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Guides you to find what best apps fit your needs based on specific grade level and subject area.

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EdTechTeacher brings resources together for teachers from teachers. Check out Apps

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Guides you to find what best apps fit your needs based on specific grade level and subject area.

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Search Results for Common Sense Education

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Use filters and keywords to refine you search results for lessons, digital citizenship resources, videos, edtech reviews, and advice for teaching with technology.

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Is it free? (Cost)

Is it safe/secure for students to use? (Privacy)

Does it have an easy/straightforward interface to navigate? (Usability/independence)

Is there a way for students to track their progress/growth? (Evaluation/monitoring)

Does this tool apply to ALL grade levels, not just lower or higher grades? (Longevity)

Is it appealing to the eye? (Interface)

Are there pictures to add correlations and make it easier for ELL students/weaker readers? (Interface)

Does this app reach every different type of learner? (UDL principals)

Does it encourage higher order thinking? (Blooms/SAMR)

Is it reliable? (Dependable)

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Easy to use, safe for students, promotes higher level thinking, iPad app funcionality, and capable of growing with students throughout entire education.

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We say Easy Blog Jr (WordPress/Edublogs) and Easy Blogger JR (Blogger) are the ultimate apps for young bloggers. Watch this video and tell us it ain't so . In fact see if you can tell us an app that is even close. Or in the same ball park. Or sport.

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An app meant for promoting strong technology integration in younger classrooms. This would be perfect for my 1st grade room and for ELL students that excel in drawing universal images, rather than reading English words. Great for readers workshop or writers workshop.

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Safe tech tool to use in my classroom during readers workshop or writers workshop. Available on student iPads. This tutorial explains how to use the app for stronger technolgy integration.

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Prodigy Game (classroom utilized tech tool) and Personalized Learning

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It happens all too often: the bell rings to signal the end of class, but some children are left with doubts and questions - while others are bored because the last hour was spent on material they already understood.

These differences are often down to students' learning styles, and are fuelling a surge in the use of personalized learning strategies and adaptive learning technology in the field of K-12 education.

Teachers can't always stop the entire class just to help one or two students who have fallen behind. But they also can't ignore students who learn at a different pace.
Perhaps you're wondering:
In this article, we're going to discuss the definition and key aspects of personalized learning, as well as examples of schools that have implemented such programs.

We'll also detail seven practical steps to building a personalized learning program in your school.

What is Personalized Learning?

In short, personalized learning involves an educational environment and curriculum that revolves around each individual student's needs and abilities.

When schools implement a personalized learning program, the method and speed of learning can vary for each student. However, the end goal and academic standards don't differ. Each student must reach a certain mastery level of the topic by the end of the unit or school year.

Why does this type of customized learning work?

Because - generally speaking - the learning process is non-linear. Teachers can't expect all the students in their classroom to learn in the exact same way or at the exact same pace.

Customizing the learning experience and tailoring that to each student means each individual gets the right kind of education based on how they learn and what interests them.

But what are the results of such a program?

The Benefits of using a Personalized Education program

Students learn skills that go beyond academia and will help them in the future

Personalized learning normally involves students in deciding their own learning process, as we'll discuss below. This teaches the students vital skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

For example:

Sharing in goal-setting helps students develop motivation and reliability

Engaging in self-assessment helps students develop self-reflective abilities

Determining their best learning activities helps students develop self-advocacy skills

Students in a personalized learning environment improve their knowledge significantly

In one study by the Gates Foundation , using personalized learning to supplement math instruction substantially improved students' test scores. The average scores of students in the study went from far below the national average to exceeding the national average, with researchers observing that:

students attending [schools using personalized learning] made gains in math and reading over the last two years that are significantly greater than a virtual control group made up of similar students selected from comparable schools.

While the results are not directly attributable to personalized learning practices, they were "widespread," with two-thirds of schools involved in the study experiencing statistically positive results on student performance based on the use of personalized learning.

Students with specific weaknesses are able to learn without the stigma of 'special-ed'

In the Belmont-Cragin Elementary School in Chicago , personalized learning allows all students to get the information they need, and fill in necessary gaps.

For example, one teacher may notice that some students understand a literacy place at their grade level in Spanish, but struggle in English. Those kids are able to sit with the special-education teacher and have personalized literacy lessons without receiving a special-ed status.

This helps all students maintain the same level, with each individual being treated according to his or her individual strengths and weaknesses.

Teachers are able to focus their time more effectively

Since many personalized learning programs include solo or collaborative activities, teachers are free to address smaller groups of students for more targeted teaching.

Let's talk about seven practical strategies that will help you start a personalized learning program in your school.

7 Strategies to Implement Personalized Learning in Your School

1. Train teachers how to assess students and customize their experience accordingly

The first step in creating a personalized learning program is educating your teachers. When teachers fully understand the process, methods, assessments, tech, and goals involved, then personalized learning can run smoothly.

However, when teachers are not trained thoroughly, your customized learning program won't function properly.

So, before you start, get together with your teachers to discuss ideas, study personalized learning methods, and set up steps to implement this kind of program together.

Then, send teachers on specific training to make personalized learning part of their every day work life.

This is what the Verona Area School District in Verona, Wisconsin did. It all started with courses for teachers and school admins on the subject of personalized learning.

