Boom Learning – Digital or Distance Learning Option

I think it’s safe to say that right now most teachers are having to drastically adjust their lesson plans and delivery of instruction. With most schools closed for the next several months, teachers are undoubtedly working even harder than usual to adjust their routines during this unprecedent time. I know many teachers are staying in contact with their students and co-workers via Zoom. Some schools have online options for student assignments such as Study Island while many schools are still providing hard copy packets of work for students to complete at home. Another great option for distance learning is Boom Learning.

Boom Learning is a unique website where teachers can purchase or create digital task cards for their students to complete either at a center or, during this uncertain time, at home. If you are new to Boom Learning, you may be eligible for a FREE account due to the coronavirus pandemic. While you can create a free account and use that account in your classroom, a paid account does provide many more features and is very affordable.

What exactly are Boom Cards?

A set of Boom Cards is called a deck. You can purchase a deck, use a free deck, or create your own deck of Boom Cards to assign to your students. Boom Cards are digital task cards that students complete online via the website or app. The Boom Cards may contain questions where students have to click and answer, drag movable pieces to complete their answer, or type in their responses. There are a variety of question/task types.

Boom Cards™ play on modern browsers (released in the last three years) on interactive whiteboards, computers, tablets, Chromebooks, iPads, iPhones, Android tables and phones, and Kindle-Fire tablets. Boom Cards apps are also available on the App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Kindle Fire store.

Boom Cards are:

• Are digital and interactive task cards great for digital or distance learning
• Are self-checking and provide instant and automatic feedback
• Are great for differentiating instruction (you can assign specific students specific decks on their level)
• Are super fun (like a game to the students)
• Require NO printing, laminating, or assembling in any way saving you precious time and paper!
• Can be used over and over
• Are great paperless practice option for your classroom center or homeschool student
• Can be purchased on TPT or through the Boom Store on the Boom Learning website

In the event a Boom Deck is updated by the author for whatever reason, that is automatically reflected on you deck- no need to downloading anything. It all happens automatically. 

Think of it this way- Boom Cards can be the digital version of a traditional printable center or station activity. For example, I have a series of Scrambled Sentences centers that are related to holidays or seasons. To use these centers in a classroom, you would need to purchase, print, laminate, copy the recording sheets, and place somewhere in your room. You can re-use your laminated pieces over and over until they are lost or become unusable for whatever reason. You would need to grade your students’ recording sheets to check for understanding and accuracy. And you would need to make sure you always have enough copies of the recording sheets available for your students. This is a traditional center. Nothing is wrong with it at all. It’s a fun, engaging center for your students to get meaningful practice on sentence skills.

The Boom version of this is much simpler. You purchase the deck. Assign it to your students. They complete the center via the Boom website on a computer or the app via a device. Students are told instantly if their answer is correct or not. They can rework their answer and re-submit it. After completing the deck, you can see your students’ progress and mastery of the deck/skill. Nothing to print. Nothing to laminate. Nothing to grade. Nothing to worry about storing in your classroom.

There is certainly a place for both types of practice in a classroom. And there are Boom Cards for just about everything your can think of.

Any time you are interested in a set of Boom Cards, you can always try them out for FREE. Every deck of cards comes with a free preview so you can see if they will meet the needs of your students. On Boom Learning the preview is right there for you to click and try out. On Teachers Pay Teachers, most sellers include a PDF preview with a link to the deck for you to try out before purchasing.

After purchasing a deck of Boom Cards you own them forever. If you sign up for a paid plan and later cancel that plan, you still have access to your Boom Cards forever and can still use them with students, it just won’t track their progress.

Boom Cards can even be assigned through Google Classroom which many teachers are using more and more during this trying time of distance learning.

Boom Learning has an extensive Support site with lots of frequently asked questions and answers to situations that may arise.

Because so many teachers are having to go digital at this time, I wanted to share about Boom Learning for those who may not be familiar with the site and all it can offer to you and your students. I am in the process of converting some of my traditional, printable centers to a digital format using Boom Learning. You can find all of my available Boom Cards here on TPT or here at my Boom Store, and I am constantly working on creating more.

Have you used Boom Learning before? Is it something you would try if you haven’t?