Game On!

It may not be too surprising that this post comes after a year and half "unplanned" hiatus.  I think as educators we get excited about sharing our ideas and get inspired, that we jump in with both feet on new ideas...well maybe that's just me :D   I am definitely a trier.  I like to try out ideas before I truly implement them, both in my classroom and in my life.  This blog is no exception...but I'm back to reflect on my year and on my next inspired idea - GAMIFICATION!

At the beginning of this school year, I remember attending a conference and feeling really overwhelmed with all the amazing ideas I was hearing from a breakout session on personalized learning.  I loved the experiences the presenters shared about transforming their own classrooms into a learning environment that allowed their students to learn and grow at their own pace and in their own learning styles.  After leaving the session I realized that I had been using some of the strategies they shared.  I was suddenly obsessed with how could I take all the great teaching strategies I was currently using with my students and develop my own classroom into what the presenters shared.  I sat down and started creating a list --- Things I've Tried --- Things I Want to Try.  Remember, I said I was a trier, so of course there were new things I wanted to implement for the new school year.

I then went through the list and starred anything that I wanted to keep:  interactive notebooks, sketchnotes, flexible seating, I Can learning goals, rate your words vocabulary, innovation labs (genius hour inspired exploration), your choice board.  I also starred three things I wanted to try: an affirmation wall, bell ringer journals, and a badging system.  This was my plan for the 2017-2018 year...I left feeling confident, inspired, and ready to tackle the year!  

Then...the year happened.  

This school year was my 9th year of teaching at my current school and undoubtedly one of the most challenging.  As the year wore on, my motivation and enthusiasm for teaching wore out...don't get me wrong, I LOVE TEACHING.  However, this was just a tough year overall and the lack of motivation and enthusiasm I was experiencing was a direct reflection of what my students were also experiencing.  There were definitely small successes throughout the year, but as a whole, I was ready for the end and it was only February...yikes! 

This brings me to gamification.  I had researched the topic before but pushed it aside thinking that it was too big of an idea and even though I like to try new things, this was just outside my comfort zone.  I pondered the idea for a few weeks and about three weeks before spring break I decided to plan a gamified mini unit.  I "borrowed" the Angry Birds theme and applied it to an engineering unit.  It wasn't the most organized unit and I created a lot of things along the way but...I saw something in my students for those 2 weeks that was missing from the previous months - a constant drive of excitement!  I knew I wanted more.

 

And here I am...one-week left in the school year, pages and pages of notes on gamification, and a killer theme for my own classroom game.  I can not wait to sit down and start building my game for next year!  I feel inspired by all the blog posts, podcasts, twitter conversations, and book (yes, 1 book.  Explore Like a Pirate by Michael Matera) that I have been devouring on this new to me topic.  I hope this very long post is the first of many to come on my new adventure and I invite anyone who is listening to join my on my journey.  I can't wait to see how the next couple months play out as I prepare for my 10th year as middle school teacher --- Game On!