Need help! Experiences with World of Classcraft for a Bachelor thesis

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Hi Guys!

I am an economics student at the Iubh in Germany and actually writing my graduation workwith the topic "Gamification as an integral part of learning concepts". In literature research I came across World of Classcraft and would like to include this in my work because this concept is a very good example of my topic. I would like to add experiences and informations about World of Classcraft in my work. So I have a few questions put together and would be glad if someone would answer me.

What motivations did you use to use World of Classcraft?

What positive or negative experiences did you make with it?

Did World of Classcraft create better notes?

How did the classes react when they started working with World of Classcraft?

The teachers?

The parents?

Do they also think that the children can be helped with this teaching method or is it only a means to an end?

Are children learning better or keeping the knowledge better or trying to get ahead of the game?

Were there situations where you would have liked to finish the game?

How much do you rate the learning experience with World of Classcraft compared to other learning concepts?

Is this concept superior to other learning concepts?

Do you think game-related content in learning concepts improve learning sustainably? What about long-term motivation?

Should game content be an integral part of learning concepts?

I would be very happy about an answer.

Steffen

7 comments
Date Votes

Hi Steffen,

I'll move your post to our "General" topic so that more people may see it. 🙂

Official comment

Hi Steffen, i'm using classcraft since the beginning of this academic year and  i will try to reply your questions the best i can. 

 

1. I use Classcraft as a gamification tool. To help students motivate in class and to give them a sense of freedom.

2. As positive experience, i can say most of the students were enthusiastic about playing a long term game in class. They first thought that they could play a game instead of learning physics. After a shortwile they understood the concept of the game but most of them were still eager to play since it was new to them. After i introduced their potential powers to them they went nuts.

As negative experience some kids thought this is a game. Actually it is but they thought this is some sort of game they play at home. So these kids started to do anything for xp, or gp or try to rig the game. You could understand that their only motivation is being first in the game and nothing about the lesson.

3. I didn't compare my students notes but it helps them to be motivated, so probably their grades will go up in time.

4. They were very happy because they were doing something different than a lesson. Actually i was doing the lesson but from their perspective i was distributing xp.

5. When i talked to my head chief about classcraft, she told me to test it for a while. If it works well, then all the school can use it. So i'm in the test year. But i am working with another colleague (we are two teachers in 9th grade physics lessons) and she says everything is fine. 

6. I didn't use parent mode right now. Again for testing reasons. But i think some parents may disagree with the idea of playing a game inside the school. I think time will tell.

7. I think classcraft is an engagement tool. Still teacher holds the keys to the class. So everybody can think what they want but if you're just going to classes and reading from your notes, then whatever you use will not work. 

8. I think all 3 of them are happening. Because some kids learn better in a silent environment, you set the hp loss for every time they talk and they become silent. Some kids are ambitious so they want to get the most xp, most gp. For example i have a student who has behavior problems. Noone could keep this kid even on the chair. So their classmates were having problems with him because some of them were trying to learn the lesson. After i started classcraft he started to engage in class, started to do his homeworks, started to treat better both teachers and his classmates. Yes they were for the sake of xp, or gp but he didn't bother anyone again. This is improvement.

9. No i haven't been in a situation like that. I can't play classcraft every lesson. It sometimes takes a little time but kids totally get it. I have 3 lessons a week and i play full at least in 1 lesson

10. I think Classcraft is better than the other games. Most of the games gives students pointsi badges etc but they don't specify how can the students use these points. Classcraft has directly lesson adjustments. If you are a warrior and your teammate arrives late in class (which means hp loss) you take action and save your friend, or you can use your power to bring a homework late. So the students knows his/her behaviour in class affects the outcome. 

11. Yes and i think i explained why above.

12. Yes. Long term motivation is something about yourself. You may love making small boats in small bottles, or you may like program writing. This is all up to you. I don't think anything can earn you a long term motivation. You can do it. For example i have a student who loves physics and we're arguing about string theory. He is in 9th grade. This kid has motivation and i don't think someone gave him that motivation. This kid may be a hairdresser some day but he will still be reading physics books. So i think long term motivation is something about yourself. No game can give you that.

Also games or gamification elements can take the prejudice away. I am teaching physics and beleive me i know what prejudice is. By this way kids may think any lesson can be fun. This starts to change their attitude to the lesson. And they understand that they can do physics on their own. Even only this part is more than enough for me.

13. Yes. Nowadays kids spend more time on computer games than at school. Or they take school time as boring so they grow some attitude against the school. Like "school is boring so i will learn nothing from it. But computer games is fun (or watching movies) so i can try to understand this game better." You can not imagine how many times i have to talk the kids about "radioactive zombies" are impossible for biological rasons. They all watch "walking dead" and they think zombie concept is real. This is called secondary learning. You look like doing something but on the backstage you are teaching everyone a lesson. Again after the movie "wanted" i had to explain everyone bullets can't go a curved path. So if we as teachers want our kids to learn at school, we must engage them in school for one reason or other. And show them the learning is not boring actually it is fun. That's why we have to use game contents.

