Hacking Writing

For those of you not familiar with the term "hacking" in education it is a term used to rethink, examine, and challenge the status quo in education. There are a few books that fit this type of thinking (e.g., Hacking Assessment, Hacking Writing, and Teach Like a Pirate).

The picture above is from a popular game called Clash of Clans (CoC). I am sure a few of you have seen some of your students playing this game during class or in the halls ways, right? Well, why not use this powerful game to your advantage. I see multiple ways that students could translate this game to meaningful learning. Let's look at a few of them.

Maybe the most obvious way is the application to social studies. What about comparing a battle on CoC to the Battle of Gettysburg or or Stalingrad. Students could research the battle then compare the forces used in both. What type of weaponry and military tactics would be different on CoC? Of course there are a plethora of ways to enrich learning. Just think of the worst ideas. Often times they are the best ideas.

Another way to use this is for math and ratios, calculating and saving (a life skill that many adults need). For example, I have three gold mine producing 3500 units of gold per hour. I need 103,000 more units of gold to upgrade my defenses. How long will it take me to earn this gold? Students would have to prioritize what is more important in the game and blog about it. They could defend their reasoning by talking or blogging to comments from other students. So many ways to inspire students to learn these critical skills.

I have lots of other ideas about how to use games and gamification in the classroom. If you have and interest or comment, please let me know.

Happy Fourth of July.