Classcraft!!

At the beginning of the week, I was browsing through the list of suggested tech tools for the classroom. As someone who plays a bit of video games, I was immediately intrigued by Classcraft. Classcraft is a learning platform based off of role playing and fantasy video games. It is branded as a classroom management tool, but in my first week, I have figured out that it is much more than that. The program has a gradebook, an online quiz function, and a rudimentary discussion board. The entire program is based off of rewarding students for most things in the classroom.
Students are placed into teams and then choose to be a warrior, mage or a healer. Each character type has different "powers" that either help each other in the game or benefit class related goals. Class related goals are things like extra credit on tests and quizzes or turning in an assignment a day late with no penalty. Students can use "Ability Points" to use these skills. If a student does something that is frowned upon, like talking too much in class or turning in an assignment late, the students are docked Health Points, or HP. Finally, extra assignments or achievements in class like answering a question end up earning either experience points to level up so they could use more skills, or gold which they can use for gear for their character.
I was hesitant to see how students would like the program. However, after I had set up the first class, it was apparent that students were very enthusiastic about the game. By the end of the day, I had students from all over school coming to my classroom to ask me about Classcraft. Now I have all four of my classes set up, and students are all competing to answer any questions I pose to the class. I have actually had to settle arguments between students because they are so motivated to answer questions. I am curious to see if the glamour of the game wanes thin after a couple of weeks but for now, it is a huge success!