Teachers then went back to their schools and continued conversations, and subsequently practiced with personalized learning workshops. As a result, teachers were better prepared to implement and execute a personalized learning plan for students.

It's essential that teachers understand how to assess the interests, strengths, and weaknesses of each student. Then, they are able to place them correctly in their own personalized learning process.

2. Use Ed-Tech to create a personalized learning environment

Using technology to connect with and engage students is an excellent way to provide personalized learning.

In fact, technology's role can be critical. As educator Mary Ann Wolf observes:

Personalized learning requires not only a shift in the design of schooling, but also a leveraging of modern technologies. Personalized learning is enabled by e-learning systems which help dynamically track and manage the learning needs of all students...everywhere at anytime, but which are not available within the four walls of the traditional classroom.

For example, using game-based learning systems allows students to learn at their own individual pace, and have fun while doing it! In , schools using a math game in the classroom saw an 11.6% improvement on standardized test scores.

One example is Prodigy Game - a free, curriculum-aligned math game used by more than a million teachers and 30 million students around the world. Prodigy offers content from every major math topic and covers 1st to 8th Grade.

If you'd like a personalized demo of Prodigy tailored to your school or district, fill out the form through the button below:

Other types of commonly-used tech can also be useful in a personalized classroom. For example, some schools encourage students to use Google Docs for easy collaboration. This also allows teachers to monitor the works-in-progress of their students.

3. Allow students to have a part in their learning experience

Students who are allowed to have a say in their own learning experience develop essential skills such as self-advocacy.

When given the chance to take part in goal setting within the classroom, students are also more motivated to reach those goals.

For example, the Middletown, NY, school district implemented a personalized learning program that helped students to focus on their goals. Even younger grades were involved in setting goals and, goal artifacts around the classroom helped encourage them to stick with the goals they had set.

As a result, this school district saw an increase in students reaching their NWEA MAP growth targets.

After four years using a personalized learning program, the percentage of students reaching growth targets in reading went from 44% to 65%. In math, the percentage went up to 67%.

Personalizing content delivery and interaction also helps students improve by giving them control over their own learning environment.

For example, give students the choice between reading a short story or listening to an audio version while reading. Allow students to pick whether they'll take notes online, on paper, or record their notes verbally.

Allowing this kind of customized learning gives students the ability to choose the process that best fits their needs.

4. Give students multiple opportunities to show their knowledge

While standard test results and essays should never be overlooked, giving students other ways to show their understanding of topics helps them take responsibility for their education.

For example, one teacher from the Middletown School District , mentioned earlier, said:

[Students] use a Google form, and the forms are sent to me automatically so I am able to instantaneously see how they are self-assessing. It gives them a sense of accountability and it also lets me be aware of how they think they did... I use their self-assessment to help guide my instruction and to help group them for math and ELA.

Constant assessment of students as they move through course material gives teachers a unique insight into the knowledge level of each student. Knowing that a student is struggling with a topic today gives teachers the ability to help them understand on a 1:1 basis tomorrow.

Otherwise, kids who are struggling go unnoticed until the end of a unit, and the issue becomes harder to correct.

To personalize a lesson even further, teachers can give students the opportunity to show what they've learned in a practical setting. For example, a math teacher can have his or her students cook a simple meal, using math in a practical way to measure the right amount of each ingredient.

5. Build personalized learning playlists

When teachers use playlists for self-guided learning activities, students are enabled to choose the types of learning activities that work best for them. This, in turn, helps each individual student to do their best work every day.

So, how does a personalized learning playlist work?

First, teachers set a rotation of learning activities related to the topic. These could be individual learning activities, digital content, group collaboration, or peer-to-peer activities.

The choice of activity can be completely up to the student, giving them the freedom to pick whichever type of learning activity works best for them.

To make sure every student is doing the right amount of work, assign a point value to each activity and set a minimum point requirement. That way, students accomplish all the necessary learning, but are allowed to do so in their own way and at their own pace.

Lastly, teachers can set learning checkpoints where students are required to demonstrate their mastery over a certain subject before moving on to the next step.

Allowing students to interact as peers or even complete assignments solo gives teachers valuable time to spend with students who need extra instruction.

6. Make the classroom flexible

Flexible seating arrangements have become more popular in recent years, and for good reason. After rearranging their classrooms for a more flexible seating arrangement, teachers noted benefits such as:

Decrease in discipline issues

Improvements in attendance and grades

A more positive atmosphere in the classroom

More comfort for students, leading to better focus (and surprisingly, fewer sleepers in class!)

Another way personalized learning is seen in a flexible classroom is through rotating stations. Having specific stations that cater to your personalized learning playlists allows students to focus on the right tasks in the right place. This encourages collaboration and makes it easier for teachers to work with smaller groups for targeted instruction.

Kayla Delzer,a passionate advocate of flexible seating, argues that changing the physical space of a classroom directly maps to an impact on student behavior and learning outcomes, arguing:

Our classroom environments should be conducive to open collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. This simply cannot be done when kids are sitting in rows of desks all day.

7. Flip instruction so students can learn at their own pace

Flipped instruction is a new trend that has been gaining speed since the early 2000s. The idea behind this method involves inverting the normal learning process: instead of having lectures at school and activities at home, students watch recorded lectures at home and engage in activities together during class time.

