ClassCraft is a classy idea, but needs to craft some modifications
Community Review for Classcraft
My Take
The concept is very good, but the execution was poor when I reviewed this product earlier in the academic year. I do recognize that services such as ClassCraft can rapidly respond to customer feedback, so hopefully the team has modified their material since. In the iteration that I saw, a suggested negative consequence for a low test score was to give the student less time on the next test! I think the whole focus on grades and homework was flawed. Why not character classes that promote interpersonal skills and social development? So, a child can be a healer, reflecting a person who is particularly interpersonal and concerned for the well being of others. A wizard class can be that studious student. Level points can be awarded for conspicuous acts f other-focusedness, such as a student assisting another student in understanding a math problem, or consoling a classmate through an emotionally challenging experience? In this way students can be rewarded for see their classmates and themselves as parts of a team, to which they bring their unique balance of gifts. Used in this way, classCraft has some potential, but at that level, a teacher can easily build his or her own system without resorting to paying for the ClassCraft service.
How I Use It
I like applying game mechanics to my classes (gamification). ClassCraft takes that concept to a another level by encouraging teachers to make students themselves characters in the class game. Students level up by meeting positive metrics, and loose points y meeting negative metrics. Remember decades ago when there was serious resistance to anything roleplaying-esque in the classroom? Remember when Dungeons and Dragons was accused of promoting suicides among teens? Those days are, thankfully, gone forever.
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PBIS That gets buy in
Awesome product!
