2020 #DTA: #VWEDU: Leaderboard alternatives in education managed by a digital teaching assistant (DTA): Recent rate. Rate per badge. Gamification

Leaderboard alternatives in education  
managed by a digital teaching assistant (DTA): 
Recent rate. Rate per badge.  Gamification.

Many educators see motivational problems with leaderboards.  A digital teaching assistant can support alternatives that may offer better gamification and better motivation.

The Empty Classroom

Taking notes is not the only skill

Do leaderboards motivate everyone?

• Leaderboards in education
• If you are way ahead, you can slack off.
• If you are way behind, you can give up.
• Some see themselves falling farther behind every week.
• How does a leaderboard work in games?
• Games are short.  Soon you start a new game with a clean slate.
• You get to pick your game.  You have a choice. 
• A digital teaching assistant (DTA) can easily handle the implied adjustments

• Update 8/6/2020 . Opensim Fest 2020 coming August 28-30 STÖMOL is a feature-length sci-fi video done in Second Life®.

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Leaderboard alternatives

Each week is a new game

• Instead of a cumulative score, a new leaderboard is created each week.
• No one gets way behind, no one gets way ahead.  
• The emphasis is on growth: How much did your skills grow this week?

Leaderboard per badge

• If the class develops more than one skill set, each can be awarded a badge.  
• The DTA can track progress of each student on each skill set.  

Leaderboard on self-improvement 

• "Never compete with anyone but yourself."
• The leaderboard shows each student's change from the previous week.  
• "Is your rate of improvement going up?"  

Privacy versus public shaming

• Public display of a class leaderboard can be considered public shaming.
• The favorable motivational effects can be achieved by a private notification.
• The private notification can identify the recipient's record and give no other identities.
• That record shows how the recipient performed relative to others in the class.
• The DTA could calculate that for each student and report it by email.
• Or it could be placed in the student's private records.  

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