You may have seen or heard about this thing called Boom Cards but what are they exactly and how do they work?

What are Boom Cards?
Boom Cards are an interactive, self-checking learning tool. A deck is made up of several cards that have a question or problem to solve. The student will solve the problem and then they are given instant feedback if they were correct or not.

What is a deck and what is a card?
Just like in regular playing cards; a deck is the whole stack and a card is the individual playing card. You can purchase or create a deck of Boom Cards and then assign it for your students to work through.

Do I need an account?
Yes, you (the teacher) will need an account but they have a free option! The free option allows you to have up to 5 students, create 5 decks, and have unlimited Fast Play (see question below for what Fast Play is). The next plan allows you to have 50 students, create 5 decks, and unlimited Fast Play for only $15 a year. They have two more plans that allow for 150 and 200 students, has unlimited self-made decks, and allows you to have live monitoring. These plans are $25 and $35, respectively.

Check out the link below for the Boom website.
https://wow.boomlearning.com/

What is Fast Play?
Fast Play is an option you can use that doesn’t require your students to log in but you don’t get any data with their results. All their plans allow you to have unlimited Fast Play. All you do is go to assign a deck and choose fast play where it will generate a 4-5 digit pin for the students to enter.

Do my students need an account?
If you are wanting to use Boom Cards for progress monitoring; you will need to have your students log in. This allows their scores to be tracked and you can print out reports and have data to view. You can create your students’ usernames and passwords or they can create their own.

Do my students have to have the Internet?
Not necessarily; Boom Cards can be printed out if a web connection or device isn’t available for your student. To use the app or website the student will need a web connection.  See the question: “How to use Boom Cards with online learning?” for more information on how to print.

What kind of device do my students need?
Boom Cards can be used on several different kinds of devices. They work with tablets, desktops, laptops, smartphones, and interactive boards. If the student is using a tablet, they also have an app for easy access! The web browser must be 3 years or newer for Boom Cards to work.

What decks will I assign to my students?
Remember, each account type allows you to create some decks on your own. But that may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I get that! Boom decks can be purchased on TpT or Boom has its own store. Plus, you can preview 4 cards before you decide to purchase a deck. How great is that?

Check out my decks here!

How can I purchase Boom decks from TpT?
You can purchase Boom decks from the Boom store or through TpT. On the Boom site, simply go to the store and you can start purchasing decks and they are added to your library but what if you are purchasing them through TpT, just check out like normal on TpT and you will click to download your purchase. This download will be a PDF that has the link for you to click and add the Boom deck to your Boom library. This is what my PDF looks like when you purchase from me.

How do I get started once I pick my account?
You will need to set-up your classroom. Boom has a great video that is super helpful!

Link for Boom Video
https://youtu.be/_3GGDRG68qs

How to use Boom Cards with online learning?
Once your classroom is set up on the Boom site, you will need to purchase (or create a deck of cards). From there you can assign the decks to your students. 

As you can see, you get the option to assign the deck to your students.

• The Fast Pin option: is what you need to pick if you are going to use the Fast Play option (no student logins required). This will generate a pin and link for your students to enter before the deck opens for them. They can use the pin if they are accessing Boom through the app or use the web link if they are using a computer, laptop, etc. The link expires after 14 days. 

• Hyperplay Link option:  which is described in the question below. 

• The Print option:  is available for students with no web access or when you use these in your classroom.  Note: the print option may not be available for every deck of cards. 

• The Hide Card option: which does exactly what it sounds like; it allows you to hide certain cards from all your students. 

• The Custom Play Settings: allows you to change some of the settings for each deck. The remaining options are pretty self-explanatory. 

What is a Hyperplay Link?
So one of the options you can choose is to create a Hyperplay Link. This is how you will share the Boom decks with your students if you want them to log in before they begin playing. Remember, the only way to see your students’ results is if they log in before they play.

How to use Boom Cards in the classroom?

• Boom Cards can be a great resource in the classroom. They could be used as a center on your interactive board or assigned to individual students on tablets or laptops during your independent center time. You could use Boom Cards with a group on an interactive board.

• The Boom decks can be individualized to meet a certain student’s IEP or progress monitoring goals. If you have a paid subscription, you can use the data collected for graphs and reports. You could also use them as an assessment tool to gather the beginning and end of year data. 

• Use Boom Cards for those speedy finishers to work on more skills or assign Boom Cards for homework. Each student could have their own login information and sign in from any device at home, as long as they have Internet access. 

• You can also print the Boom Cards and turn them into a center option or hands-on game (for cards that have this ability). Check out the question above on how to print Boom Cards.

What if I don’t want to assign all the cards in the deck?
Boom allows you to hide certain cards, from the students, if that isn’t something you want introduced yet. See the above question: “How to use Boom Cards for online learning?” for more information.

What if a Boom deck has too many cards for a student to complete at one time?
No problem; you can assign a certain number of cards at a time. They also allow you to randomize the cards so a student could practice the same deck more than once.

Are there any freebies?
Yes! There are a ton of free decks you can download on TpT and the Boom store.

Check out this freebie here! 

A FEW MORE QUESTIONS?

What if I have more questions?
Boom has an awesome help section! They have videos and articles for frequently asked questions and you can email them if you are still having trouble.

Link to help area: https://wow.boomlearning.com/help 

Also, you can email me at [email protected] at any time and I will be willing to help you walk through it.

Why I love Boom cards?
I love Boom Cards because they can be individualized to meet the many needs in my special education room. Another plus, most of my students can go through the Boom decks by themselves and allow me to be working with another student one-on-one. They are self-checking; do I have to say more? Seriously, think about all the time you could save not grading! I also love that the Boom Cards can be created to be about anything I want! I am currently turning all of my task boxes into Boom cards 

Check those out here!

You can also read more of my reasons over on this blog too!