Giving Compass' Take:

• The 74 profiles a platform called Classcraft, which gamifies engagement in school through a virtual fantasy world, incentivizing students to participate and collaborate.

• Attempts to make classtime more fun aren't new, but the videogame look and feel of Classcraft has shown some results (absenteeism went down at one Virginia school that employed it). Could personalized learning programs benefit from similar gaming integration?

• For more on non-gaming edtech tools, be sure to check this out.

Classcraft aims to merge the entire classroom experience into a game, giving teachers a way to offer incentives for a variety of tasks and behaviors. Think of taking a fantasy world from a student’s favorite video game. Then, let the teacher devise tasks needed to advance to the next level. Maybe kids need to earn points by participating in the class discussion or by completing the latest math assignment. Maybe they can advance to the next level by working with classmates to complete a project, or simply by exhibiting positive behavior.

Maybe it can make them actually want to come to school.

The online platform, created by brothers Shawn and Devin Young, looks to “reimagine the learning experience by leveraging the motivational aspect of video games to make the learning experience more meaningful,” Shawn says.

Students can create a personalized experience by overlaying lesson plans atop a Classcraft fantasy world map. They choose characters, dress them up as they please, and then move them through the map over the course of the year. To advance, students must earn points by progressing through quests; they can also unlock real-life rewards chosen by the teacher, anything from an exam question hint to a classroom snack.

Read the full article about Classcraft's learning through gaming philosophy by Tim Newcomb at The 74.