I have always been intrigued by people talking about gamification in their classroom. I always assumed it meant that the entire class was gamified all year long and the students were always on the computer playing games and earning digital badges. I also pictured a classroom that was completely driven by a product like class craft.
After reading some of the material from this week, I realized that I incorporate some games and gamification in my own classroom. My students love competitive games like quizziz and Kahoot. These are not game based learning but they are gamification tools that are very simple for a teacher to implement in the classroom. I even used Kahoot with the parents who came to my back to school night. I also LOVE to create extension padlets for my students full of digital games that students can play to help master content. Brainpop.com has some excellent science games very similar to icivics that was shown in class. I often have students playing games such as "matter sorter" or "the blood typing game" to learn about the science content that we are covering in class. Gaming is definitely in our students blood. I cannot think of a single day of school where I have not heard students talking about some new video game they play at home with their friends. The most current one I hear them playing with each other is "fortnite". The majority of them also have a competitive spirit. I think gaming has a place in the classroom but I am not sure if an entire classroom or class should be gamified. I do think some gaming is great, so that kids can have fun while learning or not even realize how much they are learning. I think everything should be used blended together so that nothing gets stale or old. Kids love when teachers mix things up.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2018
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Theo Crazzolara