Preparation for Gamification

In order to start our epic journey, I needed a new Google Classroom class and a website. I set up the following to post at the beginning of class:

The code takes them to a class titled "The Kingdom of Lorniath." There, they see this:

It's Dangerous Out There refers to a safety quiz. They must make a 100 to progress (and earn 50 XP). Then they see this:

Learn the Language refers to a ceramics vocabulary Kahoot! that we will play in class. The team with the highest average score earns 25 XP each, second place gets 20, and third place gets 15.

Next, each team chooses a name and a mythical animal. Once done, they post this information to the assignment in Google Classroom, and they earn 40 XP. This ensures that every team member will have at least 100 XP and make it to Level 1.

Once finished, the students dream of their last project, and write a reflection on it. This is the last loose end before we move on in our course content. As they finish, they will uncover a link to the Kingdom of Lorniath website.

The website features a map with three main areas - the library (ceramics history, artists, criticism, etc.), the pottery (construction), and the surface finishing area (decorating / finishing techniques). All but one of the links say that "This quest is not yet unlocked." This is because I am still adding them, and because I want them all to do the same project to start.  There is also a page with quest requirements (research / sketches / planning, creating, evaluating) and guidelines (red quests are required, some quests are moddable). Last, I included a page labeled 'Goals' that had all of the state standards for the course listed.

Students who go to the pottery find out that the mysterious potter woman is almost out of magic clay. She has just enough for the students to make whistles to call for more magic clay. My students struggle with control, precision, and craftsmanship. A whistle is a good, quick project to help them with these skills.

The quest is listed in red, which means it is required. It is also moddable, which means that students may substitute an equivalent project as long as it meets the required skills and the state standards listed on the quest page.

There is also a hidden area - students who notice it will find the side quest page. This is a page of things that students can do to earn extra XP (but not points on their grade). Side quests include creating a quest, creating a poster to teach something, making test tiles, etc.

Once the Google Sites website was done, I created spreadsheets to keep up with badges and XP. I created badges for some of the quests and sidequests, and levels 1-15. I also created badges for each state standard, so the students could see tangible evidence of what they are learning to earn credit for the course. I made individual spreadsheets for each student and each team that will pull data from my master spreadsheet. These will be shared with the students once we begin.

Next:  how day one went.