This allows students to watch video lectures at their own pace, pausing or rewinding whenever they feel necessary. Students can also interact and ask questions via online chats with their classmates and teachers.
What are the results of flipped instruction?
found that, of teachers who had tried flipped instruction, 96% said they'd recommend it.

Another study saw significant results in the students when using flipped instruction. Before the flip, more than 50% of freshmen failed English, and 44% of freshmen failed math. However, after implementing flipped instruction, only 19% of freshmen failed English and 13% failed math.

Like other instructional leadership strategies, it might take some getting used to - but it's obvious that flipped learning allows students to personalize their learning experience, giving them the ability to learn in a way that is best for them as individuals.

Downloadable list of personalized learning strategies

Fill out the form below to download and print a simplified list of the personalized learning strategies to keep at your desk!

Conclusion: Are you ready to implement personalized learning in your school?

Each individual child in your school learns at a different pace. Each one has needs and interests that are specific to their unique learning style.

Implementing a customized learning program gives all of them the ability to learn at their own pace, and in the way that's best for them.

So, are you ready to make this a reality in your school?

👉 Prodigy is a free game-based learning platform that's loved by more than 1 million teachers and 30 million students.

Aligned with math curricula across the English-speaking world, it's engaging and easy to use. If you'd like a personalized demo of Prodigy tailored to your school or district, fill out the form through the button below:

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7 Personalized Learning Strategies and Examples | Prodigy

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It happens all too often: the bell rings to signal the end of class, but some children are left with doubts and questions - while others are bored because the last hour was spent on material they already understood.

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Personalized Learning

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We have a few answers to this question. One is that personalized learning always involves these core four elements - targeted instruction, data-driven decisions, flexible content, and student reflection and ownership. Check out our Core Four white paper for a more detailed description of these elements, as well as classroom examples.

Another answer is that, "it depends" - we believe strongly in the design thinking process, and that school leaders and teachers are in the best place to put together instructional models that meet the needs of their students. Check out this great blog post on the process by my colleague, Kelly!

That being said, we realize that we can never answer this question enough. In response to this demand, here is a short collection of videos, photos, artifacts, and teacher testimonies that we hope will help illustrate what personalized learning could look like at your school or district. Some of these examples are from Education Elements districts and schools, and some are from other places!

Personalized learning is: Incorporating Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting

In Middletown, NY , the school culture incorporates student reflection and goal-setting starting with the youngest grades. Check out these classroom photos of goal-setting artifacts.

From a Middletown teacher: "[Students] use a Google form, and t
he forms are sent to me automatically so I am able to instantaneously see how they are self-assessing. It gives them a sense of accountability and it also lets me be aware of how they think they did... I use their self-assessment to help guide my instruction and to help group them for math and ELA." Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Student Ownership & Reflection
Personalized Learning is: Flexible & Intentional Master Schedules

In Wake County, NC, school leaders at Rogers Lane Elementary School have created a master schedule that's aligned to their three core principles: Agents of Change, Out of this World Learning, and Intentional and Reciprocal Relationships. While it's still a work in progress, the schedule does a wonderful job of showing the back-end work it takes to explicitly incorporate co-teaching, multi-level classrooms, student choice, and blocks for targeted small-group instruction.

Additionally, to help parents and students better understand how this schedule would affect a student's daily experience, Rogers Lane created a "Day in the Life of" Primer .
Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Flexible Path and Pace Check out this video from a high school teacher, where she describes how she has students use a digital tool to demonstrate their ability to collect and analyze data from a field exercise.
Personalized Learning is: Using Digital Content and Tools in a Purposeful Way - Flexible Path and Pace
Check out from an elementary school teacher about how he uses a portfolio of digital content tools in his classes. These last 2 videos are part of a larger collection of great this video videos from BetterLesson on blended learning strategies.

Personalized Learning is: Incorporating Personalized Playlists

Many personalized learning classrooms incorporate flexible pacing by having students go through content via playlists. However, not all playlists are personalized.

My colleague Brittany, in partnership with teachers and school leaders at Rochester School District, NH, put together this helpful Playlist Building 101 Guide that describes how to build a personalized learning playlist.

Personalized Learning is: Planning for Flexible Seating
Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL

Flexible seating is a popular strategy because it is a physical manifestation of targeted, fluid instruction. With a focus on student choice and comfort, flexible seating is a great way to convey to students, "You matter."

Edutopia has a terrific article specifically focused on flexible seating at the high school level, including classroom photos and teacher testimonies. Ashley Rice Broomfield, a 1st grade teacher, shares, " I am in my 13th year of teaching, but this is my first year incorporating flexible seating into my classroom. I will never go back to traditional seating."

EdSurge also has a great post on 10+ brain-based methods to redesign your classroom, and how to include your students in the redesign process. We love this quote: "A good friend of mine often reminds me that we aren't raising a class of second graders, but in fact, we are raising future adults. She says, 'If they're old enough to do it for themselves, they should not only be allowed to, but expected to do so.'"

Finally, see these pictures above from our awesome partners in Loudoun County Public Schools, VA!

check out the BONUS:#LoudounPL hashtag for more amazing pictures of how Loudoun County schools are personalizing learning.

