How we can borrow from video games to build meaningful distance learning experiences

As an emergency response, educators made a shift to distance learning almost overnight with mitigated success: all over the world, we saw participation rates in distance learning to be as low as 50%. Meanwhile, engagement with video games is at an all-time high. Together, we’ll learn what we can borrow from video games to rethink distance learning, motivate students and develop standards to make them better distance learners.

Shawn Young – Classcraft
Shawn Young is a co-founder and CEO of Classcraft, an innovative platform that helps educators teach students positive skills through behavior intervention, while focusing on intrinsically motivating students using the culture and mechanics of games. Since its launch, Classcraft has gained incredible traction with educators worldwide, providing tools to transform behavior and classroom cultures. Shawn taught 11th grade physics for 9 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and master’s in education from Université de Sherbrooke and is also a seasoned web developer. Shawn is the co-chair of UNESCO’s MGIEP Global Collective for SEL and Digital Learning, is the president of the Edteq Association and is an Ambassador for the Education faculty of University of Sherbrooke. Shawn is interested in how we can create better communities in schools and how a focus on motivation can help students learn the skills they need to be successful learners.

Gaming culture, distance learning and student engagement