TEACHERS and pupils are being invited to tap into a virtual quiz app designed by a York firm to support learning during the pandemic.

SpeedQuizzing has launched a version of its virtual quiz hosting platform specifically for teachers and students.

SchoolQuizzing provides educators with free access to an online platform to run fast-paced, interactive, multi-round virtual quizzes to help home and classroom-based learning.

To play, pupils – or their guardians – download the free SpeedQuizzing Live app to any smart device, such as a phone or tablet, and enter the quiz pin provided by the hosting teacher.

Pupils use their app-enabled smart device to view and answer each question, with up to 40 people able to participate.

To hear and see each other, home-based students require a second Zoom or Microsoft Teams enabled device, such as a computer, laptop or tablet.

The software allows the quiz to be hosted and played live, with teachers able to create their own topic-specific questions in a variety of game formats, from multiple choice and first letter of the answer, to picture and sequence questions.

Educators can also introduce time limits for answering questions, rewarding the fastest correct answer with extra points and eliminating opportunities for any googling of answers. Scoring is done automatically.

SpeedQuizzing co-founder Alan Leach said: "We were surprised to hear reports that teachers across the UK had resorted to using our existing 'SpeedQuizzing' platform throughout 2020 to spice up teaching, both in the classroom and remotely, with many of them resorting to paying for the SpeedQuizzing license out of their own pockets.

“We'd always assumed there would be a wealth of purpose-built interactive online educational tools already available, however the feedback we've received is that many of these products lack the fun, competitive element which SpeedQuizzing brings to the table.

“We’ve created a schools-specific version in SchoolQuizzing, which is really straightforward to use, with teachers able to quickly and easily create an account and input their own questions before running a quiz. We wanted to do what we could to support schools and teachers during this challenging time."

SchoolQuizzing is free for teachers in 2021. Educators can sign up at SchoolQuizzing.com to use the platform and view a tutorial on how to use it. There’s also an area where pupils can download the free SpeedQuizzing Live app, which is available through Apple, Google and Amazon Play stores.