Presented at ISTE 2017

1. Hot Tips for Using
Games in Education
Dr. Kristin Brynteson
Kristi Sutter
ISTE 2017

4. “A game is an opportunity to focus our
energy, with relentless optimism, at
something we’re good at (or getting
better at) and enjoy. In other words,
gameplay is the direct emotional
opposite of depression.”
Jane McGonigal

5. Why Games?
• Engages learners
• Provides motivation
• Improves retention
• Provides positive reinforcement
• Builds resilliance and perseverence
• Formative Assessment
• Creates a fun learning environment

6. “Learning is a deep human need,
like mating and eating, and like
all such needs it is meant to be
deeply pleasurable to human
beings.”
― James Paul Gee,
Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul: Pleasure and Learning

7. Gamification
Uses game elements and
mechanics to motivate
learners.
Game-Based Learning
Integrates games into the
learning process.

8. Game Design Mechanics
• Leaderboards
• Avatars
• Points
• Power-ups
• Badges/Cards/Currency (virtual or not)
• Markets
• Rewards
• Theme (inspiration)
• Infinite Play

9. Low-Tech/No Tech Tools
• Avatar creators
• Voki - http://www.voki.com/
• Avatar Maker - http://avatarmaker.com/
• Badge creators
• Open Badges - https://www.openbadges.me/designer.html
• Canva - https://www.canva.com/features/badges/
• Leaderboards
• SMARTspace templates
• https://www.smartspaceniu.com/steaming-it-up/

10. High-Tech Gamification Tools
• Class Dojo
• ChoreMonster
• Edmodo
• Classcraft
• Blue Rabbit
• Habitica
• Tabletop Audio
• Adventure Scents
• Suggestions?

11. Game-Based Learning Tools
• BrainPOP
• Quizlet
• Power My Learning
• Kahoot!
• Quizizz
• Plickers
• Filament Games
• Prodigy
• Symbaloo- Learning Paths
• BreakoutEDU
• Suggestions?

12. Game Creators
• Scratch
• Tynker
• Stencyl
• GameMaker
• Twine
• YouTube
• PowerPoint/Google Slides

13. Share Your Tools
https://padlet.com/kbrynteson1/ISTE2017

14. Creating Immersive
Game Experiences
STEM Read Style:
Learn the Science. Live the Book

15. WELCOME TO THE
END OF THE WORLD

17. Rules for Survival
•Your team is protecting 10 meeples worth 150 points each.
•You will receive a Team Identity Card.
•You will receive resource cards worth 100 points each.
•You will face a series of challenges that will force you to use
resources to save meeples.

18. Will You Survive?

19. Mathfall Challenge Rules
• Work with the participants at your table to answer 5 math questions.
• You will be handed the first question in an envelope. Do not open the envelope until
instructed to do so.
• Answer each question as quickly as possible, WITHOUT THE USE OF A CALCULATOR/DEVICE.
• When your group has an answer, bring your paper and a meeple to the front of the room.

20. Team Identities and Abilities
• Each envelope includes a team identity card and a special ability card.
• Your team identity should guide your decisions throughout the rest of the game, but you
don’t always have to act according to that identity.
• Your special ability card has no point value and can only be used once. After you use it, you
must turn the card to the front.
• If you gained a meeple, come to the front to claim it.
• If you took a meeple out of play, bring it to the front.
• If you confiscated resources, they are yours to keep and use.
• If you have a survival guide you can save a meeple at any time.
• Some special ability cards can protect your team against other cards. In that situation, both groups must
surrender their cards at the front.

21. Engineering for Survival

22. Friend, Foe, or Feast

23. Help, Raid, Shun

24. Make your decision and bring your
meeples to the
Buckets of Fate.

25. Oh no! A Blizzard!
• If you have a WEATHER, FOOD, and SURVIVAL resource card, hand
them to a staff member.
• If not, lose 3 meeples.

26. Welcome to Meepleville

27. Welcome to Meepleville
• Create a sign that welcomes, lures, or scares people away from your settlement based on your
team identity.
• As a team, vote for the settlement that you would most like to join. You cannot vote for your own
settlement.
• Bring your voting card to the front.
• More Votes = More Meeples
• 1st Place = 4 meeples
• 2nd Place = 3 meeples
• 3rd Place = 2 meeples

28. THE FINAL
RECKONING

30. Survive the Quarantine

31. Survive the Quarantine

32. With Special Guest
Lauren Tarshis!
The STEM Read Experience

34. Activities are…
• Fun
• Hands-on
• STEAM-based
• Closely connected to the text
• Story-based (day follows a narrative and has an end goal)
The learning is loud and messy.
Teams will fail…and that’s OK.

35. SMARTspace@NIU
SMARTspace offers free interdisciplinary online games that
address topics in science, math, art, reading, and technology
(SMART) and help students to meet state and national standards
for K-12 learners.
http://smartspaceniu.com/

36. Games and Standards-Alignment
Use standards and/or standardized testing content as inspiration
(CCSS, NGSS, ISTE, ACT/SAT, PARCC).

37. Scavenger Hunt
https://padlet.com/kbrynteson1/ISTE2017

38. Scavenger Hunt
• Find…
• One thing you could implement right away. How would you use it?
• One thing that you could use but it would take a bit of time and planning.
How would you use it?
• One new tool you want to learn more about and why.
• Move to grade level groups.
• Discuss what you found.

39. Conclusion
• Use games to:
• See if students are on track
• Practice content
• To teach new content
• Implement a final assessment
• Start a lesson with a pre-test
• Connect games to content (formative assessment)
• Accommodations/differentiation (scaffolding, supporting
materials, narration and writing, captions on videos)

41. Contact Us
Kristin Brynteson
kbrynteson@niu.edu
Or visit our websites for more:
• http://www.niusteamworks.com/
• http://stemread.com/
• http://smartspaceniu.com/
Kristi Sutter
sutterk@district87.org