GAMIFICATION METHODS & APPS

As we enter the final months of the year 2019, it is high time we leave behind the notion that "teachers are not here to entertain our students." True, that is not our primary goal - teaching them is. But if teaching them can be more easily accomplished in an entertaining way that makes it fun for us too, bring on the games!

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One of the simplest and intriguing ideas I have found was pioneered by Prof. Lee Sheldon at RPI. He has set his entire course up as a multiplayer game with guilds (teams). Instead of assignments, he has "challenges." His students activelly engage with each other and in the challenges. His attendance and his grades have improved. None of those inital design choices are technology based. They are human interaction based.

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But of course there are multitudes of "game-based" applications available for free and for purchase out there. Depending on your students' age and ability level (mainly at lower levels), some of the math games are quite good, while some of them are just animated worksheets. I will say though, even an animated worksheet can be valuable. Practice is still a necessity, and finding a less painful way than "drill-N-kill" is a success!

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Playing with Augmented Reality, even having your students create their own review games is a fantastic way to interweave some basic coding and gamification into your curriculum. Check out Metaverse to get started creating your own AR adventures. I recommend watching this tutorial to get started. You can even clone the Trivia experience from the tutorial to help you get started with your own!

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In all, there is a wealth of ideas on the web to help you get started gamifying your curriculum, and with a flipped classroom, you'll have more time to dig deeper into concepts and have fun through games while doing it!