Thanks for this detailed answer!

Steffen, do you still need responses?

Yes that would be great.

I have used Classcraft since it was in Beta and in 100% honesty, I am an ambassador for the system. Nevertheless, I can proudly stand by my answers for these questions. Also, just for clarification, I removed all references to "World Of" in your questions because the platform is just referred to as "Classcraft."

1. What motivations did you use to use Classcraft? I personally needed to strengthen my classroom management skills, but have never been one to be a "disciplinarian." Using a system like Classcraft helps me manage the positives and negatives in my classroom and enforce them with an established set of rules/guidelines.

2. What positive or negative experiences did you make with it? The biggest positive experience I've had with it in my classroom is that it gets students who may typically be social outsiders involved in the politics of playing the game. These "outsiders" often times have gaming interests of their own, so when they are presented with Classcraft's powers, characters, and so on, they light up at the prospect of playing it. Conversely, the negative is that it is packaged in a way that some students are turned off by it's "nerdy-ness" but they still participate in the full class events.

3. Did Classcraft create better notes? I'm not entirely sure of the context of this question, but if you're asking about general note taking, it hasn't affected it any more than Google Classroom has. My subject matter isn't necessarily a "note taking" class

4. How did the classes react when they started working with Classcraft? The biggest excitement came from setting up teams and characters. The students were very "gung-ho" to get the game established and then when it started becoming routine they settled back down. We still have excitement thrown in now and then by random events and boss battles, but the biggest excitement was definitely at the start of the year.

5. The teachers? Other teachers are very interested, but often times they catch it in the middle of the year and are hesitant to try and implement something new. They love the idea of gamification though and are open to the idea.

6. The parents? The parents see it similar to how many of the students view it. It's just a fun playful layer added on top of the normal functions of my class. I explain to them that it's not a game that the students are constantly playing, but more of a classroom management tool. No one has really stepped up and said anything positive or negative.

7. Do they also think that the children can be helped with this teaching method or is it only a means to an end? Like I said before, the parents have bought into the idea because it provides a visual for what goes on in the classroom. There is a piece of evidence for every positive and negative that happens in the classroom and Classcraft gives me a way of presenting that information to the parents.

8. Are children learning better or keeping the knowledge better or trying to get ahead of the game? The way I use Classcraft doesn't necessarily provide a strong answer to this. I assign a lot of work that isn't presented to the students in Classcraft and then translate their success in those assignments into effects in the game. Students definitely see the correlation between success in their academics and success in the game, but that hasn't necessarily been a negative because of the way Classcraft is used in my classes.

9. Were there situations where you would have liked to finish the game? The worst scenarios that occur are when a time-consuming random event happens on a day when I really can't afford class time. I almost wish I could schedule random events to happen at certain times, but that would eliminate the "random" aspect.

10. How much do you rate the learning experience with Classcraft compared to other learning concepts? It is hard to compare it globally as a "learning concept" because one of the greatest things about Classcraft is it can be used to deliver content or it can be used, as it is in my case, like a classroom management system. It is extremely open-ended for the teacher to use it how they see fit. It is giving the students a chance to track their own progress, but it does not directly provide instruction to students without teacher input. 

11. Is this concept superior to other learning concepts? I still hesitate to use the term "learning concept." I think gamification as a whole is a useful approach for this generation because reward systems, video games, etc. are so prevalent in our society. Students respond to rewards and at the middle school age I teach, they also respond to competition. Seeing another students success in class motivates others to achieve the same. Having a system of gamification, especially one like Classcraft, puts that information out there for the class to see, but doesn't directly create a "leaderboard" mentality where the kids at the bottom are terrible and compared to the kids at the top. It really does motivate the individual for success and provides the social/team aspect to help move them along.

12. Do you think game-related content in learning concepts improve learning sustainably? What about long-term motivation? I think game-related methods like Classcraft and game-based learning can create lasting memories. I think from a long-term motivation viewpoint, Classcraft does well by making certain elements "unlockable" at certain points in the game. If everything were available immediately, it would detract from its long-term effectiveness. 

13. Should game content be an integral part of learning concepts? Like I said, gamification is a system I've found to be successful with students of this generation. I don't believe that this is the miracle cure of strategies because each teacher is going to find a different way to lead their instruction. Game-based instruction is not an applicable substitute in every teaching scenario, but it does typically spark more motivation out of my students.

Thank you, that will help me a lot. If someone else wants to write something, I have nothing against it.

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