We recently held a contest on Facebook and Twitter asking teachers to share an awesome random event that they’ve created.
We received some fantastic responses. Here are a few of our favorites!
Winning Entry: Kevin Crafts of Bristol Consolidated School
“We do a Moo Off. One random player from each team stands in the center of the room, faces another player from a different team, and moos until he/she runs out of breath. The longest moo results in a wining player who earns 100 XP for the entire team.”
Jhavonn of Bear Exploration Center in Montgomery, Alabama
“Guitar Hero: All students and the Gamemaster will play air guitars while singing ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’”
Ashley Shaw of Sheehy Elementary School in Merced, California
“Calling one random student ‘The Supreme Overlord’ all day was my kids’ favorite.“
Mark Piercey of Belle Anse School in Barachois, Canada
“My daily events are actions on the part of 10 different ‘NPCs’ I created for the game, ranging from the Noble King who gives gifts of training (XP) and treasure (GP), to the Masked Bandit who steals GP from players or entire teams, to the Evil Wizard who curses players with losses to HP, AP, or rendering them unable to use powers for the day. The students have fallen in love with the cast of characters and even use them as a basis for ongoing narrative writing about our Classcraft ‘world.’”
Dan Koch of Citrus Springs Middle School in Citrus Springs, Florida
“Mega Virus: A deadly virus has spread to all of your classmates. Only you, a random individual, have the unique antibodies to defend against it and can make an antidote … for 10 students. The rest, unfortunately, die.”
Thanks to everyone who participated! Keep an eye on our social channels for more fun contests and giveaways! #MyClassMyCraft
Want to share your insights on education with us? Email stephanie@classcraft.com to get started!
Guest blog contributed by Paul Cancellieri
Leadership is fast becoming one of the most overused educational buzzwords today. Everyone, it seems, is interested in promoting student leadership and building the skills needed for this generation to become trailblazers of business, government, and nearly every other field. The benefits of being strong leaders are clear, and educators obviously want the best outcomes for our students.
But less clear is how we reach that goal—or even what those skills are.
I spent more than a year at a new leadership-focused all-boys public school in Raleigh, North Carolina as part of the founding faculty. While I was officially a middle school science teacher there, I was also responsible for teaching and assessing the school’s leadership curriculum, as were all members of the faculty. As a teacher, I had two questions going into this work:
What exactly were the leadership skills that we would be teaching?
How would I have time to teach them when I had a full science curriculum that my students needed time to master?
The answer to the first question came quickly. We partnered with the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at NC State University. Their system is multifaceted, but the main leadership tenets boil down to this:
Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart
All students participate in a leadership camp experience in which they learn these principles through hands-on activities, personal reflections, and group discussion. As a result, students in my classes all had a basic understanding of this part of our leadership curriculum. It was then my job to find ways to reinforce it and assess it in my science classroom.
I started by thinking about what these leadership practices would look like in science. I considered examples of leadership during normal classes and lab activities and asked students for their input. Together, we recognized that good leaders help their entire team be more effective by encouraging each team member’s best effort, making informed decisions, and resolving conflict with fairness and empathy. We compiled a list of opportunities to identify positive behaviors, such as during lab activities, group projects, and even class discussions. The key for me was that any tool or strategy couldn’t take away from science instruction and would ideally complement it.
So, my goal in class was to give every student a chance to be a leader and receive feedback about their performance. Armed with a simple leadership rubric, I chose random group leaders each time we did any sort of group activity—lab, review, project, and so on—and tasked them with displaying one of the leadership practices. We do enough group work that every student eventually served as a leader.
After the activity, students evaluated their leader, and the leader evaluated himself. With instructions to be respectful and constructive in their feedback, these “leadership reflections” followed most opportunities for leaders to show off their skills. In as little as 10 minutes, my students gave and received meaningful feedback and grew as leaders.
This system isn’t perfect. There were individuals who did not appreciate criticism from the group and team members who were not respectful in their responses. I dealt with these in the same way I would any other behavior problem in my class. It also led to some extra paperwork for me to review. But my biggest takeaway was that leadership is a skill that can be taught and developed without isolating it completely from the normal workflow of a classroom. And the benefits of doing so can be powerful.
Paul has taught middle school science in North Carolina, USA for 12 years, after starting his professional life as a marine biologist. He earned National Board certification in 2006 and was selected as one of the Outstanding Science Educators in North Carolina in 2009. He tweets about education reform and grading practices from @mrscienceteach and on his blog, ScriptedSpontaneity.com. Paul is a Classcraft ambassador.
