#games4ed discussions cover ways in which gaming can be used in education. Games mirror the way the human mind was designed to learn. They motivate players to take risks and actions, persevere through failures, set and achieve increasingly difficult goals, and devote attention, time, and effort to acquiring knowledge and skills. All this while the game is tracking the player’s actions and assessing the player’s achievements and skills. Isn’t this what we want from education?
Hi everyone! I am a pre-service teacher from Grove City College majoring in Middle Level Math/History. My name is Grant Wood and I am excited to be here! #games4ed
Hello! It's been waaaaay too long but I'm here tonight! Shannon from Denver, currently ELD and AVID teacher, and Iron Man! And I have an interview for my dream job next Wednesday! #games4ed
N from 🇨🇦, #edtech creator, cofounder and enthusiast. Big fan of Star-Lord right now - music + comedy = 👍👍. And not bad looking either 😉 Although - gotta love baby Groot too :) #games4ed
There's many names for it depending on the school: Library Technology Educator, Digital Teacher Librarian, Digital Coach... this school is Digital Teacher Librarian. I'm so stoked and now nervous since I need to make a 10 minute presentation lol #games4ed
Q1: How familiar are you with the Hero's Journey? Do you use it to plan games or quests in your classroom? How? #games4ed
Want more info? Check it out: https://t.co/24sujUQo87
You'll be great! My advice for presenting is always confidence - remember that no one knows your presentation as well as you do, so own it. As much as our minds like imagining it - no one sits in a presentation hoping the speaker will screw up. They're on your side. #games4ed
A1 - Yes, I know/am familiar. Haven't used it as much as I'd like to as it doesn't quite line up with previous projects. However current project... #games4ed
Q1: How familiar are you with the Hero's Journey? Do you use it to plan games or quests in your classroom? How? #games4ed
Want more info? Check it out: https://t.co/24sujUQo87
A1) Being an English teacher I'm very familiar with the Hero's Journey path. I haven't had a chance to integrate that idea within my classroom but that could be a brilliant structure for the school year. The climax for each semester could be the "finals boss" #games4ed
Q2: A hero's journey begins with a call to adventure. What's one of the most fun/most effective/most exciting calls to adventure in your classroom?
#games4ed
A2) we do a junkyard wars project making race cars out of recycled trash and then race against other classes. The kids LOVE the teaser trailer I show. Save the world one junk car at a time #games4ed
I've seen teachers create intro videos for their gamified classroom; an opening cinematic inspired by today's blockbuster video games. I'd love to either do one or help someone create one #games4ed
Q1: How familiar are you with the Hero's Journey? Do you use it to plan games or quests in your classroom? How? #games4ed
Want more info? Check it out: https://t.co/24sujUQo87
A2: The greatest adventures in the classroom are sometimes the ones that are unplanned, the ones that are student lead. Being a pre-service teacher, I hope some of my students will step up to the plate and take initiative.#games4ed
A2) I've seen teachers create intro videos for their gamified classroom; an opening cinematic inspired by today's blockbuster video games. I'd love to either do one or help someone create one #games4ed
I've seen teachers create intro videos for their gamified classroom; an opening cinematic inspired by today's blockbuster video games. I'd love to either do one or help someone create one #games4ed
Q2: A hero's journey begins with a call to adventure. What's one of the most fun/most effective/most exciting calls to adventure in your classroom?
#games4ed
You bring up a good point. Some teachers form a unit around a fictional narrative with an enemy within the story. I love how some project-based learning presents a problem as a foe and asks students to find a way to solve it #games4ed
A2: In my future classroom, I think that using a short activity, game, or video would be an effective "call to adventure." Anything that will capture the students' attention so that they are ready to learn! #games4ed
A2) we do a junkyard wars project making race cars out of recycled trash and then race against other classes. The kids LOVE the teaser trailer I show. Save the world one junk car at a time #games4ed
A2 Last year I started w a breakout game. This year Im working on a choice with a branching hero story. Students will become hero's or anti-hero's based on choices...#games4ed
A2 - mystery :) Don't give away everything whether it's the teaser trailer mentioned, or hiding clues around a classroom, or setting up a fake "crime" scene... Get them motivated to ask to do more. :) #games4ed
Q2: A hero's journey begins with a call to adventure. What's one of the most fun/most effective/most exciting calls to adventure in your classroom?
#games4ed
Q3: Sometimes in the Hero's Journey, the hero rejects the call. Students sometimes do this as well. How do you deal with a situation where students aren't interested in "the call"?
#games4ed
And I'd add - science Ts often do this really well, with showing an experiment that makes Ss go "wow" and then have them start looking into the *why*. #games4ed
A3: Make them interested in the call. There are things we can do as teachers to engage our students where they are at. By doing this, it gives them a sense of motivation. #games4ed
A3 - Have them join the "dark side" 😉 But more honestly, this is where it's good to not have a single journey, as Ss *are* different, and not all will like/accept the same story. #games4ed
Q3: Sometimes in the Hero's Journey, the hero rejects the call. Students sometimes do this as well. How do you deal with a situation where students aren't interested in "the call"?
