How to Create Custom Blooket Games withGitHub: Step-by-Step

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How to Create Custom Blooket Games with GitHub: Step-by-Step

Blooket is a fantastic platform for engaging students with gamified learning. While Blooket offers a vast library of pre-made question sets, the real power lies in creating custom games tailored to your specific curriculum. This guide will walk you through creating custom Blooket games using GitHub, enabling version control, collaboration, and easier question set management. We’ll be creating a simple JSON file hosted on GitHub that Blooket can read directly.

Why Use GitHub?

  • Version Control: Track changes to your question sets, revert to older versions if needed, and understand the history of your game.
  • Collaboration: Multiple teachers can work on the same question set simultaneously.
  • Organization: Keep your question sets organized in a central, accessible location.
  • Sharing: Easily share your question sets with others by simply sharing the GitHub link (make sure it’s a public repository!).
  • Reusability: Question sets can be easily copied and modified for different classes or topics.

Prerequisites:

  • A Blooket account (free or paid).
  • A GitHub account (free).
  • A basic understanding of JSON syntax (we’ll cover the necessary structure).
  • A text editor (like VS Code, Sublime Text, Notepad++, or even the GitHub online editor).

Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Create a GitHub Repository

  1. Log in to GitHub: Go to https://github.com/ and log in to your account.

  2. Create a New Repository: Click the “+” button in the top-right corner and select “New repository.”

  3. Configure the Repository:

    • Repository name: Choose a descriptive name (e.g., “my-blooket-questions”). Keep it concise and relevant.
    • Description (optional): Add a brief description of your question set.
    • Public: Crucially, make sure the repository is set to “Public”. Blooket needs to be able to access the file without authentication.
    • Add a README file: Check this box. It’s good practice to include a README.
    • Choose a license (optional): You can choose a license (e.g., MIT License) if you want to specify how others can use your question set.
    • Click “Create repository”.

Step 2: Create the JSON File

  1. Navigate to Your Repository: You should now be on the main page of your newly created repository.

  2. Add a File: Click the “Add file” button and select “Create new file”.

  3. Name the File: Name the file with a .json extension (e.g., my_questions.json). The .json extension tells GitHub (and Blooket) that this is a JSON file.

  4. Enter the JSON Data: This is where you’ll write your questions and answers in the correct JSON format. Here’s the basic structure:

    json
    {
    "title": "My Awesome Question Set",
    "description": "A set of questions about...",
    "cover": "https://example.com/my_cover_image.png",
    "questions": [
    {
    "question": "What is the capital of France?",
    "answers": [
    "Berlin",
    "Paris",
    "Rome",
    "Madrid"
    ],
    "correct": 1,
    "image": ""
    },
    {
    "question": "What is 2 + 2?",
    "answers": [
    "3",
    "4",
    "5",
    "6"
    ],
    "correct": 1,
    "image": "https://example.com/math_image.jpg"
    },
    {
    "question": "True or False: The Earth is flat.",
    "answers": [
    "True",
    "False"
    ],
    "correct": 1,
    "image": ""
    }
    ]
    }

    • title: The title of your question set.
    • description: A brief description of the question set.
    • cover: (Optional) A URL to an image to use as the cover for your question set. This must be a publicly accessible image URL. If omitted, Blooket will use a default image.
    • questions: An array (list) of question objects.
    • question: The question text.
    • answers: An array of possible answers. Blooket supports up to 4 answers.
    • correct: The index (starting from 0) of the correct answer within the answers array. For example, if the correct answer is the second option, correct should be 1.
    • image: (Optional) A URL to an image that will appear with the question. This also must be a publicly accessilbe image URL.

  5. Commit the File:

    • Scroll to the bottom of the page.
    • In the “Commit new file” section, you’ll see a default commit message (“Create my_questions.json”). You can modify this if you wish.
    • Click “Commit new file”.

Step 3: Get the Raw File URL

  1. View the File: Click on the my_questions.json file in your repository.

  2. Click “Raw”: You’ll see a button labeled “Raw” in the top-right corner of the file view. Click it.

  3. Copy the URL: The URL in your browser’s address bar will now change to a “raw” URL (it should look something like https://raw.githubusercontent.com/your-username/my-blooket-questions/main/my_questions.json). Copy this entire URL. This is the link you’ll use in Blooket.

Step 4: Import into Blooket

  1. Log in to Blooket: Go to https://www.blooket.com/ and log in.

  2. Go to “Create”: Click on the “Create” button.

  3. Choose “Import”: Select the “Import” option.

  4. Select “URL Import”: Choose the “URL Import” option.

  5. Paste the Raw URL: Paste the “raw” URL you copied from GitHub into the input field.

  6. Click “Add Questions”: Blooket will fetch the data from your GitHub repository and parse the JSON.

  7. Review and Save: Review the imported questions and answers. You can make any necessary edits within Blooket at this point. Finally, click “Save Set” to save your custom question set.

Step 5: Updating Your Question Set

  1. Edit the JSON File on GitHub: Go back to your GitHub repository and edit the my_questions.json file directly within the GitHub interface (or clone the repository and edit it locally with a text editor).

  2. Commit Changes: After making your changes, commit them with a descriptive message.

  3. Re-import or Refresh (Blooket):

    • Re-import: For major changes, you might want to re-import the entire set using the same “raw” URL. This will overwrite the existing set in Blooket.
    • Refresh (Less reliable): Blooket sometimes caches the question set. You might be able to see updates by simply refreshing the Blooket game page, or by clicking the three dots on the set in your “My Sets” area and selecting “Refresh Data”. However, re-importing is the most reliable way to ensure your changes are reflected. Because Blooket caches the data, it may take some time, or a re-import, for changes to show.

Troubleshooting:

  • “Invalid URL” or “Error Fetching Data” in Blooket:
    • Make sure your GitHub repository is public.
    • Double-check that you copied the “raw” URL (it should start with https://raw.githubusercontent.com/).
    • Verify that your JSON file is valid. Use an online JSON validator (search for “JSON validator”) to check for syntax errors.
    • Make sure the image URLs in the cover and image fields are correct and publicly accessible.
  • Questions Not Updating in Blooket:
    • Re-import the question set using the “raw” URL.
    • Clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
    • Blooket may take some time to update its cache. Be patient, or try again later.
  • JSON Syntax Errors:
    • Missing commas, brackets, or quotes are common culprits. Use an online JSON validator to pinpoint errors. Be careful with extra or missing commas, especially at the end of lists or object properties.
    • Make sure to use double quotes (") for strings in JSON, not single quotes (').

Example of Adding an Image to a Question:

Let’s say you have an image of a right triangle hosted on Imgur (a popular image hosting site). The Imgur URL is: https://i.imgur.com/yourImageID.png. You would add this to a question like this:

json
{
"question": "What is the name of the longest side of a right triangle?",
"answers": [
"Adjacent",
"Opposite",
"Hypotenuse",
"Tangent"
],
"correct": 2,
"image": "https://i.imgur.com/yourImageID.png"
}

Key Considerations for Image URLs:

  • Public Accessibility: The image must be publicly accessible. Services like Imgur, Google Photos (with the correct sharing settings), or images hosted in your own public GitHub repository work well.
  • Direct Image Link: Make sure you’re using the direct link to the image file itself (usually ending in .jpg, .png, .gif, etc.), not a link to a webpage containing the image.
  • HTTPS: Use https:// for your image URLs, not http://.

By following these steps, you can create, manage, and share custom Blooket question sets efficiently using GitHub. This method provides a robust and collaborative way to enhance your Blooket games. Remember to validate your JSON and double-check your URLs for a smooth experience.

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