The Future is Integrated: How Gaming Can Drive Student Engagement

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In any given year, one of the biggest questions that occupy educator’s minds is how to motivate students to engage in their learning. Yet this past pandemic year is different, and the same question is asked with much more urgency. A recent EdWeek Research Center survey found that students self-report 50% less motivation and 49% lower morale than their motivation and confidence before the pandemic. An even larger majority of teachers perceive less student motivation (87%) and lower student morale (82%).

As student engagement remains important to learning and achievement, it’s likely that teachers and administrators will need to find new ways to motivate and engage their students. Easier said than done. Classcraft is honored to participate in InstructureCon to help teachers motivate their students in meaningful ways to intrinsically engage in their learning.

Gamification, meet motivation

Extrinsic motivation isn’t sustainable and doesn’t have a long shelf life when it comes to student buy-in. Going back to the essential question of how we can motivate students, it’s found by meeting them where they’re at: gaming. We’ve found that games are incredibly effective at internalizing motivation. Gaming is a strong avenue for competency (Tetris), autonomy (Minecraft), and collaboration (World of Warcraft). Why not bridge the gap between their learning outside and inside the classroom? Through gamifying the learning experience, students foster their internal motivations to engage in positive school behavior. Here’s where we can help with that.

Classcraft + Canvas = stronger academic engagement

It’s not about reinventing the wheel and having teachers learn yet another system.  The Canvas integration is a simple addition to your Canvas account already being used. The integration runs on its own and educators don’t have to add any work to their already full plates. By connecting the two platforms, educators can unlock the ability to understand how academic engagement and performance correlate in real-time to other behavioral trends observed in the classroom.

Here’s how it works (in a nutshell)

  • Students gain Classcraft Experience Points for completing work and positive behavior.
  • The Experience points are automatically awarded, so teachers don’t need to do anything.
  • The setup is really simple and happens at the school and district levels.
  • The integration is LTI-compliant and respects interoperability standards.

Where’s the proof of success?

Here’s one story about Hallie Wells Middle School. Over the course of two quarters using Classcraft, students went from a 50% failure rate to 0% failing average GPA. 17 out of 21 students had a GPA between 71% and 96%.

Book a meeting with us to learn how Classcraft can make Canvas more engaging for everyone.

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Partner Integrations + LTIs Student Engagement

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