“Since I teach English, all my team names are based on genres and authors of popular young adult literature. For example, in one class all the names are based on dystopian texts: Legend, 5th Wave, Divergent, and Matrix, also Rook. Whereas another class is all fantasy YA texts: Potter, Eragon, Everlost, Land of Nod.”
Lovisa Burns of Harrison Prep in Lakewood, Washington
“My students started a competition amongst themselves to see who could come up with the most ridiculous names. I think my favorites so far are Hoppa Loppa Ding Dong, The Kardashian Family, and Team Rainbow Penguin.”
Thanks to everyone who participated! Keep an eye on our social channels for more fun contests and giveaways! #ClasscraftContests
Teachers, are your students ready for their biggest challenge yet? Classcraft Boss Battles are about to change how they learn new material and prepare for tests and quizzes!
Classcraft Boss Battles are out now, and as we revealed earlier this fall, they’re a great tool to transform regular assessment in your classroom. Let’s take a look at how a boss battle would play out.
First, the teacher sets up the battle, inputting the questions they want their students to answer and choosing the boss monster they’ll face.
Once you begin, the first question will display on the screen. If your students answer correctly, they’ll bring the boss monster a little closer to defeat.
But if students miss a question, beware! They or their whole team will take damage. Students need to work together and use their powers, like Heal and Protect, to keep each other going strong.
If students are triumphant, they’ll earn Experience Points and Gold Pieces as a reward for their hard work!
We hope you’re excited to roll out Boss Battles with your students. We can’t wait to hear your stories!
For an overview on how to set up Boss Battles in your classroom, watch the tutorial below:
Our griffons have been busy delivering Thanksgiving random events. Add these ideas to your classes!
Call of the Turkeys!
A turkey ambushes you and works its bird mojo on you.
A random player gains the Turkey Mojo. Every time he says “Rise, My Flock!”, all the other players must stand up and say “gobble gobble.”
Horn of Plenty
Get into the giving mood.
Any player who says or does something nice for a classmate today will gain 100 XP once.
Fasting and Feasting
Look out! A random team is attacked by a rafter of zombie turkeys.
Each player on that team must decide whether to “fast” — sacrificing 5 HP — or “feast” on a teammate. If they feast, those players gain 5 HP but cannot gain XP for the rest of the day.
Ruffled Feathers
A wild golden turkey rampages through the classroom and collides with a random player.
That player loses all of their AP but gains 500 XP.
Pass the Cranberry Sauce
Whoever eats this magic cranberry sauce will get a special surprise …
The Gamemaster must give a random student a special item from the classroom and dub it “cranberry sauce.” Each time they speak, the player with the special item must pass the cranberry sauce to the student next to them. When receiving the item, players must whisper “Thank you, sir!” or “Thank you, madam!”. Whoever is holding the special item at the end of class receives 200 XP.
“I love the level of involvement it inspires in my classroom. Kids who would otherwise be bored or not care about history are coming into class excited to battle bosses and do daily events, which gives me the opening I need to inspire a love of learning!”
“I love how it creates an extra layer to our classroom—an environment in which students can cultivate a digital representation of their in-class selves, take risks, and learn to work together!”
Want to write a guest post on Classcraft or another topic in education? Contact stephanie@classcraft.com.
Guest post contributed by Michele Haiken
I learned about Classcraft less than a year ago, after attending EdCamp Southwest Connecticut (#EdcampSWCT). An English teacher took his rote vocabulary lessons from a Wordly Wise workbook and gamified his class with Classcraft to entice students to enrich their everyday vocabulary. By introducing Classcraft into his middle school ELA class and having students write weekly journal entries for their game avatars using the Wordly Wise vocabulary, he was able to incorporate creative writing, vocabulary building, and gamification into his class.
I was hooked and immediately set out to gamify my own 8th grade ELA class. I have to admit—gaming, a huge trend in education today, was not my expertise. But to use Classcraft in your classroom, you don’t have to be a big-time gamer. And this is where your students who are obsessive gamers can step forth and help out. I knew that I was going to need some additional help in addition to the online tutorials and blog posts in setting up my Classcraft teams and quests, so I turned to my students for assistance.
Luke (all names have been changed to protect student identities) was one of my students last year who was just going through the motions of school. You know, the one who is too angry with his parents, his weight, and his social status in middle school to even pick up a pencil in class and take notes or complete his homework. But he listens in class and still is able to pass the tests enough to get by each semester. The only time I saw Luke happy and smiling was at lunch time, when he was sitting with his friends talking about gaming and the newest, best, greatest game being released or his recent high score. I knew he was the one I could tap and help me set up Classcraft and also help teach the ins and outs to his classmates.
