MACUL

 I really enjoyed going to the MACUL conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I thought it was a great opportunity to not only see the city of Grand Rapids, (which I have never seen prior to this visit), but to also learn more about how I can incorporate technology and computers into my placement/classroom.  It was great to see so many of my fellow MAC'ers  at the conference, as well as so many educators advocating and supporting technology in the class.  I thought MACUL did a great job of providing educators with valuable speakers and opportunities to hear how others in the profession are using technology to enhance their classrooms and further engage their twenty-first century students.  After a fun two hour car ride with my good friend Professor Cotter, we finally arrived in Grand Rapids and were ready to explore the conference and attend some sessions.

            The first session that I attended, and would like to spend the majority of this blog discussing, was led by the University of Michigan's own Liz Kolb.  Liz's session was entitled "I am PAC-MAN: Learning Through Gamification."  I felt the need to go to Liz's speech for a couple of reasons.  First, I find the concept of gamification within the classroom to be a really fascinating concept, and one that I could see myself trying to adopt in my own classroom one day.  Secondly, having taken Jeff's class last semester that dealt with gaming and simulation, I could really relate to her ideas and concepts.  I thought it was really interesting that Liz decided to switch every aspect of her class to recreate a gaming style classroom.  By this, I mean she changed her class format from administering grades to administering experience points.  Additionally, instead of giving homework and tests, she administers quests (assignments) that students go on to complete at their own pace.  I really like the pacing option which gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

            I also thought that it was really unique that upon completing a quest, students can receive badges symbolizing their mastery of a particular subject.  Moreover, each teacher can create and personalize their own badges that they wish for students to complete.  Also, just like any normal video game, students can level-up the more badges they receive.  One interesting aspect that Liz stated was that these badges can follow students around and can be used to symbolize their mastery of a real-world skill.  So if a student receives a badge symbolizing their mastery of Microsoft Excel, then they could quite possibly place this achievement on their resume.  All in all, I really enjoyed Liz's presentation and seminar and definitely walked away with some great insight that I can use within the walls of my classroom.  I look forward to sharing the knowledge and insight I gained at MACUL with my fellow teachers at John Glenn High School.