Today @hturk139 will be moderating the chat - feel free to ask any questions! To follow the moderator, open @hturk139’s profile in a new Twitter window or as a new column if using TweetDeck. #NT2t
We will be using Q1, A1, Q2, A2 (question 1/answer 1) format. Please include the A & question number in your reply (A1, A2, etc)
Please make sure you include #NT2t in your response as well so we all learn from each other.
I am Hannah, former 1st grade T, in northern VA, USA. Favorite game is so hard to call, but after visiting family last weekend, UNO is definitely a big one! #nt2t
A1 I don’t know the exact definition of gamification but in my opinion whenever learning is gift wrapped within the covers of a fun game we can call if gamification #nt2t
We are all doing well and apparently the rainy season here too. we've had about 12.7cm of rain in the last several days. My garden is growing mushrooms. #NT2t
A1: Gamification is taking non-game contexts and combining them with the mechanics or design. Games are made as games, whereas gamification is something made into a game! #nt2t
Would you say the effectiveness with digital natives is only when the gamification is digital, or would that also be when you include game elements in traditional interactions/lessons? #nt2t
A1 To me, gamification is taking content you are going to teach and adding elements of a game to the lesson. It becomes “just a game” when the game itself is more of a focus than the content #nt2t
Thanks for sharing this Simon! I know many of us think of gamification as playing "games" int he classroom and it's important we understand the terms. #NT2t
Point systems, team or player competition, even stickers or prizes. I’ve found kids get especially into the game when there is a leaderboard, like in Kahoot. #nt2t
A2 - Pros: Engaging, easy, reach students on a level they are familiar with. Cons: Very often confused by administrations/evaluators, can be used incorrectly. It is important that gamification is not JUST simple review games. #nt2t
A1: Gamification can mean that learning tasks are organized so that when learners meet goals, level of content/skill difficulty may increase, earn tokens/badges as if playing a game. Engaging and Motivating #nt2t
A2. Pro. Motivation engagement collaboration and strategy skills/critical thinking. Cons. Distractions, students not liking/being ready for learning style, yime/energy spent by tchr #nt2t
A2. Pros. #Gamification can increase engagement through healthy competition and make learning fun.
Cons. Can dis-hearten students espec. those that always come last/ bottom of leader board.
#nt2t
A2:
Pros: motivational, engaging, fun
Cons: lost in the game, forgetting the content, only focus on fun
Best is to find a way combining the elements of games and using them to support learning without forgetting the learning process.
#nt2t
A2: The pros are definitely the thinking and collaboration. The cons, at least for me, can be the reliance on some kind of award at the end. I always worry that we are teaching that everything has to be motivated by a reward. (I know i'm not stating this well). #NT2t
Pros: engaging, motivating, promotes healthy competitiveness
Cons: can get addictive at times, deviating from@the core content, can turn into nasty competition for older age groups at times #nt2t
A2 Pros - more student engagement, gives incentive to participate, competition can be fun; Cons - could get too competitive, game could overshadow content #nt2t
This is such a challenge for me in 1st grade because the 'course' if ever changing. And to gamify a single unit, which often lasts only a few days to a week, can be very involved. I need a gamifying concept that works over multiple units. #nt2t
A3 I think it can start from the Early Learners itself, with the exception of the reward at the end. By age 6, it’s a good idea to gradually start bringing in the concept of rewards and awards #nt2t
a1 Gamification is learning with play. The goals and rules are set, and it's easy to engage students, especially ones who would usually have trouble in a normal Q & A setting. #nt2t
A2: Pros: creating a new interest or motivation in certain content; can foster collaborative learning
Cons: noise and high-competition can be a classroom management nightmare; are we creating games /just/ for motivation or making them part of the content? #nt2t
A2: I feel like my classroom is very engaging and students are always collaborating. Unfortunately I haven’t gameified my courses. I feel overwhelmed with point systems and rewards. I know I need to just try! #nt2t#stem
#nt2t I wonder if gamification could also be about beating your own score, or points. That way, students can strive to be better themselves rather than just better than others.
