Gamifying Education

So I watched this video on the gamification of education (here's a link: http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/gamifying-education). It was really interesting although meant for teachers who are trying to come up with new ways to motivate students to learn. Basically, the video encourages teachers to incorporate gaming principles into their classrooms to encourage students to look at learning in a new way following three gaming principles: grading, sense of agency, and external motivators. This video made a lot of sense to me. I can see how traditional classrooms and learning have let students down. Gaming seems to work as you can get kids to sit for hours in front of a game and they just keep trying until they succeed. By gamifying education you are incorporating the principles that make it possible for kids to do this, except now they are spending hours gaining knowledge and they enjoy learning. The points-based grading is exciting. I am already thinking about all the things I need to do to earn an A instead of the minimum needed to get a C. And requiring quests to be completed before you can move on to the next badge is going to ensure I don't start slacking and skipping assignments, as I am wont to do. Overall I think this is a great idea and I am looking forward to how it plays out in this class.