Last week I asked the students in this class some questions to see what their initial impression of the gamification of our classroom was. Here are their answers to the first question:

1. Is your overall initial impression of gamification in our class positive or negative and what makes you lean that way?

My initial reaction to gamification in class is positive.  I think at a surface level, it is a really smart way to give students that extra bit of motivation to excel past the average expectations.  Sometimes going above and beyond means nothing in school because no one acknowledges it or congratulates students for it.  Grades are hidden and no one knows for the most part who truly tries.  With this system, I’m encouraged to push myself to do better because it is rewarded with acknowledgement. -a sophomore

It sounds fun and i would love to do it, but I am not sure that I have time to do a lot of the things possible. The perks were really cool and I want just about ever single one of them. The leaderboards are a fun idea, but I really never pay attention to them  on games, so I will probably just glance at them a couple of times a month. The loot is the best part to me, I think that would really motivate me. -a junior

I really don’t think that gamification has a big impact on some people in class so it doesn’t lean negative or positive; but if I had to choice I would say it’s more positive because it makes the people who are really interested in it have something to look forward to after completing an assignment. It also tells you who in your class is doing better then you in an area and so you know that if you need help you could go up to them for help. I makes you also feel good because you get to show others that your understanding it and are doing well. In a negative way it could also be making the people who are at the bottom of the boards or not on the boards feel bad because they know their not doing as well as other, but it might give them a little more motivation to improve to be on the leaderboards. -a senior

I think it is a positive thing because i think it will help push people to do at better job so they can get perks. It is a good idea and overall I like the idea and think other teachers should do this. -a sophomore

I think it is a very positive thing. I believe that kids and adults work harder when they’re competing for something, wether it be kids on a football field or workers for a raise, you want to show that you are the best. -a senior

I think that it will be a very fun and new way to get excited for the programs we make. it will provide me with extra initiative to go above and beyond. -a sophomore

I would probably say that its positive. I personally feel like the leveling up, perks, and achievements will be fun, and might give me motivation to earn some of them. But I would say that I am more focused on the grade I get in the class. If the gamification stuff helps me get a better grade in the class, then I would be happy to compete in it. I still feel like the gamification will be fun, buts its probably not something I will go out of my way to do. -a junior

My first impression of this gamification is that i think it is positive because I am really excited to get some of the perks that will help me out in class but mostly I am excited to get the perks that will make be able to do things that i usually wouldn’t be able to do in class. Also I am also pretty excited about this because i want to be better then my friends and be able to do more things than my friends. -a junior

As someone who was pretty much raised on games like Final Fantasy, and Pokemon, I love this kind of stuff. I was a kind that liked to watch the numbers rise up simply because I knew that it meant I was getting stronger, and therefore I was better at the game. I think that this could work out great as well, at least for me personally. I find it to be a good incentive to keep up my act and insure that I am at least somewhere on the leaderboards, as well as also trying to sustain my grades. -a senior

I think that gamification will help a lot with keeping me interested in this class (not that im not interested already). -a senior

I believe that the gamification idea is a brilliant idea in some ways. I say some ways is because some people might not be interested in such things. But this is a great way to make people more involved in the class, some people also just enjoy video games which is why they may do that instead of homework which is why this can be a great idea because it can help those people who enjoy games. -a senior

Anything stand out to you from the quotes? You might note that I don’t have as many replies as I have students. I asked them to answer as many of the nine questions as they wanted, but they had to want to answer at least three.