Personalized Learning is: Involving Students in Grading Conversations

Prolific blogger Catlin Tucker offers another great strategy - including "grade interviews" with students. Tucker shares, " As grade reporting approaches, I sit down with every single student for a grade interview. Students come to these grade interviews prepared with a formal argument. These conversations are invaluable. Students walk away knowing exactly what they need to work on or what they are doing well. Also, I feel like I know my students so much better because we sit down and chat about their learning every 5-6 weeks!" Check out her full blog post !

Additionally, student-led conferences (SLC's) can be a great way to engage both students and parents in reflection. In an SLC, a student might not only explain what progress he or she is making, but why it is that progress is occurring. This Edutopia post has a great set of resources on SLC's, sourced from articles like this Atlantic piece to protocols and videos of SLC's in action.

To learn more about how these examples build on the core four elements of personalized learning, check out our white paper.

More Personalized Learning reading

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Getting it Right

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting

Blog: How to Pick the Right Instructional Model for Your Classroom

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Flexible Pace & Path

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Targeted Instruction

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Collaboration & Creativity

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Six Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like

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Personalized learning takes different forms in different classrooms - here are six examples of what personalized learning looks like.

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ASSURE Instructional Design Model EDU561

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Gamified Tech Tools to Utilize (District Approved)

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Gamified Tech Tools to Utilize (District Approved)

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Prodigy
Starfall
Imagine Learning
iReady
Kahoot
Quizziz
Peardeck

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Used as Works Cited in Gamification Essay

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Gamification boosts engagement, improves user experience and makes tasks enjoyable with strategic design elements and fun incentives.

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Used as Works Cited for Gamification Essay

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In 2002, Nick Pelling coined the term 'gamification' and freestyle rappers everywhere rejoiced at the rhyming potential it offered. The world is now a very different place, we've had three new Spider-men, Andy Murray won Wimbledon and we no longer 'Ask Jeeves' if there's the slightest chance that our missing sock has been sucked up into a black hole. But what is the definition of gamification?

It's a term you've probably heard before. Maybe you have a vague understanding of what it is. Maybe you don't. Perhaps you've used it before. Perhaps you haven't. Maybe the term makes you break out in hives. Maybe it makes you jump for joy (this is the correct response).

Why is Everyone so Confused?

There's a clear issue with the term. No two people seem to have the same working definition of gamification. It doesn't help that there are two different types of gamification ('Structural' and 'Content').

Then there's 'Learning Games', which are their own beast, but often get dragged into conversations about gamification. Finally, there are those poor, misguided folk who use the term as a catch-all for anything tangentially connected to the gaming world.

There's clearly an underlying sense of confusion about this word. If you run a quick search, you'll find a startling lack of clarity on the topic. Bamboozlement abounds. As it happens, we're about to throw our own beret into the mix. In fact, by the end of this article, we'll have reached our very own definition of gamification. Hurrah!

What is Gamification..?

Let's start by picking apart somebody else's definition of gamification like a pack of digital vultures. By doing this, we'll be able to piece together the vital elements of any working definition of gamification, before producing an alternative of our own.

Back in the halcyon days of 2014, Gartner sought to redefine 'gamification'. Here's what they landed on:

Gamification is ''the use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals".

This is an interesting definition. It covers structural gamification (' game mechanics') and content gamification ('experience design') and highlights the importance of engagement and driving motivation. And yet, this definition comes off as both a little too precise and a little too loose. Let's break it down.

Without further ado, here's our three-pronged deconstruction.

Digital or Analog?

Interestingly, Gartner's definition hones in on 'digital' engagement. But whilst digital experiences tend to be easier to gamify, they're not the only types of experience that can be gamified. Think about the loyalty card you receive from your local coffee shop. There's nothing particularly digital about a piece of paper and a stamp and yet this is clearly an example of gamification in action.

What's more, we often use gamification in classroom training, without using any digital applications as a crutch. Learners earn badges throughout the day and climb up our makeshift leaderboard. We even apply a level structure around our content. Can you really say that it's not a gamified experience just because it's not happening within a digital application? ... Can you?

Whose Goal is it Anyway?

In Gartner's definition, gamification focuses on enabling people to achieve 'their' goals. This begs the question: can you not gamify an experience to help people achieve your goals?

Could you not create a gamified experience that encourages others to complete a survey you have created? They may not have woken up in the morning with a burning desire to complete a questionnaire, but the use of rewards could be enough to motivate them into action.

Whilst we appreciate the importance of aligning individual and organisational goals, we don't see how this impacts on the definition of gamification.

Perhaps Gartner are trying to position gamification as a goal alignment tool. In other words, it's something that can be used to bring people's objectives and goals in line with your objectives and goals. In that sense it's a sort of magical motivation-reconfiguration machine. Still, even if this is true, it doesn't feel accurate to classify a reconfigured goal as 'their' goal. The motivation has changed, but the author of the goal remains the same.

Gameception: Can You Gamify a Game?

You can't have gamification without it being applied to something else. Yet in capturing this fact, Gartner's definition seems to come up a little short.

There's no mention of where the game mechanics (or experience design) need to be applied, beyond the 'digital' qualifier. Does that mean that we could describe the gaming mechanics used within video games as an example of gamification? This seems nonsensical on the face of it, but Gartner's definition doesn't necessarily rule it out.

How do we Define Gamification?

As nit-picky as this all may sound, consensus is an important thing. If we're all working from the same base definition, then we're able to have better conversations and drive deeper understanding.