This! Working with students who struggle makes it so hard, although I know a leaderboard would be helpful for many. But how do you move up/down, how much of the leaderboard do they get to see, and how do you account for those that are always in the bottom/dominate the top? #nt2t
A3. Gamification can be used at any age. Easiest way is to reward students with badges / stickers (physical or virtual) - who doesn't like sticker!? 😃 My fav tool has to be @ClassDojo - use badges/stickers to reward/model good behaviour #nt2t
Agree, but how do you keep it from becoming a competition between kids? Back in the day when I had the SRA reading program (self-paced) in elem school, that became highly competitive. #NT2t
LOVE ClassDojo! Definitely an effective tool, although we had to hide the point amounts until Fridays so that Ss weren't so distracted by who has the most points. #nt2t
A3: Think it's difficult to answer. Because kids start their learning with games. So gamification means it's a process initiated by educators to regulate learning. Should it start with school, from year 1? Why not? #nt2t
I can see that, but also thinking it naturally becomes about beating others sooner or later. Could that be turned into "let's see how far we can get collectively" instead? #NT2t
One tool I love is @GetKahoot . With kahoot you have a leader board but, unlike other games, also has a ghost mode which allows students to try to beat their own score rather than compete with everyone else. #nt2t
And it gets difficult to keep up with as well. And honestly, in my adult life I don't get points for coming to work; I will just get fired if I don't do my job. Are we setting kids up? #NT2t
a3 I think as young as age 4 or 5 could understand and follow directions for gamification for at least 10 minutes. If the child is willing to take instruction, and the instructions are clear, it works. #nt2t
Yes, the same concept as a group goal or reward. Perhaps having different goals/systems for the reward, a team, and a whole class. I did that and it was very effective for behavior. #nt2t
That’s a School favourite for us too. We’ve recently also tried @quizizz which is quite similar only that it doesn’t show the live leaderboard. Everyone plays at their own pace. #nt2t
In reply to
@clcsimon, @hturk139, @GetKahoot, @quizizz
A3: "Gamified" learning can begin at any age. To help alleviate the problem students always being at the bottom, include more collaborative work. Pair/Group -learners earn on learning outcome and participate in group #nt2t
Agreed. And at that young age too, I think the concept of a game gets through to them so effectively and they don't even realize they are learning! My 1 year old plays games with me that are teaching even the most basic concepts (cause and effect, relationships, etc.) #nt2t
#nt2t Okay, what do you think about the badging system--Like Boy Scouts. Or Pokemon cards, whereby kids do different things to collect different cards.
I once remember buying a pack of silly stickers for my high / middle school aged students and some of my college aged students saw them on my desk and asked why they didn't get stickers for doing well! 😆 #nt2t
A4 another great example is through the use of photo and video evidence based on any topic, like a scavenger hunt. It’s an app called @GooseChase where each team runs around to score points by clicking the right pictures #nt2t
Oooo, didn't know about Kahoot ghost mode! That would be a great visual way for young students to compete against themselves! @SFecich do you know about this?
...I'm sure you already do. #nt2t
Sometimes I think yes. I like competing with yourself, but once you start comparing your score to others, it can lead to hurt feelings and bullying. Not sure what the answer is. #NT2t
And even making it collaborative....how can "we" beat our score as a whole class? How can we help each other to move forward? How can we teach those that are struggling? #NT2t
#nt2t Just building onto Julie, I wonder if the key here is the score. I wonder if there are other ways we could show strength in students so that they cannot compare by just numbers.
One of my co-workers cultivated an environment where students (1st grade) congratulated each other every time someone got a ClassDojo point. It became so automatic for them that they never saw it as 'more than me'. Not to say everyone was always happy, but a start! #nt2t
Understand. So gamification should include emotional learning too. It's not only about knowledge, could be good for development empathy and team spirit. #nt2t
Talk about stickers! Long back one of my Principals used to give us teachers smilies on good lesson plans and that used to be such an ecstatic moment at least for me! Appreciation at any age counts, always counts! #nt2t
In reply to
@clcsimon, @NgMarlon, @hturk139, @ClassDojo
@gimkit is new and designed by a student. My kids loved it. Sort of like kahoot/quizizz but with different mechanics. And question continually repeat to build mastery #nt2t
In reply to
@seni_bl, @clcsimon, @hturk139, @GetKahoot, @quizlet, @gimkit
I'm pretty sure that program #ABCMouse is gamification in action. When you learn through characters/ fun people you're already familiar with, it's easier to learn new things. #nt2t
Absolutely. Developmentally they are not at the point of intrinsic motivation, so there needs to be some level of extrinsic motivation, even if it is just a virtual sticker or having some symbol of accomplishment (class recognition, acknowledgement, etc.). #nt2t
A4. Borrowed this example from a high school English teacher where he awarded points for each verb in a story depending on the complexity, for example: 3 points for the word 'Dark and 5 points for the word 'Ominous'. Teacher would tot up score at end. #nt2t
I was never into stuff like that but I know it works for others as a great motivator. In my head it can still lead to unwanted comparisons between kids - see who has more. #NT2t
A4 - Games that foster interaction with the material vs. simple rote memorization are much more impactful. Both have their place for certain. @SMART_Tech and their "Student Learning Suite Online" is excellent at providing these opportunities! #nt2t
h my goodness me too!!! I would love to see someone who is experienced with this in action. And I would like to see it in a school with many cultures and races. #NT2t
A4.2 - I consider movie making to be a close cousin to gamification. It allows students to interact with material and be creative while truly showing what they know. Like gamification it is a fun and engaging way for students to show what they know! #nt2t
I think stickers are easy in the younger ones, but often simple encouragement written &/or verbal/ applause for them goes a long way. :) #nt2t If possible, know what the students want to do that is possible to reward them with.
