Gamification includes using elements of board games, video games, and social games in the classroom to motivate and engage students in learning.
Nov 27
I’ve been using the terms gamification and game-based learning (gbl) interchangeably. It wasn’t until the Reform Symposium 4 that Shelly Terrell made a comment that brought to my attention the difference between the two. Now I’m still new at all this stuff but here’s what my new understanding is regarding gamification and gbl. Gamification is …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/11/27/gamification-vs-game-based-learning/
Oct 14
The 2013 Reform Symposium free, international e-conference weekend has come to an end. If you missed any of the wonderful presentations they are recorded here! Connected educators month is still going on, October, so hopefully some of the great presentations or keynotes got you excited about connecting with others to learn and grow. I shared …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/10/14/gamification-resources/
Jul 14
I’ve been obsessed with preparing a new method of gamifying my classes for the upcoming school year this Fall. I’ve written a bunch of posts sharing my journey to make a Results Only Learning Environment (ROLE) classroom that runs like a real life computer game using the 3D GameLab (3DGL) interface. I added more quests …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/14/almost-ready-for-fall/
Jul 09
After planning possible 6th grade activities, I put them into the 3D GameLab (3DGL) interface ready for kids to Beta test in the fall. So far I have 73 quests in several different chains with room for some student choice. The benefit of having no grades is that kids can really pick and choose what …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/09/8th-grade-year-plan/
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/08/machinima/
Jul 08
I have experienced video game addiction. When I first played World of Warcraft (WoW) I was addicted. I was addicted to leveling up and to gaining the next best skill, attribute or ability. With other games if there cheats I would use them. I had to level up, get to the top level and win. …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/08/game-addiction/
Jul 07
Not sure, jury’s still out on that one for me. In my brief, 22 year career, I’ve tried incentives such as grades, stickers, beans in a jar, lotto tickets, class money, awards all the way to abolishing all of those, even the grades. The change to no rewards and punishments worked, but not as well …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/07/badges-do-we-need-them/
Jul 07
In both my reading of ROLE Reversal and learning how to use the 3D GameLab interface to gamify my classes the concept of student autonomy and choice is very important to create a student-centered experience. Kids need multiple pathways for learning and for demonstrating their learning. That needs to be balanced by the need for …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/07/whole-class-vs-individual-vs-small-group/
Jul 06
The idea of badges and achievements in gaming is a problem for teachers who have abolished extrinsic motivators in their classrooms. In 3DGL there is a Badges section, an Achievements section and an Awards section. I’m really conflicted by the awards section because it’s more like rewards than badges and achievements in my eyes. I …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/06/rewards-and-gaming/
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/06/elements-that-make-games-motivating/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
