Published: Dec. 17, 2020

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Photo by Chris Montgomery, via Unsplash

Are you interested in learning how others are using games in their classroom? Have you read about how someone has ‘gamified’ their activities and want to learn more? Or are you just generally curious about gamification pedagogy?

In Fall 2021, the ASSETT Innovation Incubator Student Success team is launching a community of practice focused on the gamification of learning pedagogy, or GCoP. Each month, we’ll welcome a guest speaker who will discuss their approach to gamification. This is a great opportunity to gather with other campus community members. Together we’ll explore topics ranging from learning with Reacting to the Past, using games in a virtual classroom, and creating an alternative virtual reality. 

 

Virtual GCoP sessions will take place from 9:00-10:15am on the second Wednesday of the month from September through December 2021
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Join ASSETT's Next GCoP Event!

Spring 2021 Resources

Come learn and participate in a conversation about Reacting to the Past!

Imagine students walking into a class and being asked to step back in time to embody the persona of a historical figure, to argue from their perspective, and to defend their world-changing decisions. This is exactly what the Reacting to the Past (RTTP) pedagogy looks like in the classroom. RTTP pedagogy is proven to improve student learning, engagement, and critical thinking. And is widely adopted across the US and beyond. 

Michaele Ferguson (Associate Professor, Political Science), Catherine Kunce (Senior Instructor, Program for Writing & Rhetoric), and David Paradis (Senior Instructor, History) will facilitate a discussion about how they’ve adopted and implemented RTTP in their classrooms. 

Join us on Zoom: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/97779025367

Session Description: Humans have been tackling tough topics and building skills through gaming since the beginning of civilization. Whether it's a game of strength and agility like tag, or a strategy game that challenges our intellect like chess - games develop highly transferable skills. Our propensity to learn through games hasn’t changed over the 1000's of years human civilization has been around, but technology has! Why is it that students are happy to play Among Us or Skyrim for 9 hours nonstop, but if a lecture video lasts more than 12 minutes they immediately tune out? We're educators, not entertainers, but that doesn't mean we can't learn a thing or two from Game Theory about how to catch and hold the attention of our students. In this session, I'll briefly discuss how Game Theory works in a classroom context, facilitate interactive demos of my own work in educational gamification, ranging from short warm up activities to entirely gamified course designs, and then (time permitting) workshop classroom gamification ideas with the group.                                                                                                                                                                             

Bio: Dr. Emily Fairfax double majored in Chemistry and Physics as an undergraduate at Carleton College, then went on to earn her PhD in Geological Sciences at CU Boulder. She now works as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands. In addition to her research on the ecohydrology of beaver dams, Dr. Fairfax has invested significant time and effort into improving undergraduate education by "gamifying" her classes and incorporating immersive multimedia and technology in the classroom.

Join us on Zoom: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/93047804052

Session Description: In this hands-on session, participants will uncover the power of VR sandbox simulation. Together, we'll unpack the basics of VR using CoSpaces to build a VR parade celebrating CU and unlock the nearly unlimited potential to create any VR experience for others all over the world to step into. By using VR platforms as an extension of the Maker Movement, students can quickly create 3D/VR games, simulations of gravity on other planets, redefine what makes an art gallery an art gallery, and so much more! The only limit is your imagination directly from a web browser!                                                                                                           

Speaker Bio: Clint Carlson is the Program Manager of Digital Education and Academic Technology as part of the Academic Affairs and Innovation Team at the CU School of Dental Medicine (SDM). Clint focuses on creative capacity building rooted in a passion for learning, teaching, and enablement. This with the larger goal of helping those who help others to provide exponential, lasting good via education technology. Prior to joining CU in July 2020, Clint spent 7 years overseas teaching, presenting, integrating technology, and collaborative capacity building with an emphasis on AR/VR/Simulations with hundreds of international schools throughout Europe and Asia.

Please come with a device to watch with another device (preferably a laptop) to create with!

Join us on Zoom: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/91401000813

Session Description: An ARG is an alternate reality game that has an interactive narrative (mystery) that is built across media platforms. It has one essential rule and that is TINAG. TINAG is an acronym for This Is Not A Game.
You start by giving your students a clue and have them follow the mystery, give them challenges and have them solve the mystery at the end. Options for this are endless and we will cover them during the session. Sound fun right? It is for both you and your students.
 

Speaker Bio: Kae Novak is instructional designer, immersive environment researcher and gamer. She has designed and run pervasive games that have taken educators to the streets of Denver, San Antonio and Chicago, five Game Based Learning MOOCs, guilds in World of Warcraft, and through mixed reality to the Metaverse.

Join us on Zoom: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/99546041662

If you have questions, want to connect with others who are interested in gamification pedagogy, or want updates about events, please subscribe to the gamechangers email listserv by emailing Jacie Moriyama or sending a message to sympa@lists.colorado.edu from the address you want to subscribe to the list. In the subject line of your message, type in: subscribe gamechangers Firstname Lastname (replacing 'Firstname Lastname’ with your own first and last name). Leave the message body blank and send the message.