The Hero Pact and Epiphanesia

I decided to give my students the option to NOT participate in my brain-child of gamification.  I debated, since any student opting-out had to not be punished for it, and it would mean extra work for me as those students would need to be included in all activities - except not.  Classcraft encourages allowing students the option, and has a Hero Pact they can sign as a measure of buying in to the concept.

Not one student opted out.  One even suggested I should roll up the signed ones, like scrolls.  So I did.  I have a stack of bundled, signed Hero Pacts in my desk, until I can figure out a better place to store them (I need a dollar store treasure chest, methinks).  I had expected one or two students, not specific students, just in general, to not want to participate because it was unfamiliar.  But kids like games, and kids like excited teachers...and this is why I wanted to gamify my classroom!

So, I created a way to grade their use of Choice time by how much XP they earned each week.  I made sure that there was enough to earn an A (wouldn't be fair otherwise), without including additional XP potential from instructional time or random rewards.  There is an option to start the class with a Random Event:

Random Events Graphic displayed to students on the smartboard

Random Events Presets

The application comes with 80 presets, many of which can be edited or deleted, and the bank can be added to.  I have more than one section and was happy to see I could import my settings from one class into another.  I also have access to an Intractable Classroom Content section, which operates like a blog within an interactive paned window.

Sections and List Pop-out of Classroom Content

Homework Section Posts with specific post open

My students know every day what they can do in their free time, for credit (XP).  I've made sure that the activities are the ones I want to reinforce repetition in, without alienating the concept by over-indulging in it.  Students can gain the XP once per activity every week.  I also reward good grades in other classes because accomplishments should be celebrated - 150 XP for an A on a Reading or Writing assignment within the week, 50 XP for a B.  900 XP is needed to gain one level.

One new feature is called a Boss Battle.  Unlike a normal quiz, where each student completes work individually, this is displayed to the class, and completed together - a gamified way of doing a review.  I just used this after introducing a new strategy to my students last week, and let them answer as a team (my classes are teams of 5 students).

Now, you might be thinking, "Magdule, you're a Gamer.  This already made sense to you, which is why you looked for a way to gamify your room.  It sounds complicated, and I wouldn't know where to start."

Learning is complicated.  That doesn't mean it shouldn't be attempted, or that there isn't assistance.  Classcraft hosts tutorial videos, explanations of everything (definitions, rules, guidelines), a FAQ, free webinars, and a forum of teacher-users that both make suggestions for new content, as well as feedback to each other on classroom use/success stories.  If we did everything because it was easy, we would miss out on a lot of fun gained from challenge.  We tell our students that all the time, but sometimes don't challenge ourselves as teachers - not in the fun ways.  Grading all the papers in a weekend isn't the right kind of challenging fun.  Creating a new world to gamify your classroom? That's the right kind of fun.

"World? Did you read that right? But Magdule, this isn't a real interactive game, just a pretty interface to motivate kids? Right?"

Yeah...about that.  Classcraft is in fact not a game.  But I wanted to really create my own world.  So I also created a Google Site (thanks to my fancy-shmancy "leet" new GAFE knowledge as a Google Certified Educator, Level One (#shameless plug).  I call it Epiphanesia (e-PIFF-an-ease-sha) and it is very much a work in progress, but I can't wait to unlock the doors of it with my students.  My vision is that I can take my students on quests in this World of Learning, and interact with students in other classrooms, but under the guise of gaming, and not in the trappings of all of the different applications as stand alone applications (Google Apps, Schoology, Classcraft, etc...).

Stay tuned for my next move...

Classwha?

Classcraft.  An online gamification platform for both behavior management and class participation.  I am a gamer.  I don't have as much time to game since becoming a mom, a grad student, and a teacher (all at the same time most days).  But you can't take the game out of me - I always am trying to find ways to make learning fun.  And I think I found one.

I started following this concept, Classcraft, a few years ago, but I've just now earned a class of my own to start to experience the amazing ideas this site pulls together.  From avatars the students can take agency in, to authentic incentives and consequences, tailored by the teacher and students - there is no part that the students are not involved in, and usually they are in control.

We want student centered learning.  We crave it (or we should if we know what we're doing).  But we fall back on tried-and-true teacher centered methods to get the job done.  Blah.  No one loves that.  Kids don't.  We shouldn't be doing the majority of the talking, or the work.  They should.  So how can you encourage it? 

One way is by encouraging students to work with each other, and to trust each other.  This method developed by Classcraft allows the teacher (Gamemaster) to create the situations which students would earn experience (XP) from, create the benefits (powers) they could have in class, and the penalties they could have.  It allows for random events of both fun and frivolity (the Gamemaster has to sing a song the players choose) or more serious (penalties are at double cost for the day).

I have set up an account, and will be introducing it to my students in my three classes this week.  This blog will be my reflection space on the process, and I'll be sharing out updated links through twitter @magdulee  What have you been passionate about for your students or classroom?  What have you done to embrace it? What are you waiting for?