Friday, March 14, 2014

Gamification Series Part 3: Why Gamify?

Gamification attempts to harness the motivational power of games and apply it to real-world problems.  Lee & Hammer 2011

 I firmly believe that one of the most persistent and widespread problems in schools today is lack of student motivation & engagement.  I have witnessed it first-hand as a public school teacher in two different districts.  

 What confuses me, however, is that some people (including very smart and esteemed educators) underestimate the role that motivation has in the learning process.  For instance, I have actually heard a teacher tell students something along the lines of “I know this is boring, but we have to cover it, so just pay attention and learn it quickly so we can get through it.”  This teacher probably thinks that students can still learn something effectively even though the way that it is taught bores them to tears.      



 This brings us to a simple fact: it is more difficult to learn anything if you are not motivated and engaged in the process. 

 This is where gamification comes into play. Why do people like to play games? 

 In general, good games are engaging and fun.  They can motivate people to keep trying until they succeed.  They can engage participants in creative worlds with rich narratives.  They can foster collaboration among different communities in order to achieve a challenging goal.  

 Why not channel this motivation and engagement in the classroom? 

 It is true that games and gamification will not motivate ALL students, but that is not a reason to dismiss the entire concept.  Like any other teaching strategy, we must differentiate and personalize instruction based upon students interests, goals, and needs. Certain learning objectives and activities could always be “de-gamified” for particular individuals if necessary.

 I will go into greater detail regarding the perceived benefits of gamification throughout the series, but for now here are a few that stand out.

 1. Gamification empowers students in a learning environment that requires them to take on more responsibility for their own learning.  Students truly earn grades in this system. 

 2.  Students fix mistakes and learn along the way before ultimately demonstrating mastery of particular skills.  No one simply fails and gets pushed along.   FAIL = First Attempt In Learning

 3.  Challenge activities help students build the skills and confidence needed in an unpredictable and fast-paced world.

 4. Gamification can help spark the motivation and engagement necessary to learn most effectively. 

 Next Post: Our Quest into Gamification

 Complete Gamification Series

Part 1: Introduction
Part 15: The Next Level

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Online Flipped Learning Workshop

Over the past couple years, I have developed a companion course for my professional development workshops.  Since lecturing about Flipped Learning seems quite ironic, this course helps me "flip" the professional development experience.   

 Up until now, this course was restricted to attendees of my workshop sessions or staff training.  In an effort to continue sharing resources with a PLN that has so graciously afforded me their time and expertise, I am opening up the online Flipped Learning Workshop free to the public.  

 This workshop includes:
  • Flipped Learning Intro Presentation
  • Guide to Creating & Sharing Instructional Videos
  • Instructional Design Concepts & Strategies
  • Tour of Flipped Learning Throughout the Nation
  • Flipped Learning Resources
  • Archived Workshop Videos & Presentations
  • & More to Come (Updated with each new event)
If interested in joining the course, directions are included below. (Linked Here As Well)  Also feel free to share this course with anyone that you think is interested in Flipped Learning!

Joining the Flipped Learning Workshop Course


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2. Scroll down to “Flipped Learning Workshop,” and click “View Course.”

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3. Click “Take This Course.”

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4. Click “Are you a new student?”

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5. Enter Information and click “Sign Up.”

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For future visits to the course:


2. Click “Login” button to the top right of the screen.

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3. Enter your login credentials.

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*** These screenshots were created with the new Awesome Screenshot Chrome App.   
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Friday, March 7, 2014

Gamification Series Part 2: What is Gamification?

Gamification is the incorporation of game mechanics, dynamics, and frameworks to promote desired behaviors.
In other words, gamification is the process of creating game elements for non-game situations and environments.   In our case, this is the classroom (or blended) learning environment. 

 To clarify, this does not imply that you have your class play an existing game.  There is nothing wrong with that as actual games can prove incredibly powerful and motivating learning tools.  Having students play a game on iCivics or engage in Minecraft worlds is not, however, gamification.  This would fall under the category of “Game-Based Learning,” another concept exploding with potential.   

 Instead, gamification implies transforming your class INTO a game.  If you are not a “gamer” (which I myself am not, despite my “Millennial” designation), you may be wondering what game mechanics actually are?  

 Here are a few of of the game elements typically leveraged in gamified learning environments.  

