Posted by It’s my pleasure today to introduce our first official StoriumEdu Ambassador, Jason Howse!
StoriumEdu Ambassadors are educators who have made StoriumEdu a part of their curriculum and want to help us spread the word about this unique educational tool. In return, we give Ambassadors special access to our development team and new features, as well as free accounts and other perks.
You can read more about our Ambassador program — and apply to join — over on our web site.
As our first Ambassador, Jason Howse is blazing new trails. But that’s nothing new for him. As a veteran user of gamification in the classroom, Jason has develped his own in-class game to motivate his students, and he’s now incorporating StoriumEdu into it.
Here’s a bit more about Jason, in his own words:
Hi there, StoriumEdu users! My name is Jason Howse, and I am a middle school teacher in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and an official ambassador for StoriumEdu. Over the past several years, I have incorporated various game mechanics into my classroom structures as a means of reinforcing a growth mindset in my students and encouraging a deeper level of engagement in their learning.
Fast forward to today, and my classroom is fully gamified. My classroom game is called Age of Heroes, and includes elements of tabletop RPGs, online avatars, and collectible cards that act as rare items or powerups. My students earn experience points (XP) and gold pieces (GP), and at times take damage. This is all built around the idea of leveling up learning and encouraging students to focus on incremental growth as opposed to isolated assignments and exams. I want them to see their work as connected, collaborative, rigorous, and differentiated, but when dice are rolling and timers are ticking down, it can be a whole lot of fun too!
I started using StoriumEdu after a friend of mine recommended it, and it filled a need in my classroom that I had been struggling with for such a long time — how can you gamify the writing process in a way that encourages students to reflect, collaborate, revise, and recognize narrative structures while still placing a high level of emphasis on ideas and creativity?
By using StoriumEdu as part of my gamified structure, I am able to able to do all of this in a fun and exciting way. During a typical writing session, the students build characters, take turns, and select cards to push the plot forward. This allows me to spend my time supporting my students to meet their individual writing goals, as the game offers an incredible amount of independence to students.
I look forward to working with you as you explore this amazing tool with your students. Though Stephen will always be the brains behind the operation, I will be happy to field questions (email address: jason.howse@rbe.sk.ca / username: MrHExperience) and offer feedback from a classroom teacher’s perspective. Happy writing, everyone! Game on!
Jason Howse