™ a lot when teaching middle school. My students loved the opportunities to create their own quizzes. This is something that I would love to see Boom Learning implement. As we look for different ways to allow students create, creating Boom Cards for their peers who be something that could bring another perspective to learning.

New to Boom Cards?

If you are new to Boom Cards, I have a few posts available for you. I also have Youtube videos on my channel, It’s All Primary, that would help get you started. Here is just a sample:

Let me know if you are looking for more help with creating Boom Cards. You can also sign up for my “Side Hustle Help” emails. Until then,

Happy Teaching!

Lori-Anne