So, during class one day, I told Luke I needed his help with a game I found online and asked if he could help me set it up. That afternoon, he returned to my classroom, and I showed him the website. He went home, created his own class, and learned the elements of the game to help me the following day. He came back the next morning to tell me that the game was cool and how I could best organize the teams in each class: two Mages, two Warriors, and one Healer. I set up my four classes, and the next day I asked Luke to help me show the class the game. All of a sudden, Luke was on top of the middle school social ladder. He knew everything about gaming and just enough about Classcraft to lead the class. The majority of the class is competitive, so my students got super pumped the moment he showed the website on the Smart Board. I had instant buy-in from all my students.
One of the things I love the most about Classcraft is the fact that teachers can personalize it to their content area and class needs. My students earn Experience Points (XP) by completing homework (it’s not graded; they’re only given points for Classcraft) or participating in our Twitter Book Club outside of the classroom. Students also earn points by answering questions in class, working well with others, and since I use Interactive Notebooks in my classroom and students are always cutting and folding papers into their interactive English Notebooks, I created points for Fastest Foldable when putting theirs together. My students were cutting and writing in their notebooks in record time!
Luke was beneficial when I was setting up and introducing the game to the whole class. As a gamer himself, he took more ownership of his work and collaboration in my class. Luke would check in with me after school from time to time to see if I had any questions about Classcraft. I did get the hang of Classcraft after a while, but I still credit Luke for his help.
Our students are our best resources. Use the expert gamers in your class to help establish teams, add additional powers, and share opportunities to earn XP. Gaming is all about collaboration, and you want your students on your team.
Michele Haiken, Ed.D. is a middle school English Teacher in Rye, New York, and a Classcraft Ambassador. Classcraft is a non-negotiable in her classroom, and she is trying to convert the rest of her colleagues to create the first-ever Classcraft-driven school! To find more about Michele’s classroom endeavors, you can check out her blog and follow her on Twitter at @teachingfactor.
Happy new year! Over at Team Classcraft, we’ve been making improvements to help you get an amazing start to 2016. One of those new features is Assignments, a powerful addition to the Interactive Classroom Content, our built-in gamified learning management system.
With Assignments, you can collect homework and projects from your students. By enabling Assignments on a post in your Class Content, you can reward students and teams that turn in their work by the deadline.
The Assignments feature automatically tracks which students have submitted their work and whether they’re early, on time, or late. Once you’ve reviewed their work, you can upload feedback and distribute Experience Points (XP) and Gold Pieces (GP) as rewards.
Excited to give Assignments a try in your classroom? Demo it for free today when you create a teacher account.
Publication de Isabelle Schwaar, blogueuse invitée
Vous voulez publier comme blogueur invité à propos de Classcraft ou du milieu de l’éducation? Envoyez un courriel à: simon@classcraft.com
De “la remplaçante” à “la prof d’anglais “
Enseignante contractuelle, je change d'établissement tous les ans et il est rare que j'aie un poste à l'année. Cependant, pour l'année 2014-2015, j'ai eu la chance de travailler au Collège Pasteur de Plaisance du Gers. J'enseignais l'anglais pour deux classes de bilangues, en 4e et en 3e, ainsi qu’un groupe de 3e section européenne. L'hiver passé, j'ai découvert Classcraft grâce à un inconnu qui a partagé un billet à ce sujet sur Facebook. J'ai installé Classcraft dans les trois classes, après quelques explications et la signature du Pacte des Héros et le jeu a démarré! Tous mes élèves ont signé ! Pour la première séance “jouante”, afin de stimuler mes élèves, je me suis habillée en mage, armée d'un bâton de pouvoir… ça a créé une ambiance … et une popularité certaine à l’enseignant ! Premiers commentaires … “On le sait, Madame, que Classcraft c’est pour nous faire travailler plus … Mais c’est top fun !”
De “la prof d’anglais” à “The GameMaster”
L'interface du jeu existe en anglais bien sûr et j'ai choisi de la présenter à mes élèves uniquement dans cette langue. Ainsi le séjour dans la classe de langue restait immersif. De plus, même pour “jouer” il faut apprendre le vocabulaire, les formules de jeu et s'exprimer oralement (Puis-je utiliser un pouvoir ?, etc) Ainsi le bénéfice est immédiat car les élèves veulent comprendre … donc ils doivent apprendre ! Pas besoin de motivation supplémentaire !
