Classcraft and Higher Ed

Follow

Hi everyone, 

I use CC in my Community College history classes, both FTF and online.  I've found that in my classes, the in-class behavioral modification features aren't really a priority.  In general, my students don't talk over me or otherwise act in a disruptive manner.  Rather, what I want to encourage is good scholarship - turning in assignments on time, not skipping assignments, following instructions, doing drafts of papers, studying in advance for exams, and so on.  

And on the rewards side, my students don't care about opening a window (ours are bolted shut anyway), changing seats (I don't assign them), getting a drink (they can go if they need to) or other small rewards. 

So the main source of health loss is not logging in to our LMS and loss of points on assignments.  And the main rewards are things that students always ask for anyway - extensions, the chance to revise, the ability to use notes on an exam or the power to ask for a hint about the exam.  I make sure all characters have these powers.  Generally they have them at the same levels, except for revisions.  Revisions can be shared with others in their group, so Healers get it earliest, then warriors, then mages.  But it's cheapest for mages and most expensive for healers.  

4 comments
Date Votes

That sounds good. I teach College Prep in High School and I've been having trouble getting them motivated to play with the rewards set the way they are. I might have to look into changing those to be more like yours. Thanks for the ideas.

I like doing it that way because it gives the students ownership over their requests.  Rather than begging me for an extension and making up all sorts of excuses, if they've managed their AP well, they can just use it.  I do have them send me a message letting me know, since it's pretty hard to find in the class feed.  

Another thing you can do is ask THEM what they'd want.  That's what I do for the sentences - I let the students decide what they should be for the most part.  I guide them a bit by asking them to consider what they think would help them get back on track if they struggle with a test or paper.  They generally come up with good things - show Laura a draft of a paper before it's due, show her your vocab flashcards or notes, etc.  I always throw in - come to my office hours or online chats with questions about the material you struggled with. 

I already have a "gamified" remedial college math class (in that the activities are game-based rather than lecture/textbook based), but I'm hoping to use CC to motivate the sense of game during class and hopefully between classes. I like your approach Laura, as I've been struggling to decide how to use rewards, powers, sentences, etc. in the college classroom. And I will be asking them what they want as well!

Does anyone have experience with the interface? Do students get to choose to help a classmate (or not) from their smartphones, or does the instructor have to do it all?

Hi Leslie,

Students can definitely choose to help a classmate from the app.  You don't have to do it all.  And with college students, that works pretty well.  I also do some of the actions if I'm closer to my computer or if it's during an exam (one of the powers my students can learn is to ask if a map or multiple choice question is correct during the exam, when they can't have devices out).  

I also used to have to use the Warrior's Protect powers on behalf of my online students, but with delayed damage, that's no longer necessary.  I just get them in the habit of checking Classcraft after they see I've entered grades! 

One suggestion as you work out what powers and rewards, etc. will work in your class is to involve your students in the process.  What do they want to be able to do?  I've found that invaluable! And you can always tweak things as you go along :-)

If you want to chat as you move forward, don't hesitate to contact me at ltrauth [at] ccbcmd.edu! 

Please sign in to leave a comment.