GET  YOUR  GAME ON!

You are a teacher - and a good one.  You already know that your excitement is key to their interest.  I gave out hints and tidbits for a couple of weeks before ever unveiling my game, just to keep students curious about it.  Then, finally, it was

time to unveil.  I posted a link to the game page on our class's Edmodo the night before I discussed it with the class (as a reward to my dedicated Edmodo kiddos).  The enthusiasm was very encouraging.  My favorite response was a comment to the Edmodo post.  Jose wrote, "Someone get Mrs. Ferrell a cookie!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  When an 8th grader rewards you with food, that's real appreciation.

 

Depending on the age of your students and your teaching style, do as you see fit, but remember that you want to hook them on it now.  The design itself will be engaging, but you want them looking at it with the right mindset.  You may even want to avoid the word "game" since this is not the typical style of game most students are use to.  (I told my class we'd be playing in a virtural world.)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you introduce your gamification site, go over the general rules.  Take questions over how to play.  If the questions get too specific, it's okay to tell them to wait until you've gone over Level 1 and then ask again if they still don't understand.  They will have a ton of questions, and it's also okay to admit that this is a Beta version for you too.  You are learning this with them.  I think that actually encouraged my students to play well so we'd get to keep playing once the trial period ended.

 

Don't worry if all of your students don't seem too interested at first.  Once you've finished introducing it and they get a chance to play, you will see kids trying hard to earn those exp.  (Some kids are just too cool to verbalize it, but they will act on it.  I have been surprised by how excited my 8th graders were!)  Go over the missions and badges and then teach them how to keep track of their exp.