Portfolios

Creating Portfolios...

...may not be the most exciting lesson topic you can think of, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun in the process. If you're up for it, we have a way to "gameify" this lesson that will:

1. Get the job done
2. Give you a chance to try out gamification
3. Give your students a taste of a gamified classroom

Step 1

Give Them a Purpose (Their "Why")!

Explain why creating and using a portfolio of their work will benefit them beyond the current class or school year regardless of the path they choose.

Let them know that both you and the class will be testing out a new type of lesson and that their feedback is important to help improve for next time.

Step 2

Explain the Mechanics.

The "grade" for this assignment/lesson begins like most game scores begin, at 0. As with many other games, as players complete tasks, they will earn experience points (XP). This way, students see the completion of tasks as contributing positively to their final score. Because it's a game, we will also multiply the amount of XP they can earn by 10. So if this were to be a 30 point participation grade, let's make it a 300 point assignment (even if you end up tossing this grade out because your testing the lesson modality, it will still be fun).

An additional level of fun can be created by having students grouped into teams (created either by you or themselves). Having the team able to earn points will encourage cooperation.

Use a theme - (Optional if you're only doing one gamified lesson)

Because this is a one-off event, less time can be spent on the "theme" of the game. However, if you and your students enjoy this experience, consider developing a theme for your gamified classroom.

Throughout the remainder of this example, we will use a social studies classroom as our model. The teacher decides based on the content, that each team will be named after a colony/state. In addition to individual students earning XP, the colonial teams can earn achievement points (AP) in the form of pieces of wampum (an early colonial currency). The wampum can be used to buy "items" from the colonial marketplace.

Since the teacher loves the engagement the students demonstrate with gamified lessons, she has created an XP/AP leaderboard using a Google Sheet. Since privacy is important, she had each student create their own unique "gamertag" in the form of a colonial name. Because of the anonymous gamertag, the leaderboard is now posted on her teacher Google Site.

Step 3

Deliver the Content.

Now that the whole group instructional portion is complete, students and teams can begin earning their XP/AP respectively. In this case, the teacher has created a Google Slide "mini-game" that reinforces content and will provide students with instructions for their challenges. See below:

ONeill-Gamified Portfolios - Mini-game

Step 4

Monitor, Assist, Collect Data

While the students and teams are moving at their own pace through the content, the teacher is free to move about and assist, monitor, and collect data (if this were a content lesson).

Don't Forget to Get Feedback

Part of the teacher's data collection should be about the game itself. As leaders of instructional practice, teachers are always looking to make their product better. In this case, the teacher created a Google Form and asked students to submit their evaluation of the lesson.

The teacher examined the feedback and modified this lesson for next year and will use the information to improve future lessons.

Want More Gamification?

Game development, like our teaching practice, is iterative. Our lessons are our educational products and we strive to make them better day by day. If you think gamifying your classroom might improve the student experience, we stand ready to help you plan and prepare for whenever you would like to "level up" your classroom.

Lastly, we would be remiss if we did not give credit to Chris Aviles and his site techedupteacher.com. His guide is available for download on his site and has served as the foundation for the above lesson idea.

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