The Daily Illuminator notes a Multiplayer Game Design class where
… Students leveled up, with an “A” being Level 12 at the end of the semester.From the syllabus:
Class time will be divided between fighting monsters (Quizzes, Exams etc.), completing quests (Presentations of Games, Research etc.) and crafting (Personal Game Premises, Game Analysis Papers, Video Game Concept Document etc.).Reportedly, class attendance and scores were up significantly. …
: Zubon
It makes me want to go back to school. Is college an expansion pack?
Ding!
Described in detail by Edward Castronova here:
http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2010/03/build-your-own-sheldon-syllabus.html#more
Bear in mind this is a course on game design. People have been debating the wider applications all over the MMO blogosphere but I think it unlikely we will see it in junior schools soon.
http://teethandclaws.blogspot.com/2010/03/can-college-class-be-game.html
http://slashdot.org/story/10/03/18/0313208/Professor-Ditches-Grades-For-XP-System
As silly as this may sound, I honestly think this kind of context and incentive system is exactly what teachers need to do. Something like levelling up with incremental rewards would keep students involved and goal focused. You could even give them titles/achievements for completing certain types of work or mastering certain concepts. Giving them a unique academic identity like that would make it more personal and significant for them.
While I agree wholeheartedly from my own point of view, what about kids that just don’t understand games (if there are any of these left)? And I don’t think it will solve all the problems of the school system (like the way they only teach things one way) overnight, but it would be cool to see if it made a difference in other classes.
Yo, kids! School is totally RAD! Yo!
That’s pretty cool.
From what I understand it slows way down from level 10 to 12… just another grind-fest :P
I’d just use the well-known gold dupe to PL to 12. Then complain about the lack of content.
Hecker’s Nightmare, now in No Child Left Behind form. Whee!