Games4Good + Knowledge Quest = Week of EPIC WINS for #levelupbc

Ok. Somebody cue Kool and the Gang because Level Up has LOTS to celebrate this week.  Thanks to YOU and the donations of over 40 sponsors, #levelupbc's Games4Good campaign raised $1040 for the American Red Cross and other charities aiding victims of hurricane Sandy!!!  We are so proud of this achievement and as a token of our esteem, love and overwhelming gratitude, we created this video thank you card to acknowledge our generous sponsors!! Please pass it on to the folks who sponsored you and know that every thank you is meant from the heart!   Also, if you missed this campaign and would still like to donate, it's not too late!  The Red Cross's website offers several ways for you to give a little bit or a lot.  Every dollar shared makes a difference. 

But wait! That's not all!  Matthew and I are also giddy with gratitude this week because Level Up  was featured in this month's Knowledge Quest which is centered all around powering up your PLN.  We were thrilled to be asked to contribute a piece about this great group of gaming educators who are exploring new and innovative pedagogy through our little club.  What a thrill! If you're a member of AASL, you can view the issue on line, if not (join!) you can probably ask another school librarian if you can borrow theirs!  Again, Level Up would not EXIST or be nearly as much fun without you, so THANK YOU so much for continuing to support our efforts to get our game on!  We love Level Up so much! Which is why... 

We are excited to announce our next Twitter Chat for our latest read:  Karl Kapp's amazing book The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. Join us on MONDAY 11/19 at 8pm EST for a GREAT Twitter convo where we'll explore the concepts in the book AND announce our next read!

And one more time, for the record... THANK YOU for making this a week of EPIC WINS! 

Rock Star Treatment.

Shelving Wars.

The Quest4Hope.

BUSter.

The Overdue Avengers.

These are just a handful of the games #LevelUpBC members created in our "Design a Game" Challenge. Level Up readers were asked to apply what we're reading in Kapp's The Gamification of Learning and Instruction in order to create a game out of commonplace work we usually consider mundane.

Descriptions of the games were submitted to our Level Up wiki and others are welcome to add ideas at any time. But for the time being it's time to select a new winner of a Week of the Rock Star Treatment on Twitter. We had a blast offering up fanfare for @SSedro all last week.

And the winner is...

Share praise, fanfare, and otherwise ridiculous acts of affection for @LibraryFanatic all this week. She deserves it! And thanks to everyone who contributed! We can't wait to put these games into action at our schools!

Two Paths.

Two paths lie before you. Which will you choose?

The first continues on familiar ground, completing The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl M. Kapp and participating in the task listed below (extended from last week).

The second leads into unfamiliar territory, enticing you deeper into 80's nostalgia and perplexing trivia on a side quest inspired by Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. Follow the clues and perhaps you'll win the PRIZE.

Of course, you could always do both. In Level Up you are certainly permitted to have your cake and eat it, too.

But the choice is yours. Feel free to continue posting Kapp quotes to Twitter and taking part in our discussion therein.

We will determine a date and time for our Twitter Chat about The Gamification of Learning and Instruction shortly. Until then, happy gaming!

Task 3:

WIKI CHALLENGE: "Design a Game"

Directions: As with any profession, working in education comes with its own arsenal of mundane and avoid-if-at-all-possible tasks. Review Kapp's response to the questions What is a game? (pg. 6), What is gamification? (pg. 9), and What gamification is not (pg. 12), then choose from one of the common school to-do's below and attempt to make a game of it.

a. Grading a stack of papers
b. One morning on bus duty
c. Increasing collaboration with classroom teachers
d. Decreasing overdue book statistics
e. FREE CHOICE - identify an otherwise mundane task in your workplace and create a game to accomplish the task in a more engaging, motivating way

Post the description of your game to our Level Up wiki for others to read and consider.

Reward: We're going to carry over the reward from last week because it is awesome and because it may be the kind of feel-good wonderfulness that you need amid this already stressful school year.

Since Twitter is our primary discussion space for #levelupbc, and since we'll be drawing an awful lot of attention to Kapp's excellent resource, the reward for this challenge will be One Week of Rock Star Treatment. That's right! For one whole week Jennifer and Matthew will tweet boastful, flattering, enthusiastic, mostly-true tweets about YOU which will inevitably cause the Twitterverse to swell with jealousy, your followers to shoot through the roof, and your social media cred to reach limitless heights. ...Or, at the very least, it could just make you feel really really good about yourself.

Deadline: 11:59pm Sunday, October 28th. Post a description of your game to our Level Up wikispace no later than Sunday by midnight.

S2: Task 3: Design a Game.

Still reading. Still being inspired. Still thinking about how all of this will inform your future instruction.

We're slowing down the pace a little this week, giving #LevelUpBC members a chance to finish reading The Gamification of Learning and Instruction and some much needed time to wrap our brains around it all. Continue posting Kapp quotes to Twitter and taking part in our discussion therein.

But while you finish up our first read of Season 2 we've got another challenge for you!

Admit it... you've been there.

