Most people are familiar with the game of bingo - I think pretty much every adult has either played the game, or at least knows how the game is played. What many people do not know is that the game of bingo can easily be adapted for educational and learning uses, and is already used today many teachers as a classroom tool.

In the standard game of bingo, the basic idea is that each player is given a bingo card printed with a grid of squares, each square containing a different. Players check off squares, as the corresponding numbers are called out by the bingo caller, the objective being to be the first player to get one or more lines (the exact pattern required varies depending on the variant of the rules being used) across your bingo card, and then shout out "House" or "Bingo".

Educational versions of bingo are generally played according to roughly the same rules (with the teacher acting as bingo caller), but instead of using bingo cards with numbers, bingo cards with other items, specially chosen by the teacher and appropriate for the particular school subject, are used instead. For example:-

* In a language learning class, the bingo cards might be printed with French, German, Italian or Spanish words, and the students may be required to find matching squares to bingo calls made in English by teacher (or vice-versa, the teacher may make calls in the particular foreign language, and students must find squares labelled in English).

* In an English as a foreign language class, simply playing the standard version of bingo, in English, can be an stimulating educational experience for students.

* In a math class, the squares may contain math problems that students must solve, rather than merely check off.

* At the end of a school semester, or before seasonal events and holidays such as July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, bingo cards printed with words or phrases related to the holiday (or the history behind), can be both fun for students and an interesting way to stimulate classroom discussions.

Many teachers of course have come up with numerous other variations of the game too. The common factor in all these situations is that teachers have found that customized versions of bingo. Of course the key require in all these situations tends to be access to suitably customized bingo cards - however with the help of a computer and some bingo card creator software, teachers can easily print off customized bingo cards on any topic they like.