Classcraft a changé diamétralement ma façon de voir la motivation en classe, avec une rapidité déconcertante. Ceci quel que fût leur niveau académique dans la discipline que j’enseignais. De plus, les problèmes de comportements inadéquats et de discipline sont maintenant choses du passé! La collaboration, un des aspects majeurs de Classcraft, produit également de nombreux effets positifs et permet d’organiser plus facilement, et avec plus de succès, des travaux en groupe ou en autonomie.
Classcraft a changé la trajectoire de progression d'un grand nombre de mes élèves, ils travaillent plus et les résultats sont en hausse. Prenons Zangdar par exemple, un élève futé mais un peu paresseux … De septembre 2014 à avril 2015 … pas moyen de lui faire apprendre quelques verbes irréguliers anglais … en 3 semaines, pour pouvoir changer de niveau et se “payer” la tenue d’Archiviste … il a appris 125 verbes irréguliers!
De ”The GameMaster” à “The legendary Mrs S.”
C'est également par ce biais que j'ai obtenu les témoignages de 26 de mes élèves, en l'espace d'à peine 4 heures (ce qui démontre leur “taux de connexion”). Quelques exemples ….
“Ma moyenne à augmenté mais c'est pas tout, avant je ne savais rien dire en anglais je faisais du par cœur et je recrachais tout à l'oral, maintenant je me sans capable de dire quelques phrases . L'ambiance de classe a changé et tout le monde participe. Et c'est bien plus drôle.” - Bingo the Hobbit
“Classcraft m'a enfin motivée a aimer l'anglais. En plus c'est vraiment trop bien car les cours sont plus ludiques, ça nous aide pour les contrôles. Et puis ça fait des pauses dans les cours et c'est bien; Classcraft c'est drôle. Et puis c'est super motivant de faire les exercices sur ce site car on gagne des GP.” - Tris
J'ai appris par cette expérience que la ludification ne soustrait pas du temps d’enseignement et d'apprentissage sérieux comme je pouvais le craindre… Au lieu de cela, si l’enseignant et les élèves sont vraiment engagés dans le système, la ludification prolonge l'apprentissage bien au-delà du temps de classe. Classcraft offre la possibilité d'ouvrir les portes de l'école à une manière ludique d'enseigner, d'apprendre et de motiver les élèves sans effort, car nous allons les chercher… dans leur monde! Pour moi, il est clair que Classcraft constitue un outil quasi magique de gestion de classe qui permet de faire un pas en direction de l'univers quotidien des élèves (jeux, nouvelles technologies) pour mieux les ramener dans un processus d'apprentissage fructueux, productif et joyeux.
Isabelle est professeur d'anglais en collège en France. Elle enseigne comme remplaçante dans différents établissements dans la campagne du sud-ouest. Mère de deux grands ados fan de jeux vidéos qui lui ont tout appris, elle a adopté Classcraft avec bonheur, a présenté son expérience à l'Université d'été Ludovia (Pédagogie et numérique) et a gagné un prix Coups de Cœur.
Want to write a guest post on Classcraft or another topic in education? Contact stephanie@classcraft.com.
Guest post contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Helaina Storie
A good story hooks you and doesn’t let go. I have stayed up all night finishing a book because I wanted to know what happened next. The same thing can be said for games. I have been a gamer for about 20 years now. I have been a teacher for 10 years, and in that time, I have used games in class but never to the extent of what I’ve done by introducing Classcraft and my own spin on a math adventure.
Over a year ago, I came across some articles talking about using game mechanics in designing classes. It intrigued me because I hadn’t thought of bringing my passion of gaming into the class in that way. As I did more research, I got super excited and realized I could tap into kids love of video games.
When I first started, I realized I needed an overarching theme and a story to hook my students and gamify my classroom. So I came upon a book designed for what I had in mind called Secrets of the Wizard, written by author Jim Bennett, who’s also a middle school math teacher. The book claimed to combine math puzzles with a story where you had to solve a puzzle to proceed to the next page of the book. I am drawn to fantasy movies, graphics, and books, so this sounded perfect! I use Secrets of the Wizard on my class website to tell the story of what my class is trying to accomplish as they solve math problems and work through quests.
For example, one puzzle from the book might ask them to add up all the pieces of rope that are tied around the Wizard Galimedes and his faithful helpers, Epie the elf and Perod the gnome. They earn XP points as we do our warm-up, math lesson, and reflection for the day, and together the activity immerses them into what’s happening in the classroom.
