TLDR: Below, I’m posting a link to my classroom game (Earth 2) introduction and details.

If you’re a regular reader, you know that gamification is the practice of adding game elements (e.g. game mechanics and theme) to non-game contexts, and you also know that as of mid last year, I threw my weight into gamifying my entire middle school History classroom experience.

I’ve been taking a lot of notes, and there are a few upcoming in-person opportunities for me to tell you about how it’s gone – AMLE in Nashville and UCSS in Utah, to name the nearest two chances we’ll get to meet and chat.

Students responded well last year, and I knew at the end of the year that I absolutely had to take it up a notch and start the year with gamification in 2019-2020. I’m knee deep in it now, and I’m stoked.

This brief post is just an update to share with you the rollout of the game as it’s happening. I’m linking the slides that I’m creating for my students. All of them. Right now, it’s a hulking bunch of slides that I’m sharing with students in my classroom and on Canvas. They’re not perfect, and nothing ever is, especially at first. However, I think it’s important that I share with you what it is I’m really delivering to students in terms of game context for the class. I want feedback and ideas.

In case you have the wonder, student grades have nothing directly to do with the game, and while I’m always happy to talk about gamification I am telling parents that they can safely ignore all gamified elements of the course (because they can).

So this will morph, change, and most definitely grow. Here it is. Please, offer your insights and questions!