Book Review: The Multiplayer Classroom by Lee Sheldon

One of my current education interests has been gamification in the education setting. I know that there are many beliefs about this topic, but I really believe that if done right the potential for this mode of teaching is unstoppable.

I have joined many online sites, chats, webinars, etc. pertaining to gamification and just keep falling in love with what people are doing. I am obsessed with this topic with about as much obsessionness(if even a word) as I am about going global in the classroom.

Many people have referenced this book and I finally broke down and bought the book to learn a little more.

Here is the book description from Amazon.com

Discover how to engage your students and raise their grades and attendance in your classroom. THE MULTIPLAYER CLASSROOM: DESIGNING COURSEWORK AS A GAME is your detailed guide to designing any structured learning experience as a game. Written for professional educators or those learning to be educators, here are the tools to engage and excite students by using principles learned in the development of popular video games. Suitable for use in the classroom or the boardroom, the book features a reader-friendly style that introduces game concepts and vocabulary in a logical way. You don't need any experience making games or even playing games to use this book. Yet, you will learn how to create multiplayer games for any age on any subject. Bring your classroom into the 21st century!


This book pretty much takes us through the ups and downs of Lee Sheldon as he tries to figure out a way to gamify his college courses that he has taught. This is not a how to manual. I think that is what I liked best. There is no cookie cutter method to turning your classroom into a game mode atmosphere. Yes, certain things must be put into place, but at the end of the day the personality of the teacher, the students, the classroom, and the goals and objectives of learning will drive the game system.

I found the personal story and journey of Lee interwoven with other case studies to be beneficial. I learned new tricks and ideas as well as what not to do. I began to formulate my own opinions and ideas.

I have about 20 places tagged with sticky notes to mark important ideas about education and how to gamify my classroom.

Gamification is not for everyone. Nor does it work for every class or unit. However, if it does fit the bill, then students are going to love it. This book has me started on my own journey as begin to devise a unit right now using gamification. I am excited. I am hooked. What more do you want from a book than to walk away satisfied and hungry for more knowledge. Lee Sheldon has done just that.

Hunger Games - Education Gamification Brainstorm Idea -

Hunger Games Gamification

My whole purpose with this project is to entice and promote writing, reading, and thinking. Even more important to me is to demonstrate to teachers, parents, and other students how awesome kids can be when we create the right environment to learn and challenge ourselves

Options: I will always have three options available based on themes of book. These will be based off essential questions

Essential Questions:
• When is adversity an advantage?
• When is silence the best force against adversity?
• What weapons work against ultimate control?
• What do you do when you know you cannot win?


Badges

• Training Badge - tutorial of Edmodo, Google Docs, and Wikispaces
• Group Work - not sure of tasks(struggling with this aspect)

Level Up/XP

• Survival of the Fittest - district that survives to the end
• Survival of all Spectators - high level spectator will enter Arena at a given point in time.
• Create a leaderboard
• STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO LEVEL UP PROPERLY

Overview:

Here is what I am thinking

Week 1: Signs and countdown timer to create excitement within the school

Week 2: In school announcements explain the story and backdrop and provide link to the project website. Students will then apply to join the spectacle if they so choose.

School will be broken up into 12 districts. 9 districts for each house. We are a middle school so each grade level is divided up into 3 houses. Students will apply to be a character for their house.
Another district will be made up of teachers. This leaves me with two more districts. I have considered add my 5th grade ELP class as the 11th district. Perhaps I could have an admin district. Another idea would be a mixed district of three grade levels(6,7,8). I still need to finalize how to structure the last three districts.

I will have a lottery system to announce the people chosen. I will either broadcast this live via Ustream or create a video to allow teachers to show during our TA(homeroom). These people will then have a meeting with me one day before or after school to go over the process.

The people not selected for the Arena will then become Spectators. Spectators will have voting power via polls to eliminate teams, add items, disturbances, etc. They will still have a role. Spectators will earn XP points as well. At some point in the game the highest scoring spectator will enter the arena.

Each week or every few days a district will be eliminated. We will utilize a Survivor TV show approach where the highest level District will not be eliminated. This will give them another week to survive and hopefully entertain the other districts to work hard to earn points to take the lead.

Districts will earn points through their writing of the story. We will develop our own situation/version of Hunger Games. Each character will create their own profile via Fakebook and will be uploaded to our Hunger Game website. There will be side quests to earn additional XP points. Spectators will earn XP points through writing, the side quests, and also giving feedback to the writing. Spectators will be just as involved, but just not part of the actual storyline. They are more like news reporters.


Here is where I need help
I will create videos along the way as President. 

I still need to develop disasters, disturbances, and elements to spruce things up.

I still need to think of side quests or ways for people to earn additional XP points.

I still need to figure out which website will work best to host all this info. At this time I am thinking wix for the beginning phase and overall gameplay, but the leaderboard, character profiles, quests, videos, etc. will be done on a wiki? 

Not sure about this yet.

What do you think? I would love any suggestions, ideas, and help. When I get this up and running I will share with all to use, follow, monitor, steal, etc.

The greatest thing is that I believe I can prove how awesome kids are without the threat of grades, detentions, common core, etc. This is going to be epic!