Now that I had a theme and story, I needed the kids to feel they were directly involved in the story. I searched and came across an online program called Classcraft that appeared to provide the motivation and engagement I was looking for. Classcraft gives each student an avatar and powers they can use in class. It simulates a role-playing game that can be used for everything from behavior management to a complete learning management system (LMS). In Classcraft, I assign the kids into teams or “guilds,” and then the fun begins!
You can assign students as one of three types of characters with special abilities or powers (Warriors, Mages, and Healers), or you can let them choose their character themselves. Their special powers grant them real-life benefits, like extra time on an exam or getting to eat a snack in class. The more you allow students choice, the more involved they become. What’s nice is you can customize the game to what works for you and your class. Classcraft has enabled me to really invest the kids in what they’re learning and award them for participation and teamwork in class.
Homework completion is almost never a problem because the students police each other. At the beginning of the year, one of my students protected someone from falling in battle due to not completing their homework, and the second time around told them they would have to learn to do their work because they weren’t protecting them again. Classcraft creates positive peer pressure for students to do what is right without me saying a word!
This year has been an adventure. I have created a class website that has game mechanics, which I encourage you to visit at www.mathquest.xyz. This is the one place I bring it all together. Between Classcraft and Secrets of the Wizard, I found great resources that makes math into an adventure with enormous rewards. Not only are my students motivated, but they love math! I hear kids pass my class, asking others, “Is Mrs. Storie your math teacher? I hear they do games in there …” and I just smile. As I look back at 2015, I realize I am so lucky to be able to use my personal passion to make my job so rewarding for both me and my students.
Helaina is a math teacher and has been with RISD for over 8 years now. Her campus is one to one allowing her to gamify her math class and make her class engaging using tools such as Classcraft. You can find her on Twitter @HStoriegamified.
Last month,
the Offices of Educational Technology and of Science and Technology invited Classcraft to participate in discussions at the White House. The focus was around the use of games in education, specifically for assessment.
Going to the White House for the first time was an incredible experience. The history and grandeur of the buildings emphasized that we were at the heart of the nation. However, the real excitement for us was the openness and willingness of government to embrace games as an innovative solution to many problems in education.
Indeed, the Every Student Succeeds Act was being signed while we were there, representing a new shift in how the United States moves forward with education. The ESSA incorporates many provisions to help accelerate innovation, and the talks we had highlighted a practical approach for doing so.
Along with 20 or so other companies in the games and education space, we engaged in dynamic discussions on how to further the use of games across the country, carry out credible research on the matter, and identify the technical roadblocks that schools face in implementing educational games. In the spirit of partnership, we looked at how we could come together to help the Department of Education proceed with their plans.
In the evening, we attended the Ed Games Expo at 1776. The event featured many games that had been supported by SBIR grants and was an opportunity for publishers to share their work with the public. Some of our favorites included Code Spark, Happy Atoms by Schell Games, Eco by Strange Loop Games, Reach for the Sun by Filament Games, Quit It by Muzzy Lane, Aegis by Tietronix, Saga by Smart Information Flow Technologies (SIFT), and MinecraftEdu by TeacherGaming. It was super energizing to meet other folks who believe in the power of games for good and to see all the amazing work they’re doing.
We’d like to extend a big thank you specifically to Erik Martin, Joseph South, and Edward Metz for all the hard work they do on a daily basis to foster and support innovation and progress in education. We look forward to continuing the work we’ve started together!
Want to share your insights on education with us? Email stephanie@classcraft.com to get started!
John Greer is a 5th grade teacher at Aldeane Comito Ries Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has presented at the Annual Nevada State Conference on the implementation of technology in the classroom and has done over 35 workshops and professional developments on the subject for Clark County School District. With all of the technology he uses, he still thinks Classcraft is his favorite program. .. and his students would agree!
Hi, John! Thanks for talking with us today. Can you tell us a little about yourself as an educator and what grades and subjects you teach?
I’ve taught fifth grade for four years. Usually fifth grade teaches all subjects, but at our school we’ve differentiated to get them better prepared for middle school. So I teach science, social studies, and math, and my co-teacher teaches reading and writing.
I’ve also taught high school geometry. I’ve always been the math person. Math’s my jam; I love math.
What has your experience with using Classcraft been like?
Ever-changing. I have to say it has really evolved from something that I used specifically just for my class and once in a while to full integration, not just in my class but the entire grade level. It’s something I want to try to implement across the school.