A5: could anyone give a perfect answer? Think there are too many factors: game, age, players, teacher, knowledge.
I could imagine that in many cases it's better to give an introduction. If it's a "small" game, it could be possible to let the kids jump in and find out. #nt2t
A5 - My classroom is technology rich. I feel that students should, at the very least, be introduce to different types of tech/gamification one at a time. This helps ensure that they don't mix up the "how-tos" of each! #nt2t
I am in the midst of figuring out how I can do all of this for adults to make normally tedious and boring training into a fun, learning opportunity. #NT2t
In reply to
@seni_bl, @hartel30, @clcsimon, @hturk139, @GetKahoot, @quizlet, @gimkit
I feel the same way about little ones. I don't even know where to start to begin mapping out what game elements for a classroom/lesson/unit. I need some sort of blueprint or template! #NT2t#Gamification
In reply to
@shyj, @seni_bl, @hartel30, @clcsimon, @GetKahoot, @quizlet, @gimkit
Understand. So gamification should include emotional learning too. It's not only about knowledge, could be good for development empathy and team spirit. #nt2t
#nt2t Good point. I wonder if it is not about # of cards you collect but the different types of profile you can create. A person w/ 3 different badges/ cards no different than a person with 6. Just highlight a different strength. ie) In D&D a fighter vs magic user has dif skills.
Start simple with things like @GetKahoot and @quizizz . They offer ease of use for even the youngest students ensuring they don't have to focus on HOW to play and just enjoy playing! Be prepared for a little C-R-A-Z-Y!! #nt2t
#nt2t Super idea Ines. Makes sense to incorporate life skills and 21st century mindset into the gamification. We need to move from stupid measurements to meaningful metrics about Ss as individuals.
In the QuestLearningOnline program, we give students points for completing HW and listening to the instructor during class time. The points are logged and it's a website that they/ parents can order whatever prizes are available to be mailed to them. #nt2t
Think that could be motivating. And btw I hope that digital badges could replace the grading system. I imagine a portfolio system where you present your different reached levels and the badges are your certificates to show that you have met the needs. #nt2t
A4.2 - I consider movie making to be a close cousin to gamification. It allows students to interact with material and be creative while truly showing what they know. Like gamification it is a fun and engaging way for students to show what they know! #nt2t
Understand. So gamification should include emotional learning too. It's not only about knowledge, could be good for development empathy and team spirit. #nt2t
A6 - As with EVERY online activity/use, the number 1 concern is student safety and Digital Citizenship. I focus on using games and game sites that do not require any students log-in. @SMART_Tech@GetKahoot@Flipgrid@quizizz are all excellent examples of this type of site! #nt2t
@SFecich used (still uses?) digital badges for her PreTs and I always thought that was so cool! Although she can better speak to how effective it was for that age demographic. I think that for competitive types they really took to it, but others not so much? #nt2t
In reply to
@seni_bl, @NgMarlon, @shyj, @missheins, @SFecich
Gamification can also be used as a classroom management technique. I know MS teacher who does it. Students lose points for being late, not prepared, and even for using the restroom during class time instead of in between periods. His students love to see the leader board #nt2t
Adding aspects of theater/ role playing is great when possible. It's like in preschool having the play kitchen, store, or other area, kids learn social cues and aspects of life. That's gamification, too. #nt2t
Gamification can also be used as a classroom management technique. I know MS teacher who does it. Students lose points for being late, not prepared, and even for using the restroom during class time instead of in between periods. His students love to see the leader board #nt2t
Thanks @hturk139 for leading a great #nt2t topic today. Thanks to everyone for thought provoking responses. A lot to unpack. Enjoy the weekend and stay cool.
