In my last post I talked about all the reasons I wanted to gamify my classroom in the upcoming school year. But perhaps I should be skeptical of this "trend" in education. Later this summer, I plan to present to the Education Committee about why I would like to add a course fee for a Learning Management System (LMS) that helps manage gamification in the classroom. I have a feeling they are going to be skeptical about this idea (the course fee and gamification).
Please help!
-If you have experience with gamification, what were some of the questions/concerns people had when you tried to implement it?
-Play the devil's advocate, why are you skeptical about gamification?
-If you don't like the idea, what are some reasons I should just say "no" to gamification?
I very much appreciate your input.
Kaelyn, I wouldn't focus on just the gamification. I would look at all of the things that an LMS can add to the classroom (and as a way to extend the classroom).
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I notice that you are in Michigan. I'm not sure if it has changed, but for much of the time that I worked in Michigan, MDE used to provide districts with access to Blackboard. So you might want to investigate that, as you might already have the ability to access an LMS (free-of-charge even), and it just not be something that your district promotes that much so you haven't heard of it.
I'm originally from Michigan, but now in the PNW. I appreciate your thoughts, but I am not really looking for an LMS. Our school has settled on Edmodo, but its not widely used. I am after 3Dgamelab for gamifying.
DeleteHi Kaelyn,
ReplyDeleteMy experience is from a high school English teaching perspective. Last year I submitted a funding request for me to attend the Chris Gaskell's 3D GameLab Teacher Camp (a year's worth of access to their training and conferences, etc.). The site leadership team approved my request and I began participation. I had a few different reactions from other staff members when they heard about it. One was concerned that I would come back and present on it as if everyone should do it (never my intention, but interesting feedback), and others were excited for me and did not feel concern like the first teacher. In the end, I participated in the first 2 of 12 months on 3D GameLab and pretty soon the extra time I just was not motivated to put in the extra time on top of other life and work commitments.
To sum up my experience, I love the idea of bringing the gaming context into learning, but the demands and the amount of time it takes to make that shift is overwhelming, especially if one is doing it on their own. That said, I still hope to implement it one day in one of my preps.
I really appreciate your insights. When I dabbled in gamifying last school year I tracked everything myself, I like how 3Dgamelab will automate the process.
DeleteHi Kaelyn,
ReplyDeleteI think some subjects are more able to be "gamified" than others. I know I love incorporating this into a high school mathematics class room, especially during reviews or for extra practice. There is so much material available for math but I wonder how much content there really is in other subject areas.
I have some good ideas for the history classroom!
Delete