My experience has been nothing but amazing. I’ve noticed such a huge buy-in to the class, especially when we start with the Hero Pact first day of school, and I say, “If you’re going to play this, you’re going to play this for real, and there’s no going back.” Once I have that, it’s amazing how much these kids [get into the game]. Everything revolves around it. I’ve made a [real-life] treasure chest, and my physical reward system is set up so that once you get to a certain point, you get to go into the treasure chest. They’re all QR codes that are in-game rewards for Classcraft, such as Gold Pieces (GP) or Experience (XP). It’s just amazing how much it’s been integrated into the classroom itself.
My classroom’s a little different because every student has a Chromebook, and that’s helped with implementation. A lot of the time we’ll give kids the last 10 minutes of Friday to go online and check their characters or use their powers. I love the customization [available with the mindset] that each classroom is different. When I start implementing it with the other teachers, I do training for them. After the initial setup, once each teacher saw the impact, it just changed everything. It has been such a game-changing program.
What do your students think of Classcraft?
The response has been insane. We’re in an age where students are very technologically savvy, and they’re growing up with programs and applications and games. So I had to figure out a way to gamify the classroom. I’ve had four parent conferences today that talked specifically about Classcraft because of the buy-in that their child had that they didn’t have the year before. And it was simply because the students have tapped into their virtual self in Classcraft.
It’s a disservice as a teacher when you don’t teach to the “now” generation. And the now generation is using online applications and programs, so to incorporate a virtual system like Classcraft, it’s just made the classroom tenfold better. And the kids just have positive responses.
What are some of the different ways you’ve customized the game?
I’ve added the physical rewards, as I mentioned, which tie back to the game. I have about 240 daily events, so every morning when we get in, it’s well-known that the first thing we do is the random event. It’s just set in the schedule almost like the bell schedule or recess.
We do Double Daily Fridays, where we do two random events. And the powers themselves I’ve fully customized. I have a bathroom issue because it takes about five minutes when they have to go to the bathroom. So the “Invisibility” lets them leave the class for five minutes, which ties in well with the restroom, but I did that for each character class so everyone can use it. The powers are all fully customized to my classroom itself.
I arranged my teams with four to five students. I don’t know how other teachers do it, and I’ve tried bigger and smaller groups, but I’ve noticed that teams of four to five students each have great camaraderie. They’re responsible for each other, and it’s not too big of a group where they get lost in the crowd.
Do you have any tips for other elementary school teachers looking to give Classcraft a try?
I think my biggest tip is to just give it a chance. Give it some time to buy-in. Teachers are so different, and the amount of time they have and how good they are with technology differs so much. The biggest thing is just to be patient and customize it to your advantage.
Classcraft has revolutionized my classroom, as well as my grade level, and I’ve heard nothing but such positive, amazing things from all the teachers I’ve helped get set up. Don’t feel like it’s just another program you have to learn. Once your realize this will make your life and your class’s behavior so much easier, and fun, and exciting, and just so many other things—it will absolutely change the way you do things.
Want to share your insights on education with us? Email stephanie@classcraft.com to get started!
Educator by day, gamer by night, and a bookworm nerd every day of the year, Kent Turner is a graduate of University of California San Diego, where he obtained his M.A. in Bilingual Education. He is now in his third year of teaching middle school students who, like him, are deaf and communicate in American Sign Language. When Kent is not busy applying Classcraft to his lessons, he enjoys going on movie marathons with his wife and two dogs by his side.
Thanks for talking with us today, Kent! To start, tell us a little about yourself as an educator and what classes and grade levels you teach.
I am an avid gamer who grew up playing Japanese role-playing games (JRPGS) and Western RPGS. I am also a deaf person who signs natively in American Sign Language (ASL) and reads English. For my M.A. in Bilingual Education, I wrote a thesis on the topic of gamification and built a prototype LMS similar to Classcraft’s that gamified the classroom where I did my internship.
I work with deaf students who sign in ASL as well, making the primary language of our classroom a signed one rather than a spoken one. I’ve been using Classcraft for nearly two years now in our 8th grade English/Language Arts class at the Texas School for the Deaf. I also teach Science and Video Production, but I’ve yet to incorporate Classcraft in these classes as I haven’t modified the curriculum to mesh with gamification. It is my ultimate goal to play Classcraft in all of the classes that I teach!
What convinced you to give Classcraft a try with your students at Texas School for the Deaf?
There are many different ways to manage a classroom and encourage a fun environment where students are motivated to learn. With Classcraft, it brings learning into the modern age with elements that our children encounter daily with phone-gaming apps and console gaming. My philosophy is to always accommodate the needs of our students with what they are most comfortable with, rather than expect them to fit into the comforts of the educator.
