Let's Chat: Extra Lives.

For most of us in the teaching world, February means parent-teacher conferences, quarter 2 report cards, and the halfway mark for the school year.

Exhausted yet?

We hope you've enjoyed our chillaxed approach for our final book selection of Season 2 of the Level Up Book Club. We're wrapping things up this Friday via a Twitter chat and would love for you to join.

Twitter chat this Friday, February 8th at 7-8pm EST.
#LevelUpBC

On the agenda:

• Highlights of Tom Bissell's Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
• Unveiling of the new Level Up Book Club Co-Op Mode
• Crowdsourced feedback: What does the Level Up BC mean to you?
• Geeking out over cool, new video games on consoles and iOs/Android

Join in to learn more about Level Up, reconnect with other guild members, or just to unwind after a long week. No need to read Extra Lives to feel included.

See you soon!

2013: The Year of GAME ON!!!

Happy New Year, Level Up Book Club!

January is such an awesome month for folks who spend their days with kids in schools.  Not only do you get to celebrate the fact that you've made it through half the year BUT you also get to relish in the best part of the new year - the opportunity for a fresh start:  A reboot.  A do over. (*AHEM*) Extra Lives!

That said, as you might recall, at the end of last year, we decided to spend December chillaxing - that is to say, spending quality time with our latest read Extra Lives by Tom Bissell only when that time presented itself.  And given how CrAzY December typically is, we're guessing that time was limited.  So... we're wishing you a Happy New Year with a fresh start to this fantabulous book and a fun new challenge!

In the spirit of renewal and revisiting our goals for the school year, your first challenge of 2013 is twofold:

S2: Task 4: Set a Goal.

Jennifer is a shoe-in for this badge!

1. Set a Game Based Learning goal.  If you're participating in Level Up Book Club it is, no doubt, because you are either a) interested in game-based learning and how it can positively impact your students or b) you're already a true believer.  So, why not use the flipping of the calendar to set a goal for yourself or for your kids this year?  Maybe you'd like to introduce a console, like the Nintendo Wii, into your instruction. Or perhaps you'd like to incorporate gaming elements as a way of implementing the common core.  Or maybe you'd just like to give yourself permission to spend 2 hours a week playing Minecraft so that you can discover ways to use it as part of your teaching. Or maybe you want to pluck up the courage to ask your principal to observe a lesson laden with GBL. No matter what your goal is, part of your challenge is to share it with Level Up.  You can post your goal on Twitter - just be sure to use the #levelupbc hashtag as part of your post.  Or you can send it to us via the Level Up Tumblr.  We CAN'T WAIT to see what you're plotting and scheming for 2013!
2. Grab, renew or download a copy of Extra Lives by Tom Bissell and pick up where you left off.  If you've already finished the book, dust it off and refresh your member.  But, if you're like us, and you started but haven't quite finished yet, it's time to dust off your copy and get back to it.  We'll have a new text based challenge soon and we'll look forward to our Twitter chat tradition at the close of the month!

Told in easy-to-digest chapters
that appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike!

2012 was an amazing year for Level Up.  When we started this little book club, we had no idea how it would grow or how much it would add to our lives.   Thank YOU so much for being a part of the learning and sharing that goes on here and for keeping us moving forward in 2013!  

Cheers! 

- Jennifer & Matthew

Extra Lives: A Chillaxed Challenge from #levelupbc

Hope all our state-side players have recovered from their Turkey or Tofurkey comas and are ready to head back to work tomorrow.  And, if in your world the phrases "back to work" and "back to school" are one in the same, then you're probably already well aware that no matter how you slice it, there's really only about 3 weeks between this long awaited break and the next one. What's more, if you're anything like your Level Up Leaders, then getting this far has been a fun but exhausting ride.

So... here's what we're gonna do.

In order to keep the Level Up momentum moving forward, while also taking a low pressure approach to our next read, we're wrapping up a chillaxed challenge for our next read, Extra Lives by Tom Bissell, as our holiday gift to you.

Given how crazy this time of year is for everyone, but in particular for those who work and play with little (and big!) learners, we're gonna take this one slow.  Currently, we're planning our usual cumulative Twitter chat for this read as the first Level Up activity of 2013 - giving our friends, colleagues and readers (um... that's you!) permission to take a deep breath, concentrate on what's most important right now and tackle this read one delicious page at a time.

In the meantime, OF COURSE, we'll post some challenges along the way, share favorite quotes and make reading this book a meaningful learning experiences for everyone involved.  In fact, to start things off, per usual, let's get the ball rolling by sharing pics of your copy of our latest read either via the Level Up Book Club Tumblr or on Twitter - just be sure to tag your post with the #levelupbc hashtag!  And, of course, in the spirit of leading by example, here's a shot of the loot collected during my latest visit to the public library - with Extra Lives rising to the top of the heap!

So... wrap up the left overs, dust off the dreidels, take out the tinsel and grab a copy of Extra Lives so you can festivus with the rest of us.  Rest assured, Level Up ia not on hiatus, we are not taking a break - we're just making sure that Extra Lives doesn't add any extra stress to this already busy holiday season.!