Pre-Season: Video 1: She, Jane.

Welcome (and welcome back) to the Level Up Book Club. We're glad you found us (or didn't forget about us).

Most of us are entering the final big push of the school year: Quarter 4. It can be stressful, but it's also a time for looking ahead to break, to time off, and for time to get to those things you've put off for so long.

Things are equally busy around Level Up headquarters, so we're changing things up over the next couple of weeks to keep your brain stimulated, your interest motivated, and your time respected.

That said, on to our first video task challenge!

PSv1:

VIDEO RESPONSE CHALLENGE: "She, Jane."

Directions: Watch the following video and the consider what your students look like when they are engaged and motivated. (directions continue below)

Side note: This is a TED Talk given by Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken, in 2010. It's pretty amazing and inspiring. Watch out for her images of motivated and engaged gamers.

Got a picture in your mind? Good! Now, go out and prove it! Share a picture of your engaged and motivated student(s) in action or recount a memory narratively by sharing via Twitter using #levelupbc or on our Tumblr.

Reward:  The winner of this challenge will receive a custom video heralding his or her ability to engage and motivate students. It will be awesome!

Deadline: 11:59pm Sunday, April 7th. Winner will be selected by random drawing from participants. Participate as often as you'd like. One chance of winning per submission.

Can't wait to see what you submit! Welcome back to Level Up!

Resource Luminary WINNER!

Sometimes it's important to reward someone just so that they know their work isn't going unnoticed.

A couple weeks ago we posted a new kind of challenge aimed at resource sharing and offered a prize never before awarded in the Level Up Book Club: a badge. Awarded to the LevelUpBC member who most actively shared resources over the past three weeks via Twitter using the #levelupbc hashtag, the RESOURCE LUMINARY badge is proudly bestowed to its first recipient: Ms. Jennifer LaGarde!

Jennifer, we commend you for sharing so many great online resources with Level Up and thank you for keeping the #levelupbc hashtag hopping!

Resource Luminary Badge.

Level Up is going into CO-OP mode, turning over a new leaf and trying something a little different. We're taking things at a more relaxed pace so that we can concentrate on all the great things going on in our schools.

We're swapping reading novels for articles.

We're trading our leader board for badges.

We're offering new opportunities for leadership and idea swapping.

And to start, we're turning our focus onto one of the things Level Up Book Club members do best: sharing gamification and game-based learning resources.

Task 1.

REWARD: Resource Luminary Badge

These gamification badges by Jonathan Patterson
are pretty amazing!

Directions: Share helpful resources and articles with other Level Up members on Twitter via the #levelupbc hashtag. Many of us are doing this already. We'll be curating those great resources you link through our Level Up Tumblr.

Reward: We're taking down the Leader Board for the time being and will replace it with a Wall of Fame. And on that Wall of Fame? Why, YOU, of course! You earn the badge, we'll immortalize your name on our Wall of Fame.

*We would have offered to immortalize you in carbonite, but our carbonite pool is under maintenance for the time being. Maybe next time.

Deadline: 11:59pm Sunday, February 24. Share the most (or best) resources via the #levelupbc, and you could be awarded are awesome one-of-a-kind badge!

Also, we're looking for Level Up readers interested in Co-Oping for future posts and challenges. Want to play? Read more here or complete the survey below.

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!

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

Task 12: You Like Me. You REALLY Like ME!

Holy super cinematic masterpieces, Batman!  If you missed last night's #levelupbc twitter chat, YOU MISSED OUT!  Instead of discussing our latest read in the traditional way, we spent the hour creating online movies in which we faced our own personal "brotherhood."

Yeah.  It was epic.

But that was only the beginning.

This week, as you get your hands on our next read, we're asking that you take a minute to watch what your colleagues created and cast your ballot for best picture.

It's simple.  Pop some popcorn, grab the beverage of your choice and then head over to our tumblr. OR you can view all of the videos below by scrolling past the survey. Once you've done your best impression of Roger Ebert, just cast your ballot in the form below.

But wait!  There's more!

The winner of this week's challenge - the director of the film that gets the most votes - gets....... THIS!

NO!! YOUR EYES ARE NOT DECEIVING YOU!

Someone is going home with a 53" inflatable Oscar y'all!

So... grab a copy of  Karl Kapp's book and settle in for the best independent film making this side of Sundance.   Voting ends Friday at 11:59pm EST.  We'll announce the winner on Saturday.

Good luck!

 

@michaelrosario :

@matthewwinner :

@premediawine :

@jenniferlagarde :

@SEMSlibrarylady :


@CarliSpina :
My #LevelUpBC Entry by carli.spina on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate. http://animoto.com/play/aRXPnCszsSYMri6g2PfuOw

@harbeckc :
http://animoto.com/play/aRXPnCszsSYMri6g2PfuOw

Task 11: Lights! Camera! Action!

During tonight's Twitter chat, we're going to do something a little different.  Instead of spending the hour chatting about our AWESOME August read, we're going to make movies. Yes, you heard me right!  Get ready, #levelupbc, this is gonna be EPIC.

