Goals Beyond MAET
My experience in Michigan State’s Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) has been an incredible journey to say the least. While this journey comes to an end, it is the beginning of applying the principles and concepts I’ve learned throughout my career. As mentioned before, I have the aspirations to become an educational game designer, but I still have a long way to go. In order to get closer to this goal, I have laid out below the steps I will need to take to make this a reality.
1.) I want to learn how to make video games; also, I need a newer computer to do so.
2.) I want to learn from world-renown speaker, Yu-kai Chou, by reading his book, Actionable Gamifcation: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards, and taking his class on gamification and octalysis.
3.) I want to network amongst the educational and gaming community to bridge the gap between the two.
Goal 1 - Learn How to Make Video Games
As seen in my professional showcase, creativity is one of the greatest assets I have to offer any place I work. When I am given the opportunity and time to display it, I believe my creativity can be transformative. Throughout my serious games’ courses, I have put my creativity to work in designing products and games. Mountaineer Math was conceived as I reflected on trying to teach 8th grade math to a student who didn’t know how to multiply or divide. Although I loved creating this game, it saddened me that I couldn’t bring it to life since I don’t know how to produce video games.
This summer, I plan on buying a new computer to learn about game design. This is not just a hobby of mine that I’m looking to improve; I want to make a career of designing educational video games. In addition, I will put to use the concepts I learned throughout my serious games certificate from understanding users, foundations of serious games, and theories of games and interaction for design. From game mechanics to the four types of fun, I will utilize what I have learned to improve as an educational game designer.
Goal 2 - Yu-kai Chou's Gamification/Octalysis
Next, I plan on devoting time to Yu-kai Chou’s famous gamification and octalysis study. After watching his TED Talk about gamification, this has largely been one of my biggest motivation in both education and my master’s degree. I plan on taking the elements learned from his book and his free 14-day course to improve as an educational game designer and as an educator in what might be my final year of teaching. As education continues to eliminate recreational time out of the school day, it falls on teachers to make their content more engaging and approachable.
By better understanding gamification and octalysis, I can become a master of my own subject matter through creative design as well as assist others in creating similar experiences in their domains. In my school, I find that I am the teacher that most utilizes games in my curriculum. It has been a dream of mine to completely gamify my classroom so that each day students look forward to completing a segment. Studying Yu-kai Chou’s gamification and octalysis will provide another blueprint of how to put this idea into action.
Goal 3 - Networking in Education and Gaming
Finally, I want to network better with people who are researching gamified learning. I have put a great amount of effort into improving my understanding of gamification and applying it in the classroom. However, I also need to reach out to those currently studying my field of interest. I know that I am not the only one who believes in the power of play and trying to accomplish this task alone is all but futile.
Throughout my experience in MAET, I have met countless people who have built connections in the educational and gaming communities. I plan on reaching out to former course instructors, advisors, and graduate students to compile my own networking opportunities and hopefully be a good resource to future students. In my research, I found a large reason gaming has failed to take off in schools is due to a lack of collaboration. By bridging the gap between educators and game designers/developers, hopefully we can update out school system for its modern-day students.
In conclusion, I have a lot of work to do to make these goals come to fruition. However, through hard work, dedication, and a lot of patience, I know that I can and will make a difference in the educational community that I love and serve.