Here at Growth Engineering, we define gamification as "the application of gaming mechanics to non-gaming environments", and we often add the qualification: "to make difficult tasks more palatable". What we mean by this is that gaming mechanics - points, levels, awards - help make boring tasks more fun. So instead of dragging your heels and putting off whatever it is you need to do, you're motivated and engaged to jump in, get it done and win that high score!

Gamification leverages our desires for status, achievement, competition and to be part of an inclusive social community to increase engagement. Many gamification models reward the user for completing the desired task and a leaderboard is then utilised so they strive for further improvement. These elements result in a gamification platform with high levels of engagement and a willingness to return on numerous occasions.

Gamification Examples

Gamification is out of this World, Scouts Honour

A primitive example of gamification would be rewarding Scouts with a badge for a task that they wouldn't necessarily partake in, such as fishing or orienteering. Competition amongst the Scouts reinforces a desire to keep getting more badges. These badges engage the Scout through those desires mentioned earlier, status, achievement, competition and being part of an inclusive social community. The fact that 10 out of the 12 people to have walked on the moon were Scouts means something must be working!

Gamification, I choose you!

The summer of 2016 was dominated by gamification and you probably didn't even realise it. Acting as futuristic Scout badge, 'Pokémon Go!' rewarded its users with high-level Pokémon for walking great distances. This is an example of applying game mechanics to fitness. A market that is quickly becoming part of our Fitbit-wearing lives. Had you asked those young people (and those young at heart) to walk those distances without any incentive then you'd probably find yourself out of luck. This is the power of gamification!

Growth Engineering and Gamification

And what about us at Growth Engineering? Why do we care so much about the definition? And what gives us the right to define the term? Well, we're the #1 provider of gamified learning technology, in fact, we're the team who pioneered its use within L&D.

Our platforms are gamified from the ground up. Everything we do is meticulously designed to engage learners, from your very first login to your one thousandth, learners are motivated and engaged by game-like features on our Academy LMS, Knowledge Arcade and Genie - our authoring tool.

Want to find out more about how we use gamification to engage learners? Why not start with one of these blogs:
Want to take it to the next level? Why not read our game-changing whitepaper? It's packed full of gamification goodness!

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What is the Definition of Gamification and What Does it Mean?

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In 2002, Nick Pelling coined the term 'gamification' and freestyle rappers everywhere rejoiced at the rhyming potential it offered. The world is now a very different place, we've had three new Spider-men, Andy Murray won Wimbledon and we no longer 'Ask Jeeves' if there's the slightest chance that our missing sock has been sucked up into a black hole.

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Used as Works Cited for Gamification Essay

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The Benefits Of Gamification In Corporate Training

Gamification for learning-or, notably, serious learning-is all about using the principles and key elements of gaming to meet the required learning objectives.

The value that gamification brings in is summarized very effectively in the following statement as per Wikipedia:

"Gamification techniques are intended to leverage people's natural desires for socializing, learning, mastery, competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism or closure. Gamification strategies use rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks or competition to engage players. Types of rewards include points, achievement badges or levels, the filling of a progress bar or providing the user with virtual currency. Making the rewards for accomplishing tasks visible to other players or providing leaderboards are ways of encouraging players to compete."

What Is The Value That Gamification Provides For Learners And Businesses?

As gamification offers a learning journey to have fun as you learn, the learners welcome it. However, L&D teams who invest in it still have reservations on the value, impact or ROI of this spend. As we pitch for gamification, we often come across the following questions on its value and impact:

Will gamification truly help learners learn?

Gamification is all about having fun, but can it drive learner performance?

Does gamification offer tangible gain and value to learners and businesses?

However, the fact remains that the success of any learning strategy is determined by the effectiveness of its application. If you craft a gamification concept that can capture and retain the learners' attention, challenge and engage them, ensure they complete the journey, plus teach them, you will have a high-impact training [1] that will indeed deliver the desired impact.

As a result, well-designed gamification-based training provides value to both organizations and learners at many levels as shown here.

The Value From The Learners' Perspective

Let us take a look at the following stats that reaffirm the value of gamification-based learning from the users' perspective:

80% of learners claimed learning would be more productive if it were more game-oriented.

67% of students reported that a gamified course was more motivating than a traditional course.

The Value From The Organizations' Perspective

The use of gamification for learning provides several benefits to L&D teams:

1. Gamification is a very engaging learning strategy and the right gamified approach will enable L&D teams to meet the learning outcomes-similar to other strategies used in traditional eLearning.

2. As gamification for learning offers a more engaging and immersive learning experience, this would translate to higher completion rates. The gain would also be reflected in better recall or retention.

3. The versatility of gamification for learning enables you to use it in various levels of learning-different cognition levels. You can use it not only for learning acquisition but also for practice for performance improvement, upskilling or successful application of learning at work.

4. Bringing in a change in thinking and behavior is a tall order. Coupled with principles of spaced repetition, you can successfully leverage gamification to influence both aspects over time.

How Can You Create The Desired Impact Through Gamification For Learning?