 Key Elements to Gamification

 Immediate Feedback & Reinforcers

 Progress Tracking & Mastery  (XP, Badges, Leaderboards, Competition)

 Increasing Difficulty (Leveling System)

 Low Risk of Failure (Unlimited Retakes)

 Storyline / Narrative  

 Student Choice

 All of these elements will be explored in greater detail in later posts.  I will also explain how each of these elements have been incorporated into our gamified world history course.  If interested in learning more about these in the meantime, check out Alice Keeler’s awesome post: Gamification in the Classroom - Getting Started. 

 Next Post:  Why Gamify

Complete Gamification Series

Part 1: Introduction
Part 15: The Next Level

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

New "Technology for Educators" Courses

I recently developed two (free) online courses titled Technology for Educators.  The goal of these courses is to help educators effectively leverage modern instructional technologies to improve student learning.  Although designed as a set of introductory courses, tips and strategies are also included for more experienced educators. 

 Topics covered in Tech for Educators Part 1 include: 

- Course & Student Management 
- Sharing Resources
- Communicating with Students

 Topics covered in Tech for Educators Part 2 include: 

- Creating Instructional Videos  (Quick Tips, Planning, Recording, Editing, & Publishing)
- Sharing Instructional Videos  (Hosting & Distributing)

 Each course is relatively short and can be completed in just a few hours.  You can also use these courses as a resource to browse in any sequence of you choosing.  

 For those of you that are very tech savvy, please consider sharing these introductory courses with teachers who are just dipping their toes into the educational technology waters.

 Future courses will focus on various technologies, techniques, and practical strategies related to online assessments.  

 Intro Video to the Tech for Educators Courses
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Friday, February 28, 2014

Gamification Series Part 1: An Introduction

In September of 2013, I gamified my World History course.
Let’s unpack that a bit.  About a month earlier, I conducted a Flipped Learning presentation and workshop at the Games in Education Symposium in Malta, NY.  Before presenting, I had the opportunity to attend RPI professor Lee Sheldon’s morning session.  After hearing about his incredible journey (from Hollywood writer & game designer to academia) and how he successfully morphed his college courses into live-action multiplayer games, my mind was made up.   I had to try this.  World History at PHS would be gamified. 

 The thought had crossed my mind several times over the past few years.  I actually remember one conversation with a student in detail.  It was in the spring of 2012 and we had just transitioned completely from “Flipped 101” to a “Flipped-Mastery” environment.  As the class worked their way through our World War II unit, one student mentioned that the learning objectives grid resembled levels in a game.  He also suggested that I reward fellow students who progress through these learning objectives the quickest.  Although intrigued, I did not pursue this concept until the Games in Education conference gave me the inspiration and guidance necessary to take the initial steps towards gamification.

 I spent the next few weeks combing through any gamification resource that I could find, from Sheldon’s The Multiplayer Classroom, to McGonigal’s Reality is Broken, to the countless websites, blogs, and Twitter chats about gamification and game-based learning.  I even came across some solid research about gamification conducted by Columbia University. 

 I then spent the run-up to the 2013-2014 school year adding game elements to my course.  My colleague Brian Germain, who was already flipping his US History classes, decided to go all in as well.  We were both about to LEVEL UP! 

 The purpose of this post is to provide context for the gamification series to come.  I decided not to write about our experiences until we had a full semester of gamification behind us.  This allowed time to reflect and wrap my head around all of the incredible changes going on in our class. 

 I also wanted to share my experiences in a more complete and concise way.  I am therefore writing the following series of thematic posts that will hopefully prove a useful resource for those interested into venturing into the gamification realm.  

 My goal is to publish an article each friday over the next 14 weeks. Here is a outline of the upcoming posts. 

 What is Gamification?
Why Gamify?
Our Quest
Student Viewpoints on Gamification
Terminology
Leveling
Badges & Achievements
Points Through Attrition XP
Guilds & Team Missions
Leaderboards
Narrative & Avatars
Managing Gamification
Results
The Next Level

 I am wrapping up this initial post with a question that all teachers should consider when thinking about gamification and it’s role in education: 

 How can educators leverage the motivational power of games to create environments that engage students and enhance learning?

 This series is my sincere attempt to answer this question.  I hope you can learn from our journey at PHS and help take gamification to the next level!


Next Post: What is Gamification?

 Complete Gamification Series

Part 1: Introduction
Part 15: The Next Level

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