Shall We Play A Game?

The classroom should be a placed filled with genuine excitement, curiosity and exploration.  What if the modern classroom took cues from video game makers?  Discovering new ideas and developing new skills should be exciting in the same way that exploring a new level in a video game is exciting.  Mastering the techniques used in video game creation will cause our students to never want to miss a day.  Adding the excitement of gaming will take students to a higher level of learning and just imagine what they will learn!

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Everything is Just a Game

 

Teachers understand that digital skills are necessary for students to be successful in the modern world.  It is time that educators put their own digital skills to work to empower their own classrooms!  Turn your unit, chapter, subject or even your entire class into an engaging game where students earn XP while learning.  They play a game and everybody wins as learning becomes a way for students to level up not just in the game but in skill level, and in their own academic growth. 

The space stations listed on the chart below are the names given to each grade that comes to the technology lab.  Students earn experience points for their space station by completing assignments and quests.

Students rush to see the weekly totals for their homerooms (Space Stations).  They can't wait to see who leveled up and if anyone has reached a new and yet unknown level.

Shall We Play a Game?

Game On explores gamification in the classroom.
Benefits of a gamified class:
  1. Engaged students.
  2. Motivates students to complete activities.
  3. Increases student focus.
  4. Allows students to succeed through collaboration.
  5. Allows students to engage in friendly competition with self and peers.
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Day One Launch Video of Blast Off

This video was shown to all students on the first day of class to let them know that this school year was going to be a little bit different.  The game, Blast Off, has grown and expanded as I have learned more about class gamification, and as my own students have suggested upgrades, new missions, and design elements.  The game not only allows students to experience learning in a new and engaging way, but also allows them the opportunity to be co-designers on our journey together.

Action Research

My initial research was a dive into the benefits of teaching computer science in the classroom.  The emphasis on events such as Hour of Code are emphasized in the modern classroom, but what impact does that have on our students?  My research addresses this problem and you can read more below:

Secondary Research

After a few months of gamifying my class, I did some simple secondary research to get a view of how my students felt about the experience.  Here are some of those results below.
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What is your favorite part of Tech Lab being a game?