#games4ed
A2 at the start of my flip lessons I have a call to action. Ive been posting my audio recorded narrative on my blog. Seasons 3 and 4 were my fav! #Games4Edhttps://t.co/SXscN2g0N5
As a PST, my goal for adventure is discovery learning in practical ways. Really applying myself to find the meaning in assignments for my students. #games4ed
A3: This goes along with knowing our students. If we know that a student isn't interested in a particular activity, we need to know what types of activities they ARE interested in and have a back up plan in case that happens. Not all students enjoy the same things. #games4ed
Totally agree! And be flexible. I was frustrated when I had kids who didn't want to write poetry this wk, no matter how cool I tried to make it. But I started them fiction writing instead. Backup plans are good! #games4ed
A3: hear students out. listen 2 their voice. ask them what they would suggest instead. Choice -> agency -> greater learning, plus I know very little about this subject... gaming in class when I was a kid was secretly playing tetris on my calculator during a math lesson #games4ed
Q3: Sometimes in the Hero's Journey, the hero rejects the call. Students sometimes do this as well. How do you deal with a situation where students aren't interested in "the call"?
#games4ed
A3: Like I said in A2, finding the meaning in "the call" for my students. Making the adventure meaningful and applicable to them will help them find interest. #games4ed
Agreed! This is an area I'm focusing on this summer. I want to keep working on option variety--the more I do it and give Ss autonomy, the more I love my classroom! #games4ed
A3 - Have them join the "dark side" 😉 But more honestly, this is where it's good to not have a single journey, as Ss *are* different, and not all will like/accept the same story. #games4ed
Q3: Sometimes in the Hero's Journey, the hero rejects the call. Students sometimes do this as well. How do you deal with a situation where students aren't interested in "the call"?
#games4ed
I'm prototyping/MVP-ing an app write now that is about designing sort of CYOA style stories that can have problems (like text or number based, or gps check ins, or photos...) Super preliminary but... #games4ed
Q4: Throughout the journey, the hero uses their allies to help them along the way.
How do you build teams and teamwork in your classroom to create unity?
#games4ed
A4: This is a great question. As teachers, we need to create allies, not enemies. Making a community of learners and not a community of competition. #games4ed
I was watching The Martian the other night. Survival was answering a series of questions... He had to "science the s--- out of the problems"! Sounds like a science based game to me! #games4ed
A4) In the past I've made student groups rely on a leader. Only that leader could ask questions for their group causing them to work together more #games4ed
A3 I have alternate roles available, sometimes they take over NPC for me or help run the game in some way. I have had them elect to become the Challenge that others had to overcome #Games4Ed
This is so true!! If I can't explain to students why something we're doing is important to them, then I can't in good conscience tell them to do it #games4ed
A4 - STOP RANKING STUDENTS!!! Seriously - in classes where your grade directly translated between % to letter vs those where curving and ranking decided how many got "As", the first were more collaborative, as it was to no ones detriment if everyone did well. #games4ed
Q4: Throughout the journey, the hero uses their allies to help them along the way.
How do you build teams and teamwork in your classroom to create unity?
#games4ed
A4 this is my current gameplanning! Working on creating rival groups that battle but have to end up coming together to defeat the big bad... More to come! #games4ed
A4: looking for ideas. it is difficult in the Learning Support classroom (more like a resource room) because most of my support is 1-1 or small group... so if any of you have any ideas... would love to hear them... #games4ed
Q4: Throughout the journey, the hero uses their allies to help them along the way.
How do you build teams and teamwork in your classroom to create unity?