For example, in most classrooms, students write with paper and pencil, but once they go home, do they continue to use paper and pencil? No, they use touch screens, keyboards, and controllers. I demand the same with how our students approach tasks in the school system. I assign writing projects through Classcraft and attach rubrics along with specific instructions. My students write essays on Google Drive while I give real-time feedback. I encourage research via the Internet and teach them how to recognize trustworthy sources. In all, I model for my students how a regular tech-savvy person would operate in today’s society.
What kinds of customizations have you made in Classcraft to best accommodate your students’ needs?
Since my students are bilingual, I start our day by using the Wheel of Destiny to select a student to come up and sign the day’s agenda/project in ASL to the rest of the class. Sometimes, we have a Q&A session to clarify some points. I also post videos of myself signing instructions with typed transcripts so the students can access information from anywhere outside the classroom with the Classcraft app.
We alternate between team activities and individual activities. As I introduce a new lesson sequence, I model the assignment and/or project for my students in both languages. After that, students work together in Classcraft teams to complete an aspect of the assignment while communicating primarily in ASL. Finally, they focus on individual projects to maximize Experience Point (XP) and Gold Piece (GP) rewards with reading comprehension and expression in English writing.
In most deaf classrooms, flashing the ceiling lights is the best way to grab the attention of students. I use that from time to time, but I love to use the Count Down module in Quests to give a certain amount of time for students to work on assignments. The Count Down is projected on a white screen, clearly visible to all students for them to monitor their progress and keep an eye out for further instructions from me.
Have you encountered any obstacles with implementing the game? How have you overcome those challenges?
I have yet to encounter adverse obstacles as I am fortunate enough to have enough laptops to accommodate the number of students I have in my classroom for using Classcraft actively. I supplement the reading requirements in the Interactive Classroom Content feature with ASL modeling of classroom expectations and lessons sequences.
I keep my classroom student-centered as much as possible in order to give my students ownership over their own learning and process. Frequently, I post weekly and monthly deadlines to meet, so if I am not giving lectures that day, my students can just come into the class, log into Classcraft, and begin working on assignments with minimal intervention from me.
Do you have any advice for other teachers interested in using Classcraft with students with disabilities?
With students who are deaf and communicate through ASL, it is more of an issue of language accessibility rather than disability. Deaf students function as well as students who can hear in the classroom. The only difference is the mode of communication we use for “speaking” and “hearing.” We write and read in English as well as anybody else, but we sign in ASL.
This influences our use of Classcraft whenever information is elaborated and appreciated. For one of the assignments in our English/Language Arts class, the students had to come up with their avatar names and team names in English and give these names a signed version in ASL. This way, I could call on teams or avatars with their ASL names to give the classroom environment a deeper immersion in the game.
To truly appreciate Classcraft, a certain level of reading comprehension is required. I could tell that my students were motivated to understand gaming terms and how they influenced actions in the classroom. This improved the level of engagement in my classroom by leaps and bounds, with my students eager to integrate both ASL and English in their daily learning and advancements in Classcraft. In effect, this accelerated their acquisition of information since they were having fun at the same time. To me, that is the essence of Classcraft.
Want some holiday-themed Classcraft random event ideas? Check out our suggestions for Thanksgiving.
Need some random events to warm you up this winter? Try these ideas in your classroom!
Winter Giant Brrrrr! A stone golem appears and wrecks the classroom! Students have 1 minute to help tidy up the classroom. If everyone does a good job, the whole class gains 100 XP.
Frigid Winds A blizzard hits, and the whole room is blown asunder! Everyone gets to sit wherever they want in the classroom today, but one random, unlucky team takes -5 HP of damage.
Let’s Build a Snowman Three little snowmen, lined up in a row … Three random players must draw their best version of a snowman on the board, and the class has to pick their favorite. The winner and everyone on their team gains 50 XP.
Buried in Snow You can’t see your hand in front of you, there’s so much snow coming down! If everyone did their homework today, the class survives the snowstorm, and each student gains 10 AP. If someone forgot to do their homework, the whole class is buried and everyone loses 20 AP.
Ice Fortress You come across an enormous fortress encased in ice … All teacher-attributed damage is halved today.
Temperature Dive The temperature has dropped below zero! Next class, everyone has to wear a jacket or hoodie for the entire class.
Want to write a guest post on Classcraft or another topic in education? Contact stephanie@classcraft.com.
