Gamification

Hello guys! Today I will try to give some information about gamification. Gamification in education ir gamification in learning is sometimes described using other terms: gameful thinking, game principles for education, motivation design, engagement design etc. It is different from game based learning in that it doesn't involve students making their own games or playing commercially-made video games. It operates under the assumption that the kind if engagement that gamers experience with games cab be translated to an educational context towards the goals of facilitating learning and influencing student behavior. Since gamers voluntarily spend countless hours playing games and problem solving, researchers and educators have been exploring ways to harness videogames' power for motivation and apply it to the classroom.

Game Elements

Gasification in learning involves incorporating game elements to motivate learners. Some of these elements are:

1. Narrative
2. Immediate feedback
3. Fun
4. Scaffolding learning with challenges that increase
5. Social connection
6. Player control

A classroom  that contains some or all of these elements can be considered a gamified classroom. The best combinations, the ones that create sustained engagement, consider the unique needs if the learners and do more than just use points and levels to motivate players. The most effective gamification systems make use of other elements such as narrative and connection with fellow players/learners to really capture the learners' interests. 

Gamification in education offers many possible benefits:

1. Students feel ownership over their learning
2. More relaxed atmosphere in regard to failure, since learners can simply try again
3. More fun in the classroom
4. Learning becomes visible through progress indicators
5. Students may uncover intrinsic motivation for learning
6. Students can explore different identities through different avatars/characters
7. Students often are more comfortable in gaming environments

If you want to read more about gamification here is the link of the source: https://www.learning-theories.com/gamification-in-education.html

Kahoot!

What is it?

Kahoot! is a tool for using technology to administer quizzes, discussions or surveys. It is a game based classroom response system played by the whole class in real time. Multiple-choice questions are projected on the screen. Students answer the questions with their smartphone, tablet or computer. As I have tried it before I can honestly say that it is really fun and it immediately changes the atmosphere of the classroom.

Here is the link of my Kahoot!: https://create.kahoot.it/share/jobs-and-professions/930dd3ca-2dc0-4023-b614-086d45c90394

QR Code

Hey everyone! You may ask the strange square below. It is a QR code of my blog. Now I will give some information about it. What is QR code and why is it important?QR codes were first created back in 1994. A Toyota subsidiary named denso Wave developed the code in order to help in the manufacturing process, they aided in tracking vehicles and parts. It was designed to allow for fast decoding speeds, hence the name Quick Response code. 

QR codes have come a long way since their creation. Today they have a number of purposes including transport ticketing, entertainment, commercial tracking, and product marketing. You can find them being used to send audiences to a website for browsing, to bookmark a webpage, to initiate phone calls, produce links to web URL's etc.

It is fast to produce and use. So, I tried it myself. Here is the QR code of one of my favorite songs. Scan it and have a nice moment: 

My Certificate!

Today you can take various lessons onlinely. There are many applications such as Udemy, Coursera, edX and Skillshare which you can take online lessons and take a certificate in return. I took my certificate from Udemy. Here is the picture of it:

VOKI

Again I used a very fun program to create stuff for my students. It is Voki. It is an educational tool that allowes users to create their very own talking character. Voki characters can be customized to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, and even yourself! Give your Voki a voice by recording with a microphone, using dial in number, or uploading and audio file. Voki characters can be emailed, shared on social media, and embedded on websites.

Here is my Voki link: http://tinyurl.com/y46ts2kg 

Pixton

Pixton is a cartoon creation tool that allows its users to create awesome comics. Also it is very much fun to create, at least for me. It is easy to share it with your students. I will definitely use it in my future class. I created a comic about the use of should. 

You can look at it from here: https://share.pixton.com/pvx1xig

Aniomoto

Animoto is an online program that allows for free 30-second videos to be created that are more of a teaser or introduction. Longer videos can be created with a paid membership. Videos are created by choosing images or videos, adding text and choosing a theme. Music is chosen from a list and the video is produced. And I introduced some fruits and vegetables in my first Animoto video. 

If you want to watch it from the first hand here is the link of it: https://animoto.com/play/aFCjQct1JNTFJCNk0scsSQ