Last week heralded the beginning of the next course in the CEP series I am taking for my masters degree at MSU. This first assignment, learning about remixing, we were tasked with exploring Mozilla Popcorn Maker, an in-browser movie maker that lets you upload and add media from the internet to create a remixed version of the content. We learned about the world being made up of “Makers” (Lessig). We explored the idea that everything we create was inspired by creations that came before.
In this light we were asked to choose a topic dealing with educational technology and create something new; a remix of information from credible sources. (My primary source for finding usable media was Creative Commons which I talked about in the previous post). In doing so we would 1. learn a new skill, 2. learn about legal and professional ways to find and use information online, and 3. uncover new methods to repurpose or remix functionality to eventually carry over into our classrooms.
After reading through the week’s lesson, I started my exploration of Popcorn Maker by creating a mashup of Lord of the Rings music. This turned out terribly. No worries though. One of our lessons this week was that it is OK to fail. With Popcorn Maker I was able to create something completely off the wall using solely music I found online. I felt like a world famous producer. Until I played it back… The tool was simple to use and intuitive enough that I was able to dive right into the making.
Later, I watched a tutorial on popcorn maker and even looked up some helpful tips: editing strategies, keyboard shortcuts, etc. Isn’t it amazing the wealth of information one has access to? I was able to learn a new skill – producing a remix – within an hour. Imagine what my student, who has grown up fully immersed in this technological age, could have accomplished in that amount of time.
After focusing and learning so much about play in CEP810 I decided to continue on this vein for this assignment. For my remixed video I looked up Gamification and its applications in education. A gamer myself, I have created a board game for the wall of my classroom (which you can see in the video) that grants rewards to students as they achieve academic and behavioral success. I teach in a high school and my students are ecstatic when they get to move their team forward. It was really interesting to look up research about gamification and how it relates to motivation. The video below is only a minute long. I encourage you to foray into the world of games even if you don’t want to use them in your classroom. The motivation strategies can be applied in multiple ways like focusing on gaining points rather than points lost in an assignment.
Check out my video on Gamification and Motivation below.
https://amybeth.makes.org/popcorn/2926
References
Lessig, L. (2008). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. New York: Penguin Press.
Kapp, Karl M. (2012). The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education. John WIley & Sons.
WhatWeCee. (2013). The Gamification of Education. YouTube.com.
Wikipedia.org.(2014). Gamification. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification.
Goodhealthmag. (2010). Piano Stairs Auckland.mov. YouTube.com.
Chou, Yu-Kai. (2014) Top 10 Social Gamification Examples that will Literally Save the World. Gamification Study. Yu-Kai Chou.
Teachhub.com. (2009). Engaging Classroom Games for All Grades. Image: http://cdn.teachhub.com/sites/default/files/field/image/classroom-games.jpg. K12 Teachers Alliance.
Rich, Motoko. (2013). Gym Class Isn’t Just for Fun and Games Anymore. The New York Times. Image: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/19/education/PHYSED/PHYSED-articleLarge-v2.jpg The New York Times Company.
actionpackedmath 
An intriguing discussion is worth comment.
I think that you ought to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but usually
people do not discuss such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!
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