Oh man. It just got real.
I put up the first leaderboards in my classroom today, and you would think it were an episode of Saved By the Bell where all the students were checking to see what role they got in the big play (which, oddly enough, is not a picture I can find on Google). It was a much needed shot in the arm.
The thing was, it wasn't supposed to take this long. We started this experience the day we got back from Christmas Break and we had two days. Then, over the weekend, we got snow which put us out of school on Monday and Tuesday. After that my students needed to complete a two day standardized test. The next day I was out for a routine doctor's appointment...right before a 3 day weekend. Consequently, this is also why the writing has been a tad slow. Sorry.
That said, those leaderboards really brought this home. Kids quickly looked for their own names, asked who others were, and vowed to catch or surpass friends. Today, participation was up. Several students wanted to volunteer multiple times, and it wasn't the same who were doing things previously. I also saw encouragement from other, less brave members of the clans.
Watching them figure some of the conventions of the game out is really cool. It is a trend that I hope continues as I introduce more and more into the classroom game. Tomorrow, our first class battle.
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