The latest PISA data while Australian 15-year-olds now rank ninth in reading and science and tenth in mathematics, nearly half are failing to meet national standards in these subjects, with those from wealthier backgrounds outperforming their less-privileged peers.
Reports like this are putting more pressure on teachers to keep students engaged and deliver results in Australia’s increasingly diverse classrooms.
However, making lessons interactive and accessible isn’t easy, especially when subjects feel dry or overwhelming. To address this, many schools are racing to find tools that help teachers adapt lessons, track progress, and boost outcomes without adding to their workload.
A growing body of research shows that gamified learning enhances student engagement, motivation, and retention by turning lessons into interactive experiences.
Backed by Tiger Global, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, and other prominent investors, Quizizz is one edtech company that has been utilising AI-driven gamification to get young people engaged in financial literacy education.
Co-founded in 2015 by software engineer Deepak Joy Cheenath and Ankit Gupta, the company now serves over 80 million teachers and students worldwide.
Cheenath says gamification leverages intrinsic motivators like competition, achievement, and collaboration to create a positive emotional connection to learning.
“Tools like Quizizz combine gamification with formative assessment, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. By aligning games with educational goals, teachers make learning both enjoyable and impactful,” Cheenath told The Educator.
“These benefits not only improve learning outcomes but also encourage more students to persist and continue their studies, making tools like Quizizz valuable for promoting long-term academic success.”
Cheenath said Quizizz’s approach can improve student engagement and academic outcomes across diverse school environments by utilising AI and an extensive teacher-created library to create engaging gamified activities and resources while providing actionable diagnostics on student performance.
“It supports diverse learning needs with personalised features like read-aloud options, adjustable timing, and multilingual support, ensuring accessibility for students requiring accommodations,” Cheenath said.
“Quizizz is compatible with all devices and integrates with popular Learning Management Systems used in Australian schools, making it a versatile tool for teachers that can be embedded as part of their existing workflows.”
These features, say Cheenath, empower teachers to address a broad range of student needs, from those with disabilities to advanced learners with minimal impact on time.
Augmenting, not replacing, teachers
Cheenath said Quizizz’s AI capabilities can significantly reduce workload by becoming a “sidekick” to the teacher for faster content creation, augmenting, not replacing them.
“Teachers can use existing documents, presentations, lesson plans, or even website URLs, and Quizizz’s AI can generate games, interactive lessons, flashcards and comprehension tasks in seconds,” Cheenath explained. “The AI Enhance feature also allows educators to shift and differentiate material in seconds to suit their needs.”
Most importantly, Cheenath pointed out, teachers can then customise these resources, saving time while maintaining control over quality.
‘An exciting space to watch’
When asked about some of the most important emerging technology trends in the edtech space, and the opportunities he sees for these to significantly improve teaching and learning in Australia’s schools, Cheenath pointed to AI-driven personalised learning, immersive tools like AR/VR, and advanced data analytics.
“These innovations have the potential to offer tailored educational experiences, enhance engagement, and provide actionable insights into student progress,” he said.
“They also offer strong potential to minimise the set-up and reporting workloads to allow for teachers to spend more time doing what they love, teaching.”
However, Cheenath said it is early days, and the tech is still advancing.
“It is an exciting space to watch.”