Who all has heard of Class Realm? It's a great Kickstarter project (that's awaiting full monetary backing) to build an MMO style game to put in classrooms. Just replace "quests" with "lesson plans"!
From the Class Realm Kickstarter page.
You can get the full rundown over here, but I'll put in a few key points:
- lesson plans created by teachers
- custom characters for students
- login privileges for parents to monitor their children's work
- XP distributed by teachers
- computer, tablet, and phone functionality plans
I am all for this! Considering the number of high school, junior high, and even elementary school students that have smart phones, tablets or their own computers, this is a feasible plan. Research has shown that the reward incentives present in games is the largest factor to the success of a game. More simply: rewards keep people playing. Think Farmville, specifically, but also World of Warcraft.
In addition, learning is always a lot more fun when it feels like a game. (Mad Libs, anyone?) I recall the vocabulary portion of the day in Kindergarten: Word Muncher for those old fashioned DOS based computers; moving that little green guy around the screen to find other words that rhymed with "kite", priceless!
But back to my original point.
Class Realm is hoping to revolutionize the way students learn and interact while in school. If you like the program, it's super easy to donate to the cause in hopes of its success. I know many sources like to blame television and video games for a decrease in kids attention, and I certainly haven't done any of my own research, but if that's the case then why hasn't someone incorporated games sooner?
Although, I can't possibly neglect my appreciation for games such as Mario Teaches Typing and Math Blasters, but those weren't exactly immersive. If my homework hub had been an online game where I could play with friends, classmates, and earn the digital equivalent of tons of Gold Stars, I think I may have worked harder on assignments.
ALL the gold stars! Source.
What do you all think of this? Would you even want your elementary school child to have a smart phone or a tablet? Would you be interested in monitoring their progress online? Would you support their homework existing in a gaming realm? I'd really love to see this pan out!
-MJ
2 comments:
I am all for this. The gamification of learning will completely change education systems around the world. Hopefully we build these new systems so that we no longer discourage poor performance and focus on strictly encouraging further and deeper exploration of knowledge.
Yes! Learning IS fun, but the current system is a bit broken (I think).
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