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.

CO-OP mode.

Welcome to a new age of Level Up.

Since its inception in May of 2012 the Level Up Book Club has continued to reinvent itself to reflect the interests of its members and the nature of its reads. Challenges, chats, book studies, and resource curation have been at the heart of our work, but we now find ourselves in a position to try something new.

For the remainder of the school year, Level Up is launching into Co-Op mode. Co-Op (or co-operative) gameplay involves two or more players tackling a common obstacle together. Much like in good collaboration, playing co-op allows the players to experience the game in a new way and achieve goals difficult or impossible in a single player mode. Co-op allows for more strategy, better use of resources, and a more unified gaming experience. In Level Up, we see co-op as an opportunity for guild members to craft their own unique levelupbc experiences for others to enjoy.

This means that we're taking a break from reading books in order to provide relevant, engaging, and fun LevelUpBC experiences that are not as time-restrictive as our previous endeavors. It also means you can be a part of the future of Level Up!

Co-Op Mission Essential Knowledge:

By signing up for a co-op mission below, you are agreeing to work in collaboration with Matthew and/or Jennifer to create two (2) challenges for your selected month. These challenges may include:

• Asking LevelUpBC members to retrieve and share resources on a given topic.
• Creating a game or activity based on game-based learning, gamification, or other previously discussed topics of the LevelUpBC.
• Moderating an online discussion on a selected essay or article related to gaming in education.
• Doing something not previously conceived and yet totally awesome and memorable for LevelUpBC.

You'll also unlock super rare items, gain insane experience points, and will earn the respect and admiration of other Level Up guild members. Either that, or it will just be a whole lot of fun.

Sign up for a Co-Op mission using the form below. 

And welcome to a new age of Level Up.

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: Why Video Games Matter

So, Level Up Book Club, how's your super chillaxed, uber stress-free month of December, going?  That's what I thought! You're swamped! Overwhelmed!  Counting the seconds days till winter break!

Guess what?!

So are we!

Which is why this post is just a reminder that this month our gift to you is a no pressure read of Tom Bissell's Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter - just in time for the month when WE ALL wish we had a few extra lives to fall back on. (Or a least a few elves to help us get all that work done!)

No need to stress about challenges or leader boards this month, just pick up your copy of this amazing book and start reading.  Easy Peasy.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll start posting quotes from the book and sharing our thoughts.  Then, once January hits, when we're all feeling rested and renewed, we'll hit the ground running in preparation for our next #levelupbc Twitter chat.  In the meantime, feel free to make Level Up and Bissell's book your happy place during this hectic and chaotic time.

And... if you're still waiting for your copy to come in at the public library OR you're hoping Santa will tuck one in your stocking, no worries!  Here's an interview with the author to tide you over!

Enjoy!

Edublog Awards!

 

Wait a second... did you do this?

Guild, this is AWESOME! Thank you so much for helping the Level Up Book Club get recognized for not one but three Edublog Awards! Level Up is nominated in the categories Best Group Blog, Best New Blog, and Best Edu Social Network.

And ya know what? We totally deserve it!

This book club is super fun because of the gamers, educators, and innovators that you are! We quest together. We explore together. We achieve together. What's not to love?!

Now it's time to see if the Level Up Book Club can bring home the bacon.

Voting for the Edublog Awards is open until 11:59pm EST on Sunday, December 9th. You can vote daily and from multiple devices. And, most importunely, each vote counts.

Go to the Edublog Awards voting page and let your voice be heard. Tweet the link. Promote Level Up. Coerce your colleagues to vote for us. You could even make a game out of it!

We're gonna wear these badges loud and proud!

Thanks for being part of this truly epic win!

FAUXasis WINNER!

A note from the desk of the 

FAUXasis Gaming Board

To all this may concern:

On behalf of the FAUXasis Gaming Board, I, Matthew Winner, FAUXasis lead designer and programmer, would like to congratulate user LIBRARYFANATIC as the winner of the Level Up Book Club Season 2 Side Quest. Despite competition from thousands of challengers globally, LIBRARYFANATIC has demonstrated the commitment, capacity, and merit to earn the coveted FAUXasis PRIZE. Said PRIZE will be sent via post to the undisclosed home of LIBRARYFANATIC where it will no doubt garner the attention and wordwide acclaim deserved of the competitor him- or herself.

The Board would also like to recognize those players who have endured the 10 FAUXasis modules over the recents weeks. You have each exhibited excellent sportsmanship and endurance through mental and physical challenges. 

The Board hopes you have enjoyed reading Ernest Cline's READY PLAYER ONE as well as your time spent in the company of the Level Up Book Club. All FAUXasis accounts will be terminated shortly and the modules permanently dismantled, but records of all accounts can still be accessed through the Level Up Book Club server.

Thank you again for playing. We hope you have enjoyed the experience.

Sincerely,

Matthew C. Winner

FAUXasis Lead Designer and Programmer