Day 10 of #AprilBlogADay Challenge asks “What have you not tried this school year that you want to?” I do a lot of training and professional development in my role and I really want to try gamifying a PD session. Earlier this week, I hosted a drop-in PD for a mix of certificated and classified staff on Word 2013. Since there is such a diverse knowledge and skill set among our staff, I asked during registration what people desired to learn. Using this information I created the game board below. (Game board was created using Canva and then imported into ThingLink.) It was well-received.

After quick introductions and an invitation to start anywhere on the game board depending on their learning goals, I found that most participants went through the entire game board in sequence. They were collaborating with people next to them as they tried out various things and brainstorming ways they could apply different features in their roles. The best part was the multiple inquiries I had once folks got started as to whether the game board would continue being available online following the training to reference and/or if it would be okay to share with people unable to attend. Of course, both answers were a resounding yes and now can be used without regard to time and place. Today, I was included in an test email today from an attendee who was teaching a colleague the mail merge to email feature that integrates with our Outlook groups. It only helps confirm if we provide conditions that empower the learner, then we support the learner becoming empowered.

This is why I want to try gamification for PD. I think gamification can provide even better conditions for empowering the learner by creating levels with clear outcomes, feedback along the way, all within  a low risk environment. Given the excitement around a gameboard of learning options, I am anxious to try gamification before the end of the school year.