Disengagement in students is a common problem in older classrooms. As students go farther into their education, they become less and less intrigued. An answer to this everyday problem in the classroom is Classcraft.  Classcraft is a new innovative way for teachers to teach their students and keep them engaged.

Classcraft turns the classroom into a video game. This allows for the students to compete among each other in the teams assigned. Students can create their own characters and choose from three different classes, each having its own powers and abilities. The abilities can range anywhere from turning in an assignment a day late, to getting out of questions asked in class. The warrior class protects the player’s teammates from incoming damage. The healer class is responsible for healing their teammates whenever they take damage. The mage class replenishes their teammates AP, which is used for the classes’ abilities. Each class has their own specific amount of health. Damage is taken whenever a student answers a question wrong in class, turns in an assignment a day late, misbehaves, etc. To make up for the damage, students can also answer questions right and behave to earn XP that is used to level up their class, granting them more abilities and customization options for their character. Too much damage taken can actually kill, or down your character. If you happen to fall in battle in the game, the teacher gives that student a punishment.Whether that be a pop quiz, homework, turning in an assignment early, etc. If you did die, that doesn’t mean you are out of the game, the team’s healer can restore that player’s health to its maximum. All punishments and rewards can be customized by the teacher to fit that classroom’s environment.

To add new dynamics to the classroom, Classcraft allows the teacher to create quests to help add to or even teach lessons. The quests allows the students to follow along a lesson in a specific order. These quests can be used for note taking, also allowing kids to complete these tasks at their own pace. Along with the quests there are also random events that are triggered by the teacher. These random events can affect the students individually, their teams, or the classroom as a whole. These random events can be anything from punishments, to gifts, or to just fun things that the class can all do together.

For extra practice on the material that the class may be going over, the teacher can summon boss battles. All of the teams have to work together to try to take down the boss. Teams are randomly chosen to fight the boss. To damage the boss, all they have to do is answer the questions that are asked correctly. Answer a question wrong, and the boss will harm the team that chose the wrong answer. If the boss is defeated, the teams will all get a reward chosen by the teacher.

Other features that Classcraft possesses is a timer and countdown that is used to keep your lesson plans on pace and to keep the students on task. A volume meter is also one of Classcraft’s additions assuring that the students do not get too loud. If they exceed the noise limit on the meter, they lose health. If they stay quite during class, they get rewarded. Analytics are also apart of class craft allowing the teachers to track student behavior and compare how well a student is doing with the class average. Showing the teacher where that student may need assistance.

Classcraft is used by teachers and professors all over the world. It is used by classrooms of all ages. From middle school teachers, all the way up to college professors, Classcraft is used in all classroom environments. Even here at New Castle Senior High School chemistry teacher, Mr. Russ Carley has introduced the program to his students and they all enjoy it. Classcraft is a fantastic and fun way to help teachers keep their students engaged in their lessons, while allowing students to bond inside of the classroom. In fact, research conducted by many different universities like Université De Lyon, University of Roehampton, UNC Charlotte, and many more all show that Classcraft positively impacts the students’ engagement and their performance academically. Classcraft is an excellent way to keep students of all age engaged, no matter what the subject of the class may be.