2018 VATE Conference: We Are The Change

Overview: 
It's a fact that games are prevalent in our students' lives. Consumers spend a massive $23.5 billion each year on video games. Why? Everyone enjoys the thrill of competition and that drive to improve. Gamers are motivated to spend hours of time trying to master that challenging level, defeat that powerful boss, or get three stars on that tricky puzzle. This session will dive into the idea of bringing that motivation into the classroom. Through gamification, teachers have the ability to completely change the way many students think about learning. By focusing on techniques used in games to motivate players, we can engage students on a level that is familiar and encourage them to challenge themselves while building a sense of community and understanding.

Objectives: 
To encourage teachers to adapt their current teaching styles and lessons to include game elements that will increase student engagement and knowledge retention.

Format:
This session will include a discussion of The Eight Core Drivers of Motivation developed by Yu-kai Chou along with hands on demonstrations of game elements that can be implemented into any subject area.

Activities:
Attendees will be able to see and play with some of the game elements that I use in my classroom (ex: Dice, Jenga, Basketball, Crocodile Dentist, and various board games). They will be able to ask questions and develop ideas for how they can implement these game elements into their classroom while I discuss the theories, research, and challenges behind gamification.

Strands:
This session would primarily address pedagogical ideas that could be used in any subject area, though it will use examples from my own English classes.

Intended Audience:
This session would be useful to nearly all teachers since most students enjoy playing games and engagement is something that all teachers should want to increase. It will be most applicable for middle and high school teachers though.