… I have the Power!

Man, as a 6 year old I thought He-man was the best and that was the coolest catch phrase; but saying power twice in the same sentence – Adult Adam is not so sure about that one.

Anyways, the last couple of weeks I had gone through my Avatar types and listed the reasons for the inclusion and the power bonuses and special skills that would be associated with that type. These would be permanent powers and skills that would only be lost if the student lost all three of their “hearts”. Students start with three hearts and if they submit an assignment late then they lose a heart. They can regain hearts in a few different ways, but the main tactic will be to complete the late assignment and then complete a visual vocabulary activity for terms associated with the indicator the assignment comes from. (For more on “Hearts” see Reflections – You Gotta Have Heart!)

I also want to have developed a series of one off powers. Students gain these powers in several ways. The first is through purchasing them in our alternative economy. Rather than earn a grade during quizzes and other formative assessments they earn “gold”. Using this gold they can purchase items in the “Power Purchases Store“. They can also earn a dice roll for accomplishing some missions. A few of the dice roll items will include power cards or random power cards selections. I’m still fine tuning the prices and dice roll mechanics so these pieces will not be on the site yet. I’m really excited about several of the power-ups and hopefully the students will find them interesting as well. check out that Power Purchases Store link to see all of the cards I have come up with. Feel free to use them or to add some suggestions. I want to send a shout out to Jestin VanScoyoc (@jvanscoyoc), Scott Hebert (@MrHerbertPE), for pointing out Magic the Gathering Card Maker Website and inspiring a few of the cards. The rest of the #xplap and #games4ed crews have also contributed both inspiration and ideas. Thank you to all.