21stcenturyed.com

Lots of assumptions start with “The gamification in education is…”
Followed by several assumed issues:

too expensive

only works with kids

sets unreal expectation that simple game mechanics works in the real world

It’s just a fad

It’s just games, right?

In reality, all of these are false – well, mostly. Poor implementation of game theory in education exists just as poor implementation of more traditional methods exist. It’s important to know what gamification is – and what it isn’t (or shouldn’t be).
Drill and kill games? Bad.
“Serious Games”? Good

Paying kids to do their work? Bad.
Using sound game mechanics to make them want to do their work? Good.

Still not convinced? Take 5 minutes out of your life and read this – you’ll thank me later.

For some things, yes…they do need you. But not for everything. My oldest son needed me (and others) to help him to learn how to read and to understand the meaning of many words. But once he could read fluently, he didn’t need me to teach him that the 2011 Dodge Charger has pushes out 252 horsepower. Once you give students the ability to access information themselves, simply ensuring that they can access that information in a way that makes sense for them is sufficient in many cases.

Are you an online teacher? If so, do you REALLY need to teach live in a WebEx or Collaborate (Elluminate) lesson? Probably not. Give them good, rich, and well constructed asynchronous content to enjoy and let ‘em go.

But don’t feel bad. They DO need you for a few things…like moderating vigorous discussions about what they are learning, helping them to understand the relevance of what they are (or are not) doing. Keeping them engaged and learning how to manage their time.

Let the machines do what they can do…spend your time doing the important things they can’t.

Good news for the online school kids looking towards the military as a career choice!

Statement on the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act.