Station 5

Step 1 - Develop a Solution

Problem

"I want to add a bit of excitement to student learning, that gets them hooked in a problem they have to solve together but is relevant to what they need to learn. Any ideas on how to do that?" asked a colleague. "What suggestions do you have for me?"

"Why not gamify some of your learning activities?" you ask.

Project & Task

Gamify learning in your classroom, using game design techniques that make the learning process more enjoyable and motivating.

When in class, students need to take advantage of hands-on activities. Some approaches involve:

- paper slides to capture student learning,

- gamified learning strategies

- collaborative student groups

- explore concepts via video.

Some activities:

  • iClickers/polling
  • Word webs/concept maps
  • Think-Pair-Share
  • Affinity grouping

Ready to gamify learning in your classroom? It's not as hard as you might think!

Gamification is the process of making a game out of a non-game setting. In everyday life, this can be seen when using a rewards card to gain points towards a discount. By creating a goal, the rewards card motivates the buyer into purchasing a product.

In the classroom, this would involve using game design techniques to make the learning process more enjoyable and motivating. These techniques might include a grade scale based around gaining experience points or taking part in quests. (Source)

Gamification Strategies

  • Create a leveling system for students using experience points.
  • Award achievements to students for completing various tasks.
  • Make different skill sets for each subject that the student must “master”.
  • Complete “quests” to earn points.
  • Keep track of a leaderboard to see what points each student has.
  1. Emoji Puzzle (template): As your students enter the classroom, hand them an emoji puzzle piece that will match one other student in the class. After all the students are in the class, have them walk around the classroom and try to find the other student that has the matching emoji puzzle piece. (via @diben)
  2. QR code (template): Print QR codes and cut them into four pieces. Give each student one of the four pieces of the code. Next, have your students find their group based on their category. Once in their group, have your students scan the QR code to reveal if their category word is correct. (via @diben and @preimers)
  3. Idea Gems (template): Use inexpensive clear stones with a glued on task to get kids moving and engaged. (via @diben)
  4. Padlet: Have students create a slide about themselves in a slideshow/whiteboard, use screencasting tool to record audio annotation, then copy-and-paste the link into a Padlet with the picture.

Step 2 - Explore and Create

Instructions

Depending on the devices your team has available, explore the available suggested apps (or come up with some of your own) to create the product.

Tools

  1. Game-Based Learning: This website offers various choices, some of which you may want to adapt in your classroom
  2. GooseChase : Create a digital scavenger hunt. Learn more
  3. Use Kahoot or Quizizz to assess students’ grasp of material.
  4. Encourage InfoGraphic creation with some templates
  5. Explore Augmented Reality tools, Aurasma & Metaverse
  6. Try out Joli Boucher's HyperDrawings
  7. Classcraft: Classcraft uses a system of real-life rewards and risks. Students divide into teams. Good performance in the classroom nets experience points (XP) that students can use to learn abilities like “hunting,” which gives them permission to eat in class, but negative behavior leads to consequences such as less time to finish an exam or even detention. Students have to work together to win.

Step 3 - Share

Turn Your Project Creation as a Video, Photo, or Link via Padlet at http://ly.tcea.org/ispace