At EI Design, we have a very mature gamification practice and, since the inception, our focus has been on using techniques that enable us to create the following values:

1. High learner engagement

2. Immersive approach

3. High recall

4. Better retention (sticky learning)

5. Improved application of the acquired learning on the job

6. Reinforcement

7. Challenges that stimulate a refresh or review of primary learning resources

8. Practice and proficiency gain

9. Trigger change in thinking

10. Influence behavioral change

To meet these gains, a majority of our solutions under the gamification for learning category use the following 8 elements. To help you understand how these 8 elements help you meet the learning goals, I highlight the value of each element by mapping it to the equivalent technique in traditional eLearning.

1. Challenges
These map to the learning objectives or learning goals.

2. Levels
These map to the learning journey and as the learner goes through each level, it signifies a step up in proficiency for them.

3. Instant feedback
This helps learners know how they are faring against their learning goals and based on this, they can adopt the necessary measures to step up their performance.

4. Scores
They are indicators of their performance and are closely aligned to offering gratification as well as a sense of accomplishment.

5. Badges
As the learners go through the learning path and clear certain levels, they are given badges. These reflect affirmations for their significant achievements.

6. Leaderboards
They are dashboards that are used to provide a pictorial view of the overall progress-including against others. The analytics keeps learners connected to the learning journey and aligned to meeting their terminal objectives.

7. Competition
This can be leveraged effectively as it helps learners assess where they stand against other peers or competing teams.

8. Collaboration
This feature not only facilitates team-building but also enables learners to leverage the support of peers or guidance from experts to meet their goals.

Gamification In eLearning: 6 Killer Examples

I have selected 6 gamification examples from our rich repository to illustrate its value. These examples illustrate how gamification can be used across different corporate training programs for value ranging from better recall, retention or application on the job.

1. Induction Program For A Globally Renowned Entertainment Company

The purpose of the course was to orient employees with the company's history, policies and benefits, procedures to be followed, and career growth opportunities through a fully gamified approach.

A guided visual tour, relatable terms, and rich and customized visuals and details created what the organization called a "magical" learning experience.

2. An Experiential Induction Program For A Global Retail Giant

A gamified onboarding training opportunity was created for a customer care team to help them acclimatize with the culture of the organization.

The entire course in a 360-degree platform with Virtual Reality (VR) features, personalization through avatars, and leaderboards and analytics to understand the efficacy of user interactions are the highlights.

3. Professional Skills Enhancement: Account Management Fundamentals For Project Managers And Account Managers

This course is a great example of a gamification approach with multiple levels that reflect the proficiency gain as the learners move from Level 1 to Level 4.

The learning journey is driven by scenarios or challenges matching real-life situations.

Unlike the classic approach of having to go through theory and then practice, here the learners can directly jump into taking a challenge. This helps them ascertain if they truly know the concept. They can seek support through an expert-if they can't clear the challenge.

We also added curated content that offers new content to the learners every subsequent time they come back. This is a great way to have them refresh their learning.

4. Rewards And Recognition
This uses an avatar-based approach for personalization along with gamification.

The learners go through a series of locations in a fictitious city and have gamified activities that map to the different aspects of the organization's compensation program.

The simulated activities reinforce the concepts the individuals must understand and remember in order to win. The scores lead them to gain the reward.

5. Partial Gamification: Features Of A Gamified Activity

This example illustrates how you can add punch to enhance a traditional eLearning course by implementing partial gamification techniques. The usage of gamified activities can uplift the engagement quotient of the standard eLearning course manifold.

We used this approach in a course on time management, and the activity was for identifying time wasters. It involved rapid thinking to select a time-waster activity, which was mapped to floating clocks that would appear from different directions. If you were not paying attention, you would miss and get a negative score!

Unlike a standard approach, like a drag-and-drop interaction, this approach is fun and pushes learners to focus, while creating a more engaging and rewarding learning experience.

6: Partial Gamification: Features Of A Gamified Assessment Designed As A Micro-Challenge

This example features a very versatile gamification approach. We created a bank of gamified assessments, each one in a unique format as a micro-challenge.

Designed in a microlearning format that can be consumed on the go-it features a mobile-first design-the questions can be used to support any formal training for:

Practice

Proficiency gain

Post-training connect feedback that would help them refresh the primary training

As you have noticed in the featured examples, gamification is a great strategy to provide an immersive learning experience. It is an extremely versatile approach and its application will help you improve learning, application on the job, and the tougher mandate of behavioral change. I hope my article helps you leverage gamification for training [2] in case you haven't used it in the past.

Meanwhile, if you have any specific queries, do contact me or leave a comment below.
References:
[1] How Can You Combine Mobile Learning And Gamification To Create High Impact Training?

[2] An Introduction to Gamification in Corporate Training
Sources:

eLogic Learning

Taylor & Francis Online

Read More:

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6 Killer Examples Of Gamification In eLearning (Updated In 2020)

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Gamification for learning-or, notably, serious learning-is all about using the principles and key elements of gaming to meet the required learning objectives. The value that gamification brings in is summarized very effectively in the following statement as per Wikipedia: "Gamification techniques are intended to leverage people's natural desires for socializing, learning, mastery, competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism or closure.

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How gamification is applied to the world outside of education, but can also be applied to the classroom. Great video link embedded in article site as well. Used as works cited in gamification essay.

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Gamification is a business tool representing a whole new direction for achieving the goals you have set for your company. But small businesses have been shying away from it because of the emphasis on large, global enterprises deploying the technology. That's too bad because gamification is a tool small businesses can easily implement to create innovative programs allowing them to compete with large brands.

So What is Gamification?

