May 14
Races provide fuel for viruses. Dozens, hundreds, sometimes thousands of runners in close proximity, breathing for long periods of time greatly increases the risk of getting enough virus in your system to get sick. So races have gone virtual to follow quarantine orders and to protect runners and spectators. A virtual race is when the …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2020/05/14/who-trains-for-a-marathon-during-quarantine/
Feb 19
To make learning in school more playful and game-like, I’ve been working with Gamification for years. By gamifying my courses I continue to teach what I have always taught but more like a game than a school course. Running my class like a game makes it more exciting than just learning Science (or learning how …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2020/02/19/gamification-update/
Dec 16
Quest-Based Learning or QBL is one aspect of Gamification. As you read this post you might wonder, “do I need to gamify my course or use technology to offer choices, multiple pathways, or differentiate?” The answer to that would be a resounding no! Nothing here is new but added to a gamified classroom, the strategies …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2019/12/16/quest-based-learning-qbl/
Oct 08
Just recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed once again by Larry Ferlazzo for his amazing BAM Radio Network show, Classroom Q and A. Larry also shared a written commentary I wrote for his EdWeek column that goes with the show on Grading. My commentary focused on gamifying the grading process to make it …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2019/10/08/talking-about-grading-with-larry-ferlazzo/
Sep 09
Struggling with Reading Back in May of 2012, I wrote a blog post sharing my struggles with reading. Although I read and read well and always did well in school, I don’t read much. Reading is often very tedious for me so it’s easier to read snippets or short passages, which is why I start …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2019/09/09/gaming-vs-reading/
Jul 18
I’ve been thinking about how to up my class game. After making the decision to use Classcraft as the only LMS and gamification engine this coming school year, I’ve been thinking about what to do to make Science more immersive and game-like. Classcraft adds a flavor of fantasy and with daily random events, adds excitement …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2019/07/18/upping-my-game/
Jul 09
I started gamifying my Science classes in the 2012-13 school year. I came up with my own custom badges to keep track of what students were learning and I used Moodle to push out assignments, or quests, with my students. It was more difficult than I thought and didn’t work very well. By the 2013-14 …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2019/07/09/classcraft-finally-beat-rezzly/
Aug 24
Ten days ago I decided to start planning early for the start of the new school year so I would be ready and not feel rushed that week teachers get back to work before the kids start. I found myself blocked and scattered and that took me aback. I spun my wheels and decided to …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2018/08/24/got-some-planning-done-but-still-stressed/
Aug 23
I have always said and I continue to share that if you are going to start gamifying your courses and want to take one small step, start with XP. The way experience points, or XP, work in gaming makes for a decent way to grade our students. Here’s the main difference between traditional grading and …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2018/08/23/gamification-grading-xp/
Jul 25
For my gamification workshops I created a Rezzly course, Gamification 101, to have teachers learn about the more popular gaming elements or game mechanics often used when gamifying a course. By learning about gamification taking a course using a gamification learning management system (LMS) made sense. That way teachers can experience the gaming elements while …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2018/07/25/gamification-elements/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
