Having spent a TON of time looking at gamification and how to turn my course into a game, I have looked at quite a few resources but here are some new ones I looked at this semester:
Red Critter -- I was hoping that Red Critter would be the solution I was looking for. I wanted to award my students digital badges for completing various tasks and assignments in my class. For example, when my student completes the Driver's License assignment, they would get a digital badge. Unfortunately, Red Critter was not as customization as I had hoped. It was like a weaker version of Class Dojo, which I already use, and requires yet ANOTHER log in for students to keep track of their badges. I was also a little concerned about their privacy notice which basically shifted the onus of FERPA compliance on schools. It basically said, "Hey, we are just in the badge business, so making sure using this complies which your school's privacy rules is up to you." Class Dojo, in contrast, is fully compliant and has a seal of approval from Common Sense Media. Class Craft - - I looked into Class Craft next, and loved the crazy, wild graphics, but many of them include weapons - swords, knives, etc. I understand that this mimics the world of gaming, but felt that it was an imagery that some administrators might not want in the elementary school classroom. However, my biggest disappointment was that I couldn't just customize the entire system to allow MY assignments to be the way that students gained XP. Although, it looked possible to be able to make some modifications, it still wasn't what I was looking for. This REALLY surprised me because with all the talk of gamification, there seemed to be be NO company that set up a basic framework - via app, extension or computer, that would allow teachers to turn their class into a giant game. I suddenly wished I was much more sophisticated coder.
Next up was Class Badges and YIPPEE! Here, I found something CLOSE to what I wanted to, but where would students store their badges? Would they be able to handle YET ANOTHER place to keep track of things? Also, the who website seemed to be a bit neglected and there was even a message that basically said that they would NOT be making any new badges, but they would NOT shut down what had already been made. It felt like the entire site was on the way out, and it STILL wouldn't result in my class being gamified.
So, this led me to Alice Keeler's blog - she has TONS information on all things digital. I read her article on creating your own badges in a spreadsheet. I completely understood how to do it, and knew I could build out the spreadsheet following her awesome step by step directions, but it STILL wasn't what I wanted. It would take me a TON of time and work to create something that was ALMOST, but not quite what I was looking for and then I FINALLY I decided to visit Teachers Pay Teachers.
Like the glorious sunrise above, I foundMichael Matera's spreadsheet which is a thing of beauty. It contains tons of complex formulas that calculate leaderboards, XP points, and all kinds of fantastic stuff -- all you do is input your students, place them on teams and SHAZAM!!! you've got a way to turn your ENTIRE course into a game!
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AuthorJen has been teaching school for awhile now. She's learned some stuff, but she's got tons more to learn. Archives
October 2017
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