ClassCraft Stole My Idea!! Well Not Really...
Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped that ClassCraft stole my idea. I took an Undergraduate class called Integrating Technology into the Curriculum during the summer of 2013 at Wichita State. For an assignment, I had to come up with my own game idea for use in a classroom. Here is what I submitted:
See! They totally stole my idea... kind of. Okay, not really but I'm actually excited they did because I do not have the programming abilities or money to make a game like I had in mind a reality. And ClassCraft came pretty darn close to what I envisioned.
Now, where does that leave me? I'm currently exploring the possibility of implementing ClassCraft into my high school math classes. What is ClassCraft? Well you can explore their site here, check out these two student and teacher tutorial YouTube playlists I made, or just keep reading to find out!
ClassCraft is a classroom dashboard where students create an avatar to play as for the entire year (and possibly beyond) while the teacher takes on the role of Gamemaster. Students work to gain Experience Points to level up and learn new abilities, and Gold Pieces to purchase cosmetic armor pieces to individualize their character. The way these are earned are completely in the hands of the Gamemaster. This is one of the main reasons why I am looking into ClassCraft. Teachers can choose which positive behaviors they want to reinforce and reward students each time they exhibit these behaviors. I've always wanted to somehow grade students based off of their attitude but have never found a fair way to do this. ClassCraft allows me to both reward those who demonstrate desired behaviors, and punish those who don't by taking away Health Points. Each student has a certain amount of Health Points and can lose them if they do something the Gamemaster has selected as inappropriate. If the student does not correct the behavior, they could fall in battle, requiring one of their classmates to spend Action Points to protect them or bring them back from the dead. These Action Points are regenerated each day, and carry over when not used. If students save up enough Action Points, they can spend them on powerful abilities that the Gamemaster decides. Some examples include listening to music that class period, getting an extra day on an assignment, or getting a hint on a test. This aspect keeps students invested because there are real tangible rewards for playing the game.
There is obviously so much more to ClassCraft than that, but the overall theme is this platform gives teachers a way to both reward and punish behaviors in a game-like environment that students will respond to. Instead of punishing bad behavior with detentions, just take away 10 Health Points. Rather than scold students for not coming to class prepared, give 10 Gold Points to those that do. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you're going to reward and how you're going to do it!
I am going to decide within the next couple weeks whether or not I'm going to go forward with "gamifying" my classroom with ClassCraft. If I do, I will chronicle my epic quest in blog posts so that other teachers can learn from my adventure. The first stage of my quest will be to create a quick explanation video and accompanying documents for my students and get their feel for ClassCraft. I want them to share their opinion on if they would be excited for something like this, or just view it as tedious and lame. I hope its the former because I love stuff like this and feel very excited for the possibilities ClassCraft has. Stay tuned for more information on my quest, its sure to be one thrilling adventure!
See! They totally stole my idea... kind of. Okay, not really but I'm actually excited they did because I do not have the programming abilities or money to make a game like I had in mind a reality. And ClassCraft came pretty darn close to what I envisioned.
Now, where does that leave me? I'm currently exploring the possibility of implementing ClassCraft into my high school math classes. What is ClassCraft? Well you can explore their site here, check out these two student and teacher tutorial YouTube playlists I made, or just keep reading to find out!
ClassCraft is a classroom dashboard where students create an avatar to play as for the entire year (and possibly beyond) while the teacher takes on the role of Gamemaster. Students work to gain Experience Points to level up and learn new abilities, and Gold Pieces to purchase cosmetic armor pieces to individualize their character. The way these are earned are completely in the hands of the Gamemaster. This is one of the main reasons why I am looking into ClassCraft. Teachers can choose which positive behaviors they want to reinforce and reward students each time they exhibit these behaviors. I've always wanted to somehow grade students based off of their attitude but have never found a fair way to do this. ClassCraft allows me to both reward those who demonstrate desired behaviors, and punish those who don't by taking away Health Points. Each student has a certain amount of Health Points and can lose them if they do something the Gamemaster has selected as inappropriate. If the student does not correct the behavior, they could fall in battle, requiring one of their classmates to spend Action Points to protect them or bring them back from the dead. These Action Points are regenerated each day, and carry over when not used. If students save up enough Action Points, they can spend them on powerful abilities that the Gamemaster decides. Some examples include listening to music that class period, getting an extra day on an assignment, or getting a hint on a test. This aspect keeps students invested because there are real tangible rewards for playing the game.
There is obviously so much more to ClassCraft than that, but the overall theme is this platform gives teachers a way to both reward and punish behaviors in a game-like environment that students will respond to. Instead of punishing bad behavior with detentions, just take away 10 Health Points. Rather than scold students for not coming to class prepared, give 10 Gold Points to those that do. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you're going to reward and how you're going to do it!
I am going to decide within the next couple weeks whether or not I'm going to go forward with "gamifying" my classroom with ClassCraft. If I do, I will chronicle my epic quest in blog posts so that other teachers can learn from my adventure. The first stage of my quest will be to create a quick explanation video and accompanying documents for my students and get their feel for ClassCraft. I want them to share their opinion on if they would be excited for something like this, or just view it as tedious and lame. I hope its the former because I love stuff like this and feel very excited for the possibilities ClassCraft has. Stay tuned for more information on my quest, its sure to be one thrilling adventure!
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