Task 3:

WIKI CHALLENGE: "Design a Game"

Directions: As with any profession, working in education comes with its own arsenal of mundane and avoid-if-at-all-possible tasks. Review Kapp's response to the questions What is a game? (pg. 6), What is gamification? (pg. 9), and What gamification is not (pg. 12), then choose from one of the common school to-do's below and attempt to make a game of it.

a. Grading a stack of papers
b. One morning on bus duty
c. Increasing collaboration with classroom teachers
d. Decreasing overdue book statistics
e. FREE CHOICE - identify an otherwise mundane task in your workplace and create a game to accomplish the task in a more engaging, motivating way

Post the description of your game to our Level Up wiki for others to read and consider.

Reward: We're going to carry over the reward from last week because it is awesome and because it may be the kind of feel-good wonderfulness that you need amid this already stressful school year.

Since Twitter is our primary discussion space for #levelupbc, and since we'll be drawing an awful lot of attention to Kapp's excellent resource, the reward for this challenge will be One Week of Rock Star Treatment. That's right! For one whole week Jennifer and Matthew will tweet boastful, flattering, enthusiastic, mostly-true tweets about YOU which will inevitably cause the Twitterverse to swell with jealousy, your followers to shoot through the roof, and your social media cred to reach limitless heights. ...Or, at the very least, it could just make you feel really really good about yourself.

Deadline: 11:59pm Sunday, October 21st. We have big plans for these games (in future challenges, that is), so make sure set time aside to post before midnight on Sunday.

S2: Task 2: Kapp Quotes

You've introduced yourself to your fellow #LevelUpBC members. You've had a chance to pick up a copy of Karl M. Kapp's The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. You've probably even had a chance to crack the cover (or the eSpine?). Let's dig into the text.

Task 2:

TEXT CHALLENGE:  “Kapp Quotes”

Matthew's future gamer rock star.

Directions: Share quotes that interested, intrigued, or otherwise spoke to you via this post's comment thread or on Twitter using #levelupbc. The more you share, the more we connect. The more we connect, the more we WIN.                                                                                                              

Reward:  Since Twitter is our primary discussion space for #levelupbc, and since we'll be drawing an awful lot of attention to Kapp's excellent resource, the reward for this challenge will be One Week of Rock Star Treatment. That's right! For one whole week Jennifer and Matthew will tweet boastful, flattering, enthusiastic, mostly-true tweets about YOU which will inevitably cause the Twitterverse to swell with jealousy, your followers to shoot through the roof, and your social media cred to reach limitless heights. ...Or, at the very least, it could just make you feel really really good about yourself. 

Deadline: 11:59pm Friday, October 12th. Your name will be added to a drawing for each quote you share via the comment thread and/or Twitter. PLUS, we'll award one level up for each quote you share! Lots of chances to win, but you'll have to be an active member of the game and, therefore the discussion. As always, there will be plenty of other opportunities to share later and tons more challenges and opportunities to level up, so if you miss this deadline, don't despair! Find your highlighted, penned, and dog-eared quotes and share away!

Happy reading, sharing, and winning!

S2: Task 1: Meet Your Bookclub

Welcome (and welcome back) to the Level Up Book Club, the book club gamified! Last season was full of crazy challenges, interesting reads, and dozens of opportunities to network and let loose. This season we're upping the ante and challenging our readers in ways once thought diabolical. But for now, we'll start with something easy.

Task 1:

PHOTO CHALLENGE:  “Meet Your Bookclub”

Directions: Grab a copy of The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl M. Kapp, our Level Up Book Club September selection, and share a picture of you with book/device in hand. Go to our Tumblr and click "submit" or post your pic to #LevelUpBC via Twitter. Be sure to tell us a little about yourself.

Reward:  Not only do you get the chance to meet everyone else who is going on this epic quest with you BUT one lucky #levelupbc member will win one of these smashing Level Up Book Club Badges AND an Amazon gift card to help with the purchase of our September read.

Deadline:  11:59pm Sunday, September 29th.  Don't worry, there will be tons more challenges and opportunities to level up, so if you miss this deadline, don't despair!  Snap a photo anyway and submit it to our  Tumblr  so we can bask in the glory of your awesomeness! 

I know!  Sweet! 

So... what are you waiting for??  Grab your book and your camera and get ready to level up! 

Season 2.

Welcome (back) to the Level Up Book Club, a home turf for open discussions on the gamification of schools and school-based instruction.

The Level Up Book Club is an open-invitation community of gaming and non-gaming educators alike who take part in weekly challenges, explore best instructional best practices through gaming, and level up through some friendly competition.

Jennifer and I will be your hosts, your cheering squad, and your competition for the next three months and we look forward to providing authentic learning experiences that are both fun and rewarding. Our reading list will include:

September/October - The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl M. Kapp

October - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

November - Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissel

To become a member of the Level Up Book Club, simply reply to this post with your name and Twitter handle, or tweet to #LevelUpBC with a message saying "I'm game for Season 2!"

Then pick up a copy of The Gamification of Learning and Instruction and prepare for some awesome challenges and inspiring reading.

And to all of our Level Up Book Club members from Season 1... Thanks for leveling up with us! We hope you'll return for another memorable season of gaming and learning together. If you're moving on to new things, then allow us to please say thanks for all of the great things you brought to the table over the past 3 months. You helped Level Up off to a very strong start!

Gamefully yours,

- Matthew & Jennifer