"We all have our moments of brilliance and glory and this was mine..."
-from "The Great Mouse Plot" by Roald Dahl

This past spring, revolutionizing my classroom became my biggest priority.  For the last decade, my classroom has served as a pilot for numerous technology initiatives in Palm Springs Unified.  My beloved Room 208 was the first middle school 24/7 classroom in the district, the first 2:1 iPad classroom in the district, one of the first BYOD classrooms in the district, and one of the first 1:1 Chromebook classrooms, too.  I've rolled out a lot of new technology over the years, and worked to troubleshoot the workflow on a variety of devices with kids of all achievement levels.  Through it all, constructivism has remained the "true north" of my pedagogy, and students making their own meaning has always been the goal.  

Over the years, I've increased the amount of choice my students have in terms of task, team, technique, and time.  I've given back 20% of their "work week" for entirely self-directed, ungraded research projects, and I've made digital storytelling a pillar of my classroom. Student voices have flourished - there is some absolutely incredible student-created content on my YouTube channel to prove it.  And yet...

Something has been missing.  I won't say that I've been searching for a silver bullet for all of the challenges we face in education - because no such remedy exists.  But there has been a missing element in my classroom, a missing piece of my professional practice and I've been searching for and hoping to find.  And I think, maybe, I finally have it.

Last semester in my graduate program, a lot of my thinking about gamification was refined to a workable idea, a grand mashup of everything I've learned over the course of three classes that have dealt with gamified curriculum.  My thoughts deal specifically with the value of quest-based learning and how I can integrate Minecraft into my curriculum. For my final project, I developed the vision for my classroom next year.  I also began the practical work of building out the components I need in order to make it come alive.  

Being a digital storyteller first and foremost, of course I chose to share my ideas via YouTube.  Take a look:

So, that's my vision in a nutshell.  I've already finished building out the first unit for Social Studies in Rezzly's 3D Game Lab.  The Minecraft tasks I've embedded are meaningful and will give kids an authentic opportunity to problem-solve and create.  ETIS assures me that a cart of Minecraft-ready devices will be delivered in the fall, the Minecraft: Education Edition usernames will be set up, and my journey to become redefine my classroom with gamification will truly begin. 

I am so excited!

The very first computer game I asked my parents to purchase was Carmen Sandiego. There was a children’s television game show by the same name on PBS at the time, and I never missed an episode. I couldn’t wait to play the game each day! Somehow, I do not remember ever catching up to that elusive Carmen, but I do remember the many happy hours I played. Perhaps it was this game that instilled in me a lifelong fascination with geography and travel.
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Around the same time, I remember using a GameBoy the size of a brick along with black and white game cartridges featuring the Mario Brothers. Again, I do not remember ever beating the game, but I do remember that the challenge of playing each level left me with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. The thrill of collecting coins and power ups is part of the reason that I have become interested in the gamification of education.

I did not play many games through my college years, but as an adult my husband and I purchased a Wii and developed a fascination with WiiSports Resort, which provided hours of entertainment. We also succumbed to the Facebook game craze, playing Farmville for hours on end at our local Panera Bread restaurant since we did not have an Internet provider for a time when we were newlyweds and not yet financially stable.


The advent of mobile devices and pocket games really changed the way I viewed games because I saw them as something that could rescue me from tedious waiting rooms and long lines at the DMV.  I began to play Tiny Chef, Bejeweled, and Minecraft using my iPhone.  I also discovered Settlers of Catan and a PantherSim for iOS, along with The Walking Dead. The joy of discovery and meaningful stories are the most appealing parts of my favorite mobile games.


As a professional, my interest in gaming in education began when I attended several sessions on MinecraftEDU at the CUE Conference in 2015. I was impressed by how content could come alive and tap into student interests in virtual worlds.  At the time, the closest thing my district could support was Class Craft, which adds elements of gameplay to my classes.  My students assume three different character classes and earn XP for completing tasks.  They lose HP for negative behaviors, but I primarily use the game as positive reinforcement over punishment. Now, through my graduate program, I’ve learned how to leverage Minecraft for learning and I am eager to move into the next phase of my gamification journey.

My idea is to use 3-D Game Lab to gamify two of my classes: Social Studies and Leadership.  I checked out the pricing packages and I thought it was worth it to spring for an educator subscription. While I already utilize Class Craft, Google Classroom, and Weebly to deliver content to my students, I really like how the quests can be unlocked in a certain sequence in 3-D Game Labs. I think that feature alone will make the subscription fee worthwhile.

Added to that, I am pursuing acquiring Minecraft-ready devices for classroom.  I am determined to integrate Minecraft into every unit for my Social Studies class next year.  I am convinced that the learning will be EPIC.