Everything that happens in Darren Steele and Christine Chung's novella I'll Eat This Cricket for a Cricket Badge leads up to one crucial and potentially life altering event for Lara (our heroine):  a once in a life time, prove your worth meeting with "the brotherhood" - the really scary, all powerful, malevolent dictators of her company - where she must PROVE that gamification is research-based, that it motivates people AND that it can help save her company from disaster!

We all know what happens in the book, but what would happen if YOU had to deliver the same kind of knock 'em dead presentation to YOUR "brotherhood"?  Well, tonight, you get to find out!  

That's right, #levelupbc, tonight during our twitter chat, you've got ONE HOUR to create an online video that reenacts this epic scene from I'll Eat This Cricket for a Cricket Badge if it were to take place in YOUR school - where YOU are Lara and ________ (your principal, teacher leaders, parents, etc) are "the brotherhood."

Here are the rules:

1.  You can use the web2.0 tool of your choice, but here are some options:

• Go Animate
• Xtranormal
• Jelly Cam
• Animoto
• Voki - okay, this isn't really a movie, but if you're a little timid, this might be the option for you.

2.  Use the Twitter Chat to talk trash, support one another, ask for help or share ideas, but just remember...

3.  A link to your video must be submitted to our tumblr or #LevelUpBC Twitter feedby 8:59pm EST in order to move forward in the competition.  (Yes, there WILL be a part TWO to this challenge!)  

4.  Be creative AND convincing!!  Remember, your educational life is on the line! How are you going to convince your own personal "brotherhood" that gamification is legitimate pedagogy, that is WORKS and that it can help you impact student learning???

So... what are you waiting for??  Time is running out!  Action!  

August Twitter Chat.

#LevelUpBC Twitter Chat

Thursday, Sept. 6th (8pm EST)

I'll Eat This Cricket for a Cricket Badge

Meet us on Twitter from 8-9pm EST this Thursday, September 4th for a chat you won't soon forget.

We'll talk about I'll Eat This Cricket for a Cricket Badge, our August read for Level Up Book Club. We'll exchange ideas for making meaningful change in your school and bringing games into your practice. We'll talk about plans for Level Up in the upcoming school year. And there's a super secret activity Jennifer has in store for all of us that will be epic.

"See you" this Thursday!

Task #7: Powerful Words

Now that most of us have our copies of James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, why don't we open things up for discussion.

Task 7:

TEXT CHALLENGE:  “Agree or Disagree with Gee”

Mr. James Paul Gee himself.

Directions: Share a quote 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: It's the middle of the summer and Jennifer and I find ourselves away from our computers during the same week (Eeek!). Thankfully, two Level Up members jumped on board to help us out in the 11th hour. So we hope you don't mind that we're front-loading our prize for this week's challenge. 

Katy Vance (@katyvance) and Aimee Bartis (@aimeegbartis) have stepped up to keep score on our leaderboard, so we're thanking them with +20 levels up each for taking initiative (and being the first to respond).

As for the rest of you, same rules go. Tweet a quote that spoke to you from Gee's book, earn a level up on our board. The more you share, the more you win. (AND the more we all win!)

Deadline:  11:59pm Friday, July 20th. Find your highlighted, penned, and dog-eared quotes and share away!

Happy reading, sharing, and winning!

And the Task 6 Avatar Winner is...

Wow! Your avatars are great! We can't wait to hear how you use them in your classes and libraries (there's already been a bit of buzz on the #levelupbc Twitter feed and blog comments). Last week we challenged you to name some websites for creating avatars and to share a couple of your own. You responded with veracity and enthusiasm, and we applaud you for it!

But there can be only one highlander... I mean, winner of this week's avatar challenge.

Anyone who shared an avatar website link or posted an avatar of their own earned a level up on our leader board (plus bonus levels for each additional link or avatar posted). Each participant name was put into my hand PikMe app and this week's winner is none other than Trish Cloud!

Way to go, Trish! You win a t-shirt with a print of your avatar! You'll be contacted directly with the details.

Check out one of Trish's avatars below:

Stay tuned for next week's challenge!

And The Task 5 Winner is...

This has been a week of Epic Wins.  Last week we challenged you to locate and share awesome articles, videos and other resources related to gamification and game based learning.  We gave you the option of posting your treasures on Twitter or via the #levelupbc Tumblr and offered a sweet, sweet reward to the person who shared the most.

And boy did you guys deliver! In just one short week, 183 scholarly articles, blog posts, news features, educational videos and other game based gems were shared!  This kind of crowdsourcing takes a group effort, but one #levelupbc member was definitely on fire this week!  Congratulations to Carli Spina whose epic sharing not only rocketed her to the top of the #levelupbc Leader Board but also helped guarantee an epic win for the rest of us as we continue to explore game based learning and what it might mean to our practice as teachers, librarians and other education professionals.  Way to go, Carli!

