Gamification is all the rage within edu circles. It has tremendous potential in the education space. How can we use it to deliver truly meaningful experiences to students? The inforgraphic at the bottom can provide background, some how’s and some why’s educators might want to think about gameifying.

At it’s core, gamification is simply adding the element of applying game design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging. It doesn’t mean to play games on the computer, which believe it or not, may be how it’s interpreted.

So how could an administrator turn this into an opportunity for the staff? Take the greatness of Luna Elementary and their can food drive. They’ve turned it into a CAN-dy Land competition between all the classes. Every ten cans the class brings, the players get to move a “space”. The markers? Those lovely classroom picture negatives that you get after school pictures. Along the candy path there are “prizes” that can be earned, maybe even some pitfalls!

Another idea?

What if you turned your staff development into a GAME? Bucket lists and punch lists are found on Pinterest for every holiday and season. Create one for your staff (or class!) expectations! Incorporate what is relevant to your course and vision and make it more interesting than a bullet pointed list! Here’s an example I came up with. Was thinking that once it was completed they could be treated to a cup of hot chocolate with a peppermint stir stick. Something small but something that shows I appreciate their effort…

 

These resources and couple of more will also be shared in my upcoming Leadership 3.0 webinar. This program is a professional learning community that will help school principals use Web 2.0 tools to be an innovative leader, help teachers grow professionally, improve student learning, and improve communications with all stakeholders. My session is called “Become a PD pro! Best Practices for Administrators”.What

What can you do in your building or classroom to increase engagement through gamification?

 

Game on,

Amber