This document discusses gamification strategies for the classroom. It suggests incorporating elements from games like showing progress through experience bars, multiple long and short-term goals, rewarding all effort, and regular feedback. Game design principles like an increasing level of challenge and flow can help keep students engaged. Collaborative elements like meaningful quests, a sense of belonging through affinity groups, and gamified interactions are recommended. Both synchronous and asynchronous team activities are useful, with summative assessments and quick responses best for synchronous work and long-term projects suited to asynchronous collaboration. Developing gameful classroom activities can help motivate students.

1. GETTING YOUR CLASSROOM
GAME ONGamification for the Blended Classroom

3. What can we possibly learn from
GAMES,
And what do you hope to learn?

4. NATURAL

6. Part of the ETHER

8. I unlocked Tennessee
this weekend!
HUDSON, AGE 8
“

10. CHEESEY
Clearly not too much of an issue...
HOW DO I AVOID BEING

11. Better than grades in EVERY way
MOTIVATION

13. The right kind of
failure feedback is a
reward. It makes us
more engaged and
more optimistic about
our odds of success.
“

14. A | B | I
Grading…

15. B

16. A

17. I
Not an “F”. It’s just not acceptable work. You
failed the quest and need to do it again to
move on.
NCOMPLETE

18. • Show progress (experience bars measuring
progress)
• Multiple long and short-term aims
• You reward [ALL] effort. (It's your 100 percent
factor.)
• Regular Feedback
• The element of uncertainty
REWARDS
Tom Chatfield

22. What are 2 ways I can make my class
MORE
REWARDING?

23. BLISSFUL PRODUCTIVITY

24. Ease of Mastery…
IncreasingChallenge… Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

25. Ease of Mastery…
IncreasingChallenge…
Crap, this is hard!
…rage quit!!

26. Ease of Mastery…
IncreasingChallenge… Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This is boring. I’m
going to go play Happy
Wheels…

27. Ease of Mastery…
IncreasingChallenge… Flow - Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThis game is totes
#awesomesauce!!!
I demand a sequel.

28. Wait for it…

29. Ease of Mastery…
IncreasingChallenge…

30. A “gamified” assignment
New
stuff
Way-back
stuff
Recent
stuff

32. Most classes are like biking
straight uphill
Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6
Intro New Info More new
Info
Even
more new
Info
Yet again
with the
new info
Summary
Final /
Midterm
Whew
!
J u l i e D i r k s e n , I n s t r u c t i o n a l D e s i g n e r

33. Games, on the other hand…
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Some
new stuff,
pretty
easy
though
Stuff you
know
plus a bit
more
Stuff
you
know,
maybe a
little
faster
Stuff
you
know
plus a
bit more
Stuff
you
know,
kicked
up a
notch
Boss
Fight
J u l i e D i r k s e n , I n s t r u c t i o n a l D e s i g n e r

34. I have something
meaningful and awesome
for you to do!

36. MEANINGFUL
quests

37. A sense of
BELONGING

38. Gamify Your
INTERACTIONS

39. AFFINITY
GROUPS
groups of people drawn
together because of a
shared, strong interest or
engagement in a common
activity…
James Paul Gee

40. Teams have the most value in
SYCHRONOUS OR
ASYNCHRONOUS
Activities?

41. We have had this
BACKWARDS!!

42. IN MY LIMITED EXPERIENCE
BEST FOR TEAMS
• Summative assessment
• Review games
• Quick in-class response
• Single-class activities
• Anytime students may be
put “on the spot”.
WORST FOR TEAMS
• Long-term research
projects.
• Learning new material /
“exploring the text”.
• Anything a you wouldn’t
want help on…

43. COLLABORATION

44. CHEATING?

45. Give Topic
• Tell students to discuss
• Put them on the clock
Mingle
• Eavesdrop & Interview
• Not random…
Gather
answers
• Interviewees first
• Then Volunteers & Randoms
Wait time extended…
The APL folks call this
LOW TECH TEAM EVENT

48. On your own or in your team: Develop a
Synchronous or Asynchronous
GAMEFUL
ACTIVITY…