Resources

Amy Stafford and her students submitted 10 submissions for the Game-Based Learning Design Competition in June! The groups of students that participated in the competition varied widely, from “quieter, more reserved learners” to those who “struggle to finish assignments in class”. Her favorite aspect of the competition was that “this was a project that all levels of learners could successfully and proudly complete!”

After working closely with students on the competition, The Blue Crayfish found that it impacted her students in so many different ways: “The Legends of Learning Video Learning Game Challenge appealed to myself and our students because it focused on a topic that many students love; playing video games! This challenge allowed our students to experience another side of video games, the design process. This provided them with the opportunity to put their ideas on paper, create a game, and have other people understand their vision. That further excited and motivated the kids. The game combined collaboration, critical thinking skills, and writing in a way that the students not only enjoyed but excelled in. The challenge was ideal for all-level learners and their unique learning styles. The teams showed a high level of motivation and commitment to both the game and each other. The engagement, success, and pride that these students experienced with their finished products were worth all the time invested and what every teacher hopes to see throughout their teaching career.”

The Blue Crayfish, we can’t wait to see your students’ submission for our next STEM competition!

When Christina Cruz started teaching six years ago, she “saw right away the potential for using gaming and game creating as a way to engage our diverse, urban students”. The Cataclysmic Converter always encourages her students to use educational games as a motivational tool, which guided her classroom directly to Legends of Learning.

The day she found out her school was switching to a virtual setting, she “immediately linked my class to Legends of Learning so that it could remain part of our daily routine”. Even though Christina was away from her students, she had “the opportunity to reach every student at their level, and to differentiate for all of my students online while engaging them in fun and exciting new games”. The Cataclysmic Converter reaches her students through games “to practice building our skills, to increase our knowledge of content vocabulary, and to build our class community by playing together”.

Over the course of the COVID-related closure, her favorite aspect of the platform was that the Legends team was “receptive and responsive to both teacher and student feedback, and there are always improvements and upgrades being implemented to give my students a more effective learning experience”.

Thank you, Christina, for being a true distance learning superhero!

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We went behind the screens with Metro Nashville Public School’s Dr. Jennifer Berry, also known as JenniFire Furystone. This Legendary Partner serves as the Director of STEAM and Science and made the decision to venture into game-based learning with Legends of Learning a few years back. “Really when you think about the future with students and their interests, they are all about games. You want to meet students where they are.” Dr. Berry has found this to be the key to keeping students engaged.

With the onset of school closures nationwide this past March, Dr. Berry swiftly collaborated with Legends of Learning to expand access across the district, ensuring all MNPS students were able to continue math and science learning while home. “It’s all about the communication and execution at the start.” Dr. Berry reports the key for a strong implementation is to get everyone on board with clear, concise communication. “Teachers need to know the purpose and be supported along the way. When you share the data and successes, that will speak for itself!”

On a recent Zoom call, we asked Dr. Berry to recall her favorite Legends moment, and she smiled ear-to-ear: “The moment when I open up the monthly data and see the increases. I love seeing each month the number of hours, playlists, and games increase. This means we are meeting the needs of our students and teachers!”

With game-based learning in-mind, have things changed for MNPS with the coronavirus reality? ”Yes! Thank you to the Legends team. This has truly been a partnership with Legends of Learning and Metro Nashville Public Schools.” When MNPS closed, “Legends stepped up and said we want to allow all of your students to have access to game-based learning from home. Professional development was given, and our numbers went up. To guarantee student engagement, a worksheet will not work; we must do what students want, they want to have fun. Legends allows our students to enjoy learning. Since coronavirus, more and more MNPS students are engaged with game-based learning.”

Oh, are you wondering how Jennifer earned her superhero name, JenniFire Furystone? Sources say, you will have to ask her husband.

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Danielle Parsons has been an advocate for Legends of Learning since it’s initial release in 2017. Over the years, ATP Avenger has found multiple ways to implement Legends to meet the needs of her students: “I use Legends as a reinforcing instructional tool – to reinforce content covered in class for students to recall outside of class time. In this way, it’s also a good teaching tool for students who may have missed instruction due to illness. I’ve used Legends as a priming tool – to prime student thinking before introducing new content. It helps to get the wheels turning and bring forward any previous knowledge students have of the content. It’s also a great place for early finishers to learn more. When I have been in a bind before, I was able to set up Legends remotely for emergency substitute plans.” It’s truly amazing how one tool can be used for so many purposes!

Aside from the academic gains Danielle sees from Legends of Learning, it’s the social/emotional gains that really make an impact on her students. “In a middle school setting, students put up lots of boundaries of who they want to associate with. It sounds strange, but when I put up a playlist, the social boundaries come down. A student will ask how to pass a certain level, or how to play a game and before I can get there, another student, who ordinarily doesn’t run in the same crowd, has already jumped in and taught them what they must do. I’m sure students are not aware this happens. They are eager to teach each other what they know. Legends seems to level the social playing field.”

Thank you, ATP Avenger, for showing off your superpowers of holistic teaching!

When schools shut down due to COVID-19, Kimberly Todd knew exactly where to turn to keep her students engaged in science…Legends of Learning! Ms. Todd was a regular user of Legends in her classroom and knew that it would be a great fit for distance learning as well: “Legends of Learning has been a huge help during the COVID-19 by helping my students to be more engaged in their learning since we are not able to be in the traditional classroom setting. It has allowed my students to connect the dots of what we are learning through a fun interactive game.”

Staying at home day after day can easily lead to complacency and boredom in students. With Legends of Learning, Ms. Todd was able to break up the mundane and add some fun to students’ day to day routine: “My students love getting to play the games and it helped to break up their activities for the week. Students are always asking for more games to play.”

Kimberly is a distance learning superstar, great work!

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Eddie McGrath, also known as The Mad Scientist, is an inspiring leader who is always looking for the best new resources for his students.

When we met Eddie last year, he was immediately drawn to the idea of having a new engaging resource for his elementary teachers but he knew he needed buy-in. According to Eddie “The most important factor in bringing in a new program is to convince the shareholders (in our case, teachers and administrators) that the new program fills a need that either has been unfilled or has been filled in an undesirable way…Teachers found it was engaging and solved some problems of science instruction that had occurred.”

Once he had a great product, the real key to success for Eddie was spreading the word. Because he had his science council already bought in, he had champions at each school and usage took off quickly.

After using Legends of Learning for more than a year now, Eddie still looks back to a second presentation to his science council as the piece that really got Legends going in Red Clay. As Eddie recalls “my Director of Curriculum and Instruction (who would make the final decision to buy or not) tried it out. The moment was when Aryah (the Chancellor) tried to move on and my Director (engaged in a game) said, “hold on, I’m almost done!”

According to Eddie, teachers value Legends because it is easy to use and “solves some problems with science instruction”.

Look for Eddie (AKA The Mad Scientist) at the next Science/STEM event you attend. You’ll see him wearing his Mad Scientist cape!

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