Need to add to your Gamification resources? Then check out Jisc Digital Media’s new Gamification infokit. Really a break down of the concept of Gamification and it’s elements as well as examples, the toolkit provides up-to-the-minute information on how it can be used – and misused – in education. Here is the table of contents so you can jump to a topic:
The interesting part is that they give the “why” as well as the “how.” From Psychology to the issues and problems they cover it all. Check out the announcement or visit the infokit site.
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mxg47n6, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Many schools and other educators are using badges as a way to recognize students’ accomplishments. We’ve previously written about badges and how they can be used in an educational setting. Badges are a great way to acknowledge students’ success, and now you can make your own custom badges, for any achievement you’d like to acknowledge!
Passport, by Purdue University, allows users to do just this – you can create your own badges (from a variety of colors, texts, shapes, and designs)! With Passport, you can distribute the badges; and students can review material, submit their own work, and complete quizzes! Check out Passport to see how it can help you and your students. It’s available for iOS, Android, and as a web app – trial access is also available!
Remember earning gold stars as a child? For many, they were (and are) great incentives to keep up good behavior. Digital badges present a new way to give those gold stars digitally and publicly. When earned, digital badges can be displayed publicly online, with linked information as to “who issued the badge, the specifics of what had to be done to earn the badge and a description of what was learned or accomplished,” Jacob DeDecker (Michigan State University Extentsion) reports.
Do you struggle to motivate students? Maybe digital badges can help! Michigan State University Extension had some very useful findings after a trial-run of using digital badges for the 4-H program. After completing a project in which they were able to earn digital badges, the “youth participating . . . were asked a series of questions to learn their thoughts about digital badging.” Here are the results, as reported by Michigan State University Extension:
87% of students felt that receiving a digital badge validates the knowledge and skills gained at camp 92% of students reported that receiving a digital badge helps document all the knowledge gain; including which takes place outside of school 89% of participants are interested in earning more digital badges in the future
Those are some big numbers! To learn more about digital badges, check out the pre-study post by DeDecker. The article sets up the study that was done with 4-H students. The second post in the series provides further detail into the study.
It’s the last 23 Mobile Things spotlight, and we hope you’ve enjoyed looking at them as much as we have. Remember the end date to complete all 23 Mobile Things is June 15th, so keep blogging about those Things and make sure to collect those badges!
Galaxie Tab 4
Badges: If you haven’t already, don’t forget to let us know when you’ve earned a badge (at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 23 Things completed)! Just email minn23@gmail.com with your blog name, multitype region (CMLE), and how many Things you’ve completed. We’ll add your badge to your region’s blogroll and send you one you can display on your blog to share your progress. We will enter CMLE finishers into a prize drawing based on the badges we see!
All finishers will receive an incentive prize! And, CMLE staff will also enter all finishers from our region in a drawing for either a new Galaxie Tab 4 OR a new iPad Mini!
iPad Mini
Appropriately, this week we take a look at Thing 23, Evaluation of the 23 Mobile Thing Program. Current finishers in the CMLE region offered some great posts from which to choose and share. All bloggers were asked a few questions to summarize their impressions of the program and here are some of the best responses.
Go back to your thoughts/ideas about mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience?
The bloggers agreed that they had learned a lot about their mobile devices and the apps on them. One of the best quotes came from Sarah about her experience, “I would say the #1 thing that changed for me was my view of mobile devices not just as a personal tool, but as a tool that could be used professionally as well.”
What were your favorite Things and discoveries?
In her Thing 23 post, Zoma did a great job of summarizing all of the Things and what she liked. Others apps that seemed to be recurring favorites were: Pinterest and Instagram.
How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things?
Several bloggers mentioned how the program helped develop relationships for them – both online and at their library. One blogger “loved following the blogs of people I know, as well as discovering new ideas and friends via Twitter. Oftentimes when I was stuck on a specific Thing, I would troll others’ blogs for inspiration.”
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Holly’s unexpected outcome turned a negative into a positive. “The fact that I got to try out apps that I didn’t like was also helpful. If a staff member comes to me asking about something that didn’t work so well, I can look back to my blog and remember why.”
How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities to others?
We think Kathy’s quote might summarize the program for you. “Taking this course made me feel less like a digital immigrant and more like I can hold a conversation with a digital native.” OR maybe Duane’s works better for you: “In my position as media specialist, I’m expected to be on the forefront of technology and to share that technology with other teachers. This course has helped fulfill both of those criteria in addition to improving my relevance in an ever-changing library environment.”
CMLE would like to thank all participants and remind you that the 23 Mobile Things Program will be available after the June 15th deadline. If you’re not able to finish by then, you can always revisit the program at your leisure.
Tip: See what people are saying on Twitter about 23 Mobile Things by following the hashtag #23ThingsMN and join the conversation!
We hope you are still enjoying the online learning provided by the 23 Mobile Things Program, and we wanted to take a quick minute to publicly congratulate some of our “high flyers” in the program. If you are off to a slow start, take heart, every bit of learning is valuable and is making you a better professional, better equipped to help your end users when they have questions about their devices or apps. But please don’t think I am letting you off easy, set your sites on completing at least the next five, request your badge, then see how great you feel. We guarantee, you will get hooked and want to continue!
CMLE Finishers of 23 Mobile Things
Yes folks, we have seven people in the CMLE region who have finished the program so far; others have until June 15, 2014. Some people are doing the program loud and proud, with a robust blog profile and picture, others are flying under the radar, going incognito!
A huge congratulations to the following people:
Blog name: 23 in ’14: Carolyn Avaire, East Central Regional Library (ECRL)
Blog name: 23 Mobile Things: Duane Hawkinson, Monticello Public School Media Centers
Blog name: 23 New Ways of Looking at a Library: Katherine Morrow, ECRL
Blog name: The Adventures of SZSRocks: Zoma Olson, Elk River High School Media Staff
Blog name: How to Become an iPad Ninja in 23 Easy Steps: Holly Pringle, Becker School Media Specialist
Blog name: Library Connections: Sarah Hawkins, ECRL
Blog name: Sharvermobile: Great River Regional Library (GRRL)
We have an additional seven people who are sporting badges for completing either 5 or 10 of the Things. Well done! Keep going, you are doing great, and we will recognize you at the Finish Line too! I see many more blogs where people have not requested badges. Please do so, as it helps everyone gauge other participants progress in the program. Tip: If you are struggling on Thing 11, look for the people with a badge for 10 things, and check their blogs for hints or tips that might help you with that Thing. Better than randomly clicking on all blogs, right?
Did you expect to see your name on the list, but it is not there? Maybe you are not up to date on your badges?!
Badges! Each time you complete a group of five things (in any order), send an email to minn23@gmail.com with your name, region and blog name and we will add a badge next to your blog on the blog list by region. If you have another place to display a badge, let us know that, too, and we will send you the badge to display. You can see the badges in the right sidebar of the main program page, and you can review all of the CMLE blogs at http://23mobilethingsmn.org/cmle/. Good luck, enjoy the learning and sharing and see you online!
Prizes: CMLE participants who complete 23 Things will receive a completion prize and have their name entered in a special prize drawing from CMLE. You had to register your blog as described in Thing 1 and you need to complete all Things by June 15, 2014 to be eligible. Only registered Minnesota participants are eligible for prizes. Keep on blogging, see you online!
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
Need to add to your Gamification resources? Then check out Jisc Digital Media’s new Gamification infokit. Really a break down of the concept of Gamification and it’s elements as well as examples, the toolkit provides up-to-the-minute information on how it can be used – and misused – in education. Here is the table of contents so you can jump to a topic:
