I was asked this simple question via Twitter by a teacher I had met at the Games in Education Symposium in Troy, NY. My response was simply, "Where do I sign up?"
That was the start of a journey that I expect will continue into the foreseeable future with Legends of Learning. As I write, Legends of Learning is at NSTA 2017 with an awesome looking booth (their the ones running around with the capes on). The educational startup launched their platform this past week with hundreds of games available for teachers to access and students to play.
What is Legends of Learning? Greg Toppo of USA Today described it as 'Spotify for learning games.' Teachers can make an account, make a playlist of games from a multitude of science learning objectives, and then have students join and play the games. Students join the game using a Launch Code (similar to Kahoot! and Quizlet Live) and work individually to progress through the playlist of games. The system tracks student progress in the games and keeps tabs on ever important assessment data. Since rolling out the system has become increasingly robust and feature rich. Features still to be added are Google Classroom integration, better tracking of data based on student and question, and the ability to add a co-teacher to an account. New features being added are all part of the feedback given by teachers to Legends of Learning. Feedback is not just on the quality of the games, but on the platform overall. Teachers have also been involved in reviewing and writing the questions used on the site.
Probably the best part of Legends of Learning is their willingness to bring teachers on board and listen to feedback from the beginning. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be a beta tester and work with developers on games. Collaborating on this project has been hard-fun. I put countless hours into playing through games, taking notes, and chatting with developers. What helped the process was how positive the developerswere are and how willing they are to listen to constructive criticism. The platform is definitely better for having had teachers involved from the beginning.
Games can be a powerful learning tool. Too often teachers seem reluctant to incorporate more games into their curriculum. The combination of state assessment pressure and skeptical administrators are often cited by teachers as reasons for not using more games in the classroom. Legends of Learning has tried to remove these barriers by showing the research behind game based learning and including data in the platform.
At the moment games are being added at a rapid pace. Every time I go back to a learning objective there seem to be more to choose from. There are games for instruction, review/reinforcement, and assessment. How you end up using the platform is up to you. Some teachers have found it useful for introducing a topic; others have used it for "extra time" after other assignments are completed. Regardless, Legends of Learning has given teachers a great place to start using games in the classroom. The site is far better than letting students loose on sites like Cool Math Games or Science Review Games. With Legends of Learning you know the games have been reviewed by teachers and should play an any device. You can also leave feedback for other teachers and the developer.
If you've been thinking about getting more games in the class or maybe just want something to spice up your classroom give Legends of Learning a try. Joining and trying it out is free! Log on and get gaming!
That was the start of a journey that I expect will continue into the foreseeable future with Legends of Learning. As I write, Legends of Learning is at NSTA 2017 with an awesome looking booth (their the ones running around with the capes on). The educational startup launched their platform this past week with hundreds of games available for teachers to access and students to play.
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| 35 Learning Objectives for Physical Science with 6+ games in each. |
What is Legends of Learning? Greg Toppo of USA Today described it as 'Spotify for learning games.' Teachers can make an account, make a playlist of games from a multitude of science learning objectives, and then have students join and play the games. Students join the game using a Launch Code (similar to Kahoot! and Quizlet Live) and work individually to progress through the playlist of games. The system tracks student progress in the games and keeps tabs on ever important assessment data. Since rolling out the system has become increasingly robust and feature rich. Features still to be added are Google Classroom integration, better tracking of data based on student and question, and the ability to add a co-teacher to an account. New features being added are all part of the feedback given by teachers to Legends of Learning. Feedback is not just on the quality of the games, but on the platform overall. Teachers have also been involved in reviewing and writing the questions used on the site.
Probably the best part of Legends of Learning is their willingness to bring teachers on board and listen to feedback from the beginning. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be a beta tester and work with developers on games. Collaborating on this project has been hard-fun. I put countless hours into playing through games, taking notes, and chatting with developers. What helped the process was how positive the developers
Games can be a powerful learning tool. Too often teachers seem reluctant to incorporate more games into their curriculum. The combination of state assessment pressure and skeptical administrators are often cited by teachers as reasons for not using more games in the classroom. Legends of Learning has tried to remove these barriers by showing the research behind game based learning and including data in the platform.
At the moment games are being added at a rapid pace. Every time I go back to a learning objective there seem to be more to choose from. There are games for instruction, review/reinforcement, and assessment. How you end up using the platform is up to you. Some teachers have found it useful for introducing a topic; others have used it for "extra time" after other assignments are completed. Regardless, Legends of Learning has given teachers a great place to start using games in the classroom. The site is far better than letting students loose on sites like Cool Math Games or Science Review Games. With Legends of Learning you know the games have been reviewed by teachers and should play an any device. You can also leave feedback for other teachers and the developer.
If you've been thinking about getting more games in the class or maybe just want something to spice up your classroom give Legends of Learning a try. Joining and trying it out is free! Log on and get gaming!