The simplest definition of gamification is: a process for integrating game mechanics into something that already exists to motivate participation, engagement and loyalty. This can be almost anything, from your website to social media presence, day-to-day operations, customer engagement and more.

Gamification introduces game design elements into non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging. It uses competition, points, achievement, rules of play, status and self-expression to encourage actions through positive feedback.

What is Game Mechanics?

The components of a game are called game mechanics. And as it applies to gamification, the right set of game mechanics are used to engage or motivate the user.

The following 10 game mechanics are used in gamification for applications in different combinations to accomplish the desired goal. They are:

What Gamification is Not

Gamification is not the creation of games for business application. According to Bunchball, a leader in gamification solutions, it is "About amplifying the effect of an existing, core experience by applying the motivational techniques that make games so engaging."

Gamification Solutions

Founded by Rajat Paharia in 2007, today Bunchball supplies solutions for companies including Warner Bro., EA, Adobe, SAP, T-Mobile and many more. But its services it offers can also be used by small businesses.

Some of the other companies providing gamification solutions are: MLevel, LevelEleven, Badgeville, and Intuitive. There are vendors specializing in different segments, including sales, education and customer loyalty.

Most of these companies and others have a free trial period with limited features. If you want a free solution you can also try OpenBadges. Developed by Mozilla, it is an open source platform for creating and issuing badges to your employees after they go through a training or achieve a milestone.

Examples of Gamification

Samsung Nation is another example of gamification. The company rewards its users with badges as they progress through different levels of achievement. The badges and levels are given after users create content, watch videos, review products, engage with their community and other activities.

Again while Samsung is a large enterprise, it is important to note the vast majority of these solutions can be applied by a small business. This is because users are interacting with the same technology - a smartphone, tablet or PC. It doesn't matter how large your company is. Gamification can work both as a way to improve your team and engage potential customers

What is more, many small businesses are already using different aspects of gamification, without knowing it. If you give a coupon for an email address and have loyalty cards, those are forms of gamification.

How can Gamification Help Small Businesses?

Gamification delivers proven and tangible results, which can be measured with the analytics tools most vendors provide. This one is from Bunchball.

Businesses have experienced an increase in engagement across social media, both internally and externally. This includes things like more website traffic, lower times for adoption and conversions from free trial to purchase, and reduction in onboarding time.

However, there is also a downside if not managed properly. Gamification creates high-levels of expectation, which can be responsible for a false set of incentives. Additionally, gamification should compliment any other systems you have in place and not replace it. And last but not least, the motivation has to be more than money. This is especially true for millennials, who have different sets of motivation than previous generations.

Conclusion

In order for a gamification solution to be successful, it has to be well designed, executed and maintained. The methods have to be varied, and the information it provides has to be used to improve not only your business, but the application itself. Gamification is not a panacea that will magically make everything better. But it has proven tools for improving the engagement level of employees and customers can also be fun and engaging.

More in: compete with large brands Photo via Shutterstock What Is

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What is Gamification and How Can It Help My Business? - Small Business Trends

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Gamification is a business tool representing a whole new direction for achieving the goals you have set for your company. But small businesses have been shying away from it because of the emphasis on large, global enterprises deploying the technology.

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Analysis regarding which technology integration framework best fits the needs of my classroom.

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Hello everyone!
I am currently earning my M. Ed. in Ed Tech while I teach my 2nd year of elementary ed. I taught kindergarten last year, but now I'm in 1st grade in the urban KC Public Schools. During the most recent unit for my masters, we have been discussing frameworks for technology integration in the classroom. I feel a bit downtrodden now realizing that my school district doesn't have a clear framework in mind, but I plan to explore the frameworks and decide which one might work best for my personal classroom.

Technology integration frameworks for consideration:
SAMR (Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition) is meant to transform learning experiences so that higher levels of achievement can take place for students. Technology is infused into every aspect of the learning, promoting higher level thinking as you go up the ladder from S -> R. Teachers should intentionally set high learning targets for their students to achieve maximum results when utilizing this framework. The idea behind SAMR is that teachers will take something ordinary, like writing an essay on notebook paper, and "plus it up" with the use of technology, ultimately increasing the rigor. In this example, substitution could be typing the paper win a Word doc instead of writing it by had. Augmentation would be maybe writing the paper on a collaborative forum, like Google Docs or Classroom, to allow for feedback from others. Modification could be turning that original essay into a blog post that can be added to or commented on by people in the outside world. Redefinition for this essay could include a multimedia element to the already created blog post, but maybe with an animated infographic that has audio narration backing it. With each step up, the technology gets more intense. Ideally, as educators move up from the S to the R, student choice begins to take a larger role, and the teacher acts more as a facilitator for student learning in a hands off way.

TIM (Technology Integration Matrix) is a 25 cell matrix meant to enhance student learning with the specific use of targeted and intentional technology. The matrix includes 5 learning environments as our focus rows: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal-directed. Then, there are 5 levels of technology integration as columns that intersect: entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation. Upon viewing these crossing rows and columns, it is evident that the TIM focuses on student choice, active participation, collaboration, and building on prior knowledge. The TIM puts technology in the hands of the students, while aiming to reach the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy through each introduced transformative tech tool. The TIM takes tech from being teacher centered, to teacher directed, to teacher facilitated, to student directed, and ultimately to student innovation. By changing the environment of learning from strictly the classroom to online, students have the opportunity to interact in real world situations and create connections that push students out of completion-ist mindset, and into a curious one.

TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) is made up of 7 pieces of information that are meant to overlap in order to make this framework...work. At the simplest, TPACK relies on the knowledge that teachers have in regards to technology, the knowledge teachers have in regards to actual teaching (pedagogy), and the knowledge teachers have in regards to their subject matter or classroom content. By creating a sort of 3 part Venn Diagram, including tech knowledge, pedagogy knowledge, and content knowledge, those overlapping areas are meant to influence each other when deciding the best way to approach a lesson with an inclusion of technology. To have TPACK be effective, teachers must first be experts in all 3 surrounding tech, pedagogy, and content areas. This framework strongly hints at a deep need for teacher understanding of curriculum and personal student intricacies. Knowing best when to switch or substitute in/out technology to address misconceptions or learning styles would be the best example of utilizing the TPACK method for a beginner.

How are these frameworks similar?
Each framework outlined above is meant to enhance student learning with the use of purposeful technology. All 3 concepts desire higher level thinking to occur, while also enticing students to learn by affording them some element of choice. These frameworks can be built upon and will take time to develop in the classroom. By no means should a student be given a redefined assignment without first building stamina and gaining experience with the technological tools of their classroom. They are similar in the way that technology is meant to assist in engaging students during their lessons to achieve maximum educational results.

How are they different?
SAMR and TIM have extremely formulaic design features, whereas TPACK has a more free-form feel to the framework. With SAMR, you can easily take a simple lesson and adapt it from being one note to a multimedia masterpiece. I do feel as if SAMR differs from TIM based on how much choice is reflected in TIM. SAMR seems as if it requires a lot of teacher decision making, rather than student. Students have more control in the learning environment they want their tech tool to exist in, while also creating content adapted from teacher given information. I believe the TIM model could fit more seamlessly into middle and high school classrooms, where SAMR and TPACK would fit across elementary up to high school. Less technologically experienced teachers could ease into SAMR by using Google Classroom as a gateway, whereas stronger tech teachers could ease into TPACK by really digging into their curriculum. I could see balancing all 3 frameworks as the year goes on to end up at the more intricate TIM by springtime.

Applying it to my classroom:
The most effective model for classroom would probably be TPACK. I feel very technologically savvy, but I believe that I need to dig into my curriculum in a more intense way to anticipate the needs of my students. I have the benefit of looping with my class, which lends itself to a stronger success rate in pedagogy due to a previously built relationship, but I am in a new content area. As I move through this year, I want to be able to utilize the district approved tech resources in the most effective way to encourage the strongest educational outcomes in my classroom. I do not ant to become a teacher that views technology as a babysitter, but rather as a trailblazer who uses technology in the classroom in ways previously afraid to explore.

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Hello everyone! I am currently earning my M. Ed. in Ed Tech while I teach my 2nd year of elementary ed. I taught kindergarten last year, but now I'm in 1st grade in the urban KC Public Schools. During the most recent unit for my masters, we have been discussing frameworks for technology integration in the classroom.

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Digital Tools for Technology Integration

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Using Technology to Support Authentic Learning

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What Makes a Method Effective with Tech? (McGraw Hill Article)

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What Makes a Method Effective with Tech? (McGraw Hill Article)

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1. Instruct with intent

2. Reach all Learners

3. Engage & Inspire

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Key Elements that Increase student Engagement and Motivation

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Key Elements that Increase student Engagement and Motivation

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Making connections
Gamification
Flexible learning environments (seating)
Teacher engagement with intentional and purposeful technological resources
Student choice/learner agency
Opportunity for real time feedback to allow for immediate teacher clarification
Student driven progress/growth tracking
Creative or challenging tech resources that give students the opportunity to take risks and explore new interests

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Tech Tools to Increase Student Engagement and Motivation

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Tech Tools to Increase Student Engagement and Motivation

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Kahoot
Quizziz
Prodigy
iReady
Peardeck
Quizlet
Popplets
Tour Builder
Storybird

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iReady is a district assigned resource, but it has elements that motivate and engage students. Students receive differentiated lessons at their skill level after completing a diagnostic assessment. They are able to track their own progress and growth through gamified lessons. The OS is easy to use and brightly colored with cartoon characters and songs to entice younger students. The program also allows for teacher intervention elements, like providing symbols that inform the educator if a student is struggling with the same lesson, and stopping lessong from progressing all together if the student needs additional help.

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Raising Rigor and Relevance

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Gamification - How the Principles of Play Apply to Real Life - Extra Credits

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The Power of Gamification in Education | Scott Hebert | TEDxUAlberta

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The Technology Integration Matrix

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) provides a framework for describing and targeting the use of technology to enhance learning. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal-directed. These characteristics are associated with five levels of technology integration: entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation. Together, the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments and five levels of technology integration create a matrix of 25 cells, as illustrated below. All TIM descriptors apply equally well to online and face-to-face instruction, Developed by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT) in 2005, the TIM is now in its third edition (2019).

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Made by me during Unit 1

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Made by teachthought.com

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Current and Emerging Trends in Technology Integration

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Technology Integration in the Classroom

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Technology Integration Framworks

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What is the SAMR Model and what does it look like in schools?