#games4ed
A4: The goal is to build teams both between my students and between myself and other teachers. Two (or more) heads are better than one. The more collaboration in the classroom the larger the learning impact! #games4ed
A4 I build teams differently depending on group dynamics, how long they have been together, where we are in the year and what the project or activity is. A Ss may be in several groups at one time #games4ed
A4) In the past I've made student groups rely on a leader. Only that leader could ask questions for their group causing them to work together more #games4ed
A4: To create unity in the classroom, I would do group activities. I would change the groups up so that everyone has a chance to work with different people. Having groups participate in games would be a good way to create unity because they need to work together. #games4ed
Q5. Although tests and formal papers can be boss battles, they're not very fun or creative. What's the most fun and/or creative activity that has served as the "final battle" in your classroom? #games4ed
I've recently been getting back into @ClassDojo and they have a group maker tool that randomly places students into groups. You can choose sizes from 2-huge. You can even whitelist students so that certain kids aren't grouped together #games4ed
I can see how that would be a challenge when they're not in there together. Perhaps a way for them to solve a puzzle or case asynchronously? They could leave notes to each other to communicate ideas for the puzzle? #games4ed
A5: The best cumulative assignment for a class I have completed was a group simulation/project. It was engaging, productive and I learned more from it than any test I would have taken. #games4ed
A5 - I like when you have to build something to solve a problem. Journey is learning skills to do so, final battle is showing that what you built solves initial problem. #games4ed
Q5. Although tests and formal papers can be boss battles, they're not very fun or creative. What's the most fun and/or creative activity that has served as the "final battle" in your classroom? #games4ed
A5: The perfect ending project would be something that includes all learning types and major points from class. Having the students complete either an escape room or individual breakout boxes would be great. #games4ed
A5 we did houses one year and tied it up with a final chess match and PE game for the last house points. Others are just big Turing points in games where the objective shifts. All are at a point where content knowledge is shown but not on a test or paper #Games4Ed
Yep, when you make the group in @ClassDojo look at the bottom of the window when you select the group size. You can customize who cannot be with another student. #games4ed
In reply to
@mpilakow, @ACornelius98, @ClassDojo, @ClassDojo
I had a grad course where we spent the entire semester as a class building a mini-golf playing robot. "Final" was having it play a couple of holes (super basic holes, but "holes"). #games4ed
I like these ideas, just remember to take a note from good games - failure on first try does not equal failure - you get to try again and again. We should stop requiring Ss complete stuff with time constraints without giving them re-dos. #games4ed
A5: The perfect ending project would be something that includes all learning types and major points from class. Having the students complete either an escape room or individual breakout boxes would be great. #games4ed
A5: One of the best activities that I did as a studen was create a board game about probability. Each group was given a different math topic and made a board game about it, then on the last day of school we played our games! It was super fun and creative. #games4ed
That depends, the houses ran all year long and tied into academic paperwork, PE, chess and Ss organized comparisons. My into games are shorter and tie into what is being taught in either sci or history #games4ed
A5: the most creative "final battle" I have ever seen to place in @mrgodsiff's PhysEd class. The Ss summited videos of an "aesthetic movement routine" instead of gymnastics or dance which many of the kids have not liked - My fav was "The Chase!" #games4ed
Q5. Although tests and formal papers can be boss battles, they're not very fun or creative. What's the most fun and/or creative activity that has served as the "final battle" in your classroom? #games4ed
A6: I love having days to appreciate others' creations, such as watching their videos. On seniors' last day, we do a signing party with their new lit magazines that they find in a graduation breakout game #games4ed
Sometimes I like shorter, they can be deeper and connect to more a bit more smoothly, I like the yearlong for less academic items that have more Ss control they can usually run it themselves by mid year #games4ed
Wowza, that's awesome! Plus, playing the games is a built in celebration day that follows! What an amazing way to get immediate feedback, too! #games4ed
A6 my old group just loved the victory it was a moment of pride for them no special activities needed. My current group needs parties and prizes as they are very extrinsically motivates still #games4ed
Q7: At the end of a journey, the hero returns to their old world and applies what they've learned. In what ways have you seen students demonstrate this? #games4ed
A6: I had a teacher that would do dance parties with us to celebrate. I have also had teachers that celebrate with food days, or letting us have class outside. I loved these fun celebrations and hope to use them with my students. #games4ed
A6: Again... I have to give credit to my PE teacher husband @mrgodsiff... he lets Ss play/design their own games/activities at the end of the unit... for one unit he let his class create their own obstacle course... loved watching the time lapses of the create stages #games4ed
A7 each game builds acc and social skills by the time they leave me they can plan lessons, manage time, solve conflicts, form groups, run events, manage a class room, plan trips and so much more #games4ed
A7: having parents send pictures or texts to me of students applying what they have learned at school at home. This is the greatest compliment/gift a teacher can receive I think #games4ed
Q7: At the end of a journey, the hero returns to their old world and applies what they've learned. In what ways have you seen students demonstrate this? #games4ed
I also find that in these 2-3 weeks of school that I have to dangle the carrot a ltitle more. And especially with the seniors with less than two weeks before graduation! Twinkies can go a long way to motivate ;) #games4ed
How fun! Dance parties would be so much fun with the right kids! Also, I haven't done this for a long time, but maybe even a sidewalk chalk party with spring here! #games4ed
So sorry! Got here late! The Hero’s Welcome is something I’ve really been thinking about lately. Important piece, but it’s challenging to create this in an authentic way. #games4ed
A8: So many awesome ideas tonight. I like @CQuallsEDS idea about developing characters and then merging them with new characters in narrative writing... #games4ed
A8: I have so many great ideas now because of tonight's chat! I think one of my favorite takeaways is that I can use @ClassDojo to make randomized groups! This will be super helpful in the future. #games4ed
