Gamification- I am Pac-Man

I recently went on a trip to Grand Rapids for the MACUL (Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning) conference that had a theme of "Ignite Learning".  It was an afternoon filled with countless speakers who wanted to offer some different techniques and insights into various aspects of utilizing technology in the classroom.  Choosing which of the sessions and speakers to visit was difficult to say the least.  I ended up catching a session from Liz Kolb about Gamification, another about why to use BYOD in the classroom, and finally a session that discussed the different ways to provide digital feedback.  In between these sessions we had the chance to check out the exhibit hall and explore the beautiful city of GR.  The Exhibit Hall, frankly, did not excite me all that much.  I was overwhelmed with the scale of the event to begin with and this was a carnival of huge players in the tech world.  It seemed as though most of the people were there to market to principals and bigger fish than a measly teaching intern, but it was interesting to see some of the different things that schools are trying out these days.  While the overall experience was fun and engaging, there was one session about which I'd like to talk a little more.

We have been exploring the idea of integrating the foundation of gaming into the classroom for quite some time now.  However, before this session with Liz Kolb, I was still unsure of how it would be practically applied to a classroom.  For instance, I wondered things like how grading would work, if competition would isolate students, and how you incorporate standards into the system of gamification.  Well, Lix answered most of these questions during her hour session called "I Am Pac-Man".  

  Some of the session covered material that, as I said, we were already introduced to during our technology course.  For example, changing grades into experience points, was a concept that Liz talked about as a way to deviate from the negative drawbacks of grades and how they are typically perceived by kids.  Under this concept, earning experience points will allow you to level up and master certain topics or skills being taught in the class.  Once you have earned enough points, you can show the instructor and move onto the next level. This idea emphasizes incremental rewards and consistent boosts of confidence.  The points can only go up, which is a nice idea to remove the negative image of a bad grade. Even when a student does poorly, he/she is still gaining points.  This is a concept I like.

 How this shows up in grade books, at conferences, and in IEPs and such is something that I am still unsure about.  However, with some further research and closer inspection, it seems doable.  However, I still foresee some of the same cons of grades surfacing with experience points.  Comparing class points for example, may deter some students from engaging because they know they are so far behind that they will never be able to 'catch up'.

Monitoring progress and tracking student performance is an aspect of gamification that sounds like it would really benefit student learning.  Especially in an environment that thrives on setting and achieving personal goals.  This could allow for a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, depending on the types of learners in the classroom.

Overall, like anything else, I think you have to know your students and what best serves them before choosing a style of teaching that appears to be as rigid and structured as this.  It's a gamble that seems to pay dividends when used by a seasoned veteran, but it's a risk I don't see myself taking for quite some time.

I really want to play Pac-Man now, though.  Any arcades around here?