Just one day after this challenge was posted, Matthew and I knew were onto something big and started scheming a way to curate all the great resources that were being shared.  While you guys were busy researching and revealing, we were busy putting together a collection of the links that were being tweeted and tumbled.  Our efforts resulted in a Level Up Book Club Livebinder - an epic collection of categorized resources for us to refer to now that the challenge is finished.  We hope to continue to add to this resource as time goes on, but are thrilled with its current incarnation - which would not have been possible without all of YOU!

Again, this has been a week of epic wins!  Thanks to everyone who participated in this week's challenge.  Stay tuned for info about next week's task.  Here's a hint:  It's gonna be fun!

And The Winner of Challenge 4 Is...

Last week we challenged you to take a virtual victory lap by sharing photos of your own EpicWins on our Tumblr.  The results were STUPENDOUS!  We had everything from architectural design elements  to (half) marathon completions to true medical miracles appear on the list - plus many other crazy inspiring examples. I gotta admit, this has been my favorite challenge so far - I just loved seeing so many examples of pure joy. Well done, gang!

As with past challenges, once the week was over, I put the names of all our participants into the app PikMe! (which I use at school to select students at random). A few clicks later and we have a winner!

Congratulations to Kristina Thoennes whose impromptu, made from scratch, lemon meringue pie not only bumped her up a notch on the Level Up Book Club Leader Board, but also made her the winner of this week's prize!  Congrats Kristina!  I know I speak for the rest of our club when I say, of all our entries this week, yours was certainly the yummiest! 

Speaking of Epic Wins, thanks to all of you who participated in last week's Twitter chat!  One of the best parts of this whole process has been the conversations that have taken place on Twitter as we explore the concept of gamification and how it might impact student learning.  The twitter chat was truly an explosion of ideas that left us saying "wow!"  

If you missed it, don't fret, you can still check out the discussion by searching for the #levelupbc hashtag on Twitter and following the tweets starting at 8pm EST on the 28th.  The Twitter Chat is also where we announced next month's read:  What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee.  Thanks to everyone who voted!  

We'll announce next week's challenge tomorrow.  In the meantime, congrats again to Kristina whose Epic Win scored big this week! 

Task #3: Game On!

Are you loving Level Up as much as we're loving Level Up?

Jennifer and I (Matthew) have conversations almost daily over how much we're enjoying this mega book club and all of the opportunities to explore gamification through what we read and how we interact with one another and all of you! And so, naturally, it's time to get our game on!

Task 3:

GAME CHALLENGE:  “Show Us Your Game”

Directions: Select a game mentioned in Reality is Broken and play it. That's it! No hidden tricks. Just potential wins for you and your friends, family, and allies. Will you use Superbetter to overcome an obstacle? Will Chore Wars bring adventure to where only dread once existed? Will you build a world with Minecraft and lose yourself in it? No matter what game you select, these or otherwise, snap a photo or screenshot of you playing and upload to our Level Up tumblr page or share on Twitter using #levelupbc.

Reward:  Sharing your gaming experience will pay off bigger than ever this week. Kicking it Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me style, a winner will be selected at random from this week's participants and will receive a personalized voicemail message from one of us (Jennifer or Matthew).

Deadline: 11:59pm Friday, June 22nd.  Share photos via Twitter and Tumblr as often as you'd like. One chance per participant to win.

Happy reading, sharing, and winning!

And the "That's What She Said" Winner is...

The second Level Up Book Club challenge is a wrap and my word did you all take this one to incredible heights!

We asked for you to consider those powerful words and ideas share by Jane McGonigal in Reality is Broken. Over 80 quotes posted and several Twitter discussions later, we have a most-frequent-quoter. Congratulations to Becca Oxley (@LibrariansFTW), who not only quoted Reality is Broken the most this past week, but also engaged Level Up Book Club members in ways to apply those powerful thoughts to library and classroom instruction. Becca Oxley wins an 8-bit style portrait of herself to do with as she pleases, boosting her gamer cred and her #levelupbc reputation.

Thanks to everyone who contributed quotes and shared thoughts on how we can apply what we're reading to everyday practice. We all achieved an #epicwin thanks to your dedication, interest, and enthusiasm! Also, thanks to Jennifer LaGarde for tracking and recording all of the quotes to our leader board!

Join us on Twitter at #levelupbc on Thursday, June 28th from 8-9pm EST for a tweet up and live chat discussion of Reality is Broken.

Task 2: Powerful Words.

We've been together a week now and most of us are already off and reading by way of iPod, eReader, Playaway, or good ol' paperpack. Some are reading Reality is Broken for the first time, while others are enjoying returning to it for a second (or third!) time. Let's dig into the text.

Task 2:

TEXT CHALLENGE:  “...That's What She Said”

Directions: Share a quote 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 will soon become our primary discussion space for #levelupbc, the reward for this challenge will be an 8-bit style portrait of the winner that can be used as a profile pic or to otherwise boost your gaming cred.

Deadline:  11:59pm Friday, June 15th.  Your name will be added to a drawing for each quote you share via the comment thread and/or Twitter. 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!

And feel free to tag @avantgame (Reality is Broken author Jane McGonigal) in what you share.

Happy reading, sharing, and winning!