Guest post contributed by Classcraft Ambassador Oguz Guvenc
As my second son is getting close to the age of 2 now, I have started to appreciate even more how unique every child’s personality is. Yet, there is something that remains the same across all kids: curiosity. That single element both makes them such a joy to have around and also very challenging to deal with. Because as long as you are in “play mode” with them, everything is fine. But it is hard for a parent to be in play mode all the time.
My 5-year-old son has always been a little extra inquisitive. If he has something to satisfy his huge imagination, he is the sweetest kid. If not, he is going to transform the house into a very interesting place to be in … for him.
One thing that he has not been very interested in is when I am planning lessons at home. But one day, he caught sight of Classcraft on my screen when I was adjusting it for one of my classes, and suddenly he was hooked. He started asking me questions about classes, how the game worked, and he fired off question after question. And it went on for days. He tried to catch me using Classcraft and would watch me for long durations.
When the summer break began, I decided to use his huge interest and start a new class in Classcraft named “Homecraft.” We made a character for him, one for his little brother, one for my wife, and one for me. We also customized all powers and consequences to suit his interest and our expectations from him. We played all through summer, and the results were remarkable. He was able to complete the tasks we expected from him more easily, and he had the satisfaction of achieving his privileges himself in a fun way.
Here are a few things that worked for us that you may like to consider if you want to start your own “Homecraft” adventure:
K.I.S. – Keep It Simple
Classcraft is designed for classrooms where kids know at least how to read and write and to count to several digit numbers. If you are playing with a younger kid, try to make everything age-appropriate. We lowered all the numbers into the range that he recognized: 30 Experience Points (XP) to level up (that was the highest number he could count to), 1-5 XP for doing different tasks, and small numbers for Health Point (HP) loss for negative behavior.
Tailor to you and your child’s unique needs
Classcraft works best if you can identify together with your child which best “privileges” that they want to be granted. What do they keep asking for that you are not willing to give away very often? Desserts? Fifteen minutes of video game time? Going to bed 15 minutes late? Prioritize those, and add them to the list of powers your child may choose from. For instance, we changed the Mage skill “Time Warp” to let our son go back in time after a misbehavior (and after losing HP) and re-act the same scenario this time with the “better choice” so he could receive his HP back.
Adjust the XP and HP presets to tailor the behavior you want to see. Create XP presets for the behavior that you want to see more often. Since we were trying Homecraft during summer, I had presets for completing his daily summer homework, brushing his teeth, going to sleep on time … all the things that we identified to be hard-to-accomplish habits for him.
For the actions you want to discourage assign HP presets. What does your child do that makes you mad? Not putting away their clothes after changing? Being rough with the little brother? Not using inside voices? Make a list of those, then prioritize and add them into your list of HP loss presets.
Add the age-appropriate flavor
Classcraft involves characters with swords, magic, and implied fighting. Depending on how young your child is, it is the parent’s own touch that turns these concepts into acceptable age-appropriate boundaries.
Try to tailor a story that will fit everything into a context your child is comfortable accepting. The concept of a character dying can be a sensitive issue for younger kids, so I preferred saying that when their HP was depleted, the characters “fell in battle” and then came back when they received medical help. You know your child the best, so you can adjust the game in the best possible way for their needs.
Keep it consistent
Make sure that the game is constantly “on” at your house. Long breaks from the game for a day or more can negate the gains. If there is something that you award or provide consequences for, make sure that you do it every time. We kept Classcraft up in our browser all the time and used the phone app when we were outside.
Story is the key
We created our own background story for our own Classcraft adventure and used the game interface to facilitate that process. Make the characters come alive by inventing what kind of world they are living in, what their great goal is, and make sure there is a tone and a purpose to the story. That drives all the other benefits of the game and lets you maximize the gain from it.
Consequences in a game becomes adventure
Something I realized with both my home and class use of Classcraft is how students can become eager to follow up with the consequences of falling in battle if they bought into the story. Whatever consequences you decide to be suitable with your kids, they are much more eager to follow through if you can fit those events into the story background.
For example, one consequence that we used was a five-minute time-out, and we associated that with the hero being captured by the monsters. He would break out after his five minutes was over. He had no issues during that five minutes sitting quietly because it was a part of the story.
“Homecraft” has a great potential to help with your management as a parent. Always remember that it is a great tool that can supplement great and caring parenting and cannot replace it, and you will have a blast with your kids.
Oguz Guvenc teaches physics, engineering, and astronomy at Sonoran Science Academy at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. He is father of two great sons, Okan (5) and Alper (2).
