Gamification Idea
The gamification process in my classroom would be similar to Megan Ellis’, however, with a minor adjustment to the goals. Megan’s goals were for her students to acquire study skills, eliminate extra credit, and early finishers. I would keep these same goals and add one more, efficient classroom management. This is an area I fall short in and I can’t quite figure out why, even after teaching for 3 and a half years. I believe if I had a gamified process in place, I would be able to keep my students engaged and motivated. I like the idea Megan has presented for many reasons. First, the way she presents her material, does not require any online software or programs that have pricy monthly/yearly subscriptions. She also has set in place specific days to grade and reward students to prevent from over-working herself. This has been my main concern since I learned about the idea of gamification. I have pushed to my limits as it is right now with school work and all the other demands that I don’t think I would be able to keep up with a system that required daily attention. This process also allows students to have a choice in what they do in class when they have finished early, need additional practice, studying, or need to bring up their grade/extra credit. Additionally, the activities, games, simulations, or assignments can be tailored to student interest, maybe not all girls are going to want to play games and maybe not all boys will want to complete reading/writing assignments. The last consideration about this gamification process is failure. Failure is addressed in two ways: one through games by students want to succeed after failing a game and two, by not failing. This isn’t going to solve the issue and engage every student, but those students aren’t going to fail because didn’t participate. I don’t want students to feel like this is mandatory, I want them to participate because they choose too. This process of gamification is not a replacement for what we do in class, I want to use it as an “extra”.
Gamification in Room 702
Megan Ellis' approach to gaming in the classroom inspired me to begin using her same method in my classroom. I am far from implementing it anytime soon due to science resources not yet being available by the district, however, I took Megan's idea and incorporated it into my class Google Site (I have provided a link to this site in the title above). Now that I have tried creating this myself, I have discovered Megan must have devoted lots of time to get everything established the way she has. My product is at the beginning stages, but hopefully one day (soon) I will have this up and running for my students to take advantage of!