Week+4+-+Gamification+&+Teacher+Development

=Week 4 - Gamification & Teacher Development= //30th January- 5th February, 2012//

// During week four ////, we'll be looking at teacher development through gamification as well as revisiting some of the concepts of what 'gamification' is in a wider context, beyond the classroom. We'll explore why & how games encourage greater levels of intrinsic motivation as well creating a positive 'engagement economy'. There will be two synchronous sessions this week. In the first we will hear from a teacher trainer about how he incorporated games into professional development. In the second we will hear about how professional development has evolved in recent years. //



 **Input**
 * Our first **synchronous session** is on ** Thursday 2nd February at 21.30 CET ** with Paul Braddock talking about his website ' The Schoolgame ' which attempts to 'gamify' professional development. Enter the IATEFL Adobe Connect room with this link. In preparation for the session you can read the following three blogposts:
 *  Post 1, [|Post 2,] [|Post 3].


 * Our second synchronous session is on ** Sunday 5th February at 18.00 CET ** with Rob Lewis, manager of [|Teaching English], the British Council's website for teachers of EFL. He will be talking about the changes he has seen in Professional Development in recent years. You can prepare for the session by visiting the [|Teacher Development] section of Teaching English. You can enter the IATEFL Adobe room using this link on the day.

**Activities**
 *  [|Read] the article 'Has the Gamification of Reality Already Begun' by Christopher Mims.
 *  [|Watch] the TED Talk on Gaming by Jane McGonigal
 * Think about the 'For discussion' questions below and add your reflections to Week 4's //'For Discussion'// forum in the Moodle
 * In preparation for and after Paul & Rob's live sessions, add your comments and questions to the forums below

**For Discussion**
 * In what ways do you think gamification can lead to increased participation in professional development
 * Which social networks (Twitter, Google+, Facebook) do you currently use for professional development and how have they been helpful?
 * In what ways do you currently develop your teaching and knowledge of teaching?
 * If you don't currently use social networks for professional development, how do you think these could be helpful?

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**Further Reading & Links**
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Connectivism - A learning theory for the digital age.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> What is Professional Development?
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|The Educator's PLN - The personal learning network for educators]