Failure is important.
In failing we learn what doesn’t work and that can help inform what to try next.
This summer I’m exploring a lot of tech tools that are new to me. Some of them have blown me away and I’ve gotten to create some sweet things. Others I’ve struggled with.
Here’s one thing I made that I’m not super proud of. I had learned about a tool called Canva and attempted to make an infographic about Communities of Practice.
I think it’s not super visually appealing. I jam packed it with words and not all of them were necessary. There's not a real unity to the images. Overall it’s not a great infographic. For my first shot at trying something though? As a rough draft of what's possible? Amazing.
Will I use Canva again? I already have. There’s a lot of promise and potential.
Another recent escapade in ed tech tools also brings about the idea of “fail” but for entirely different reasons. Let me introduce you to Genially.
So promising! So many options.
After doing some research on gamification and escape rooms with my peers Anne and Bethany we decided to attempt to create an escape room to illustrate that research. We had learned that gamification could be a really powerful way to engage students in learning in the classroom. Not only is it fun but it also stretches students to develop more critical thinking skills. Escape rooms in particular with a compelling narrative had a way of connecting with students. (O’Brien & Pitera, 2019) This was true across the genders. (Sanchez-Martin et al., 2020) An inclusive way to get students connected to their learning? We were game.
We spent hours creating this escape room. Knowing that crafting games takes time and effort, we believed this to be par for the course. (O’Brien & Pitera, 2019)
In our time making this game we hit SO. MANY. WALLS.
The paywall for example. You can only interact with Genially for so long before you need to pay a monthly fee.
Also it would take so long to load.
It was difficult to manipulate certain features.
It’s a bit overwhelming how many options for projects there are. It was difficult for us to land on one to pursue together.
Unlike a Google Doc where multiple people could edit the same product at the same time - our escape room on Genially could only be edited by one person at a time.
When we attempted to make a presentation within Genially to present our findings about the site, we had hit too many barriers to do it in the time we had. We turned to Google Slides as a platform we could all collaborate on from our different devices.
When we prepared a lesson to share with the class, the game wouldn’t load for our 10 classmates and 2 instructors on their personal devices.
It wasn’t all a fail. There’s some sweet potential with Genially. There are some flaws that need to be worked out before I’d use this product in my classroom but some great promise.
I was proud of how my peers and I adapted as various tech issues arose in our presentation on our findings about gamification and escape rooms using Genially. We had to be flexible and adaptive on the fly. What teacher doesn’t need that skill?
Making an escape room was an entirely new experience. Something I would pursue more in the future but not using Genially.
It was sweet having my husband test out our virtual escape room before we gave it to our peers. It was humbling though when he finished it in 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Something that took us hours, he finished in less than 5 minutes.
There’s such a value to failing. It helps you get better. Helps you learn what not to do.
I know now some tweaks I’ll make to future infographics and that Genially may not be my first choice when creating products.
It took time to fail. To try different features and have them not turn out. If I need that, so do my students. As I look ahead to next year, I want to intentionally add more time for students to try things and fail at them. To have space for them to explore with low-stakes, knowing that if they fail that it doesn’t define them - it’s just information to help inform the next go at something.
Looking forward to failing forward.
Sources:
O’Brien, K., & Pitera, J. (2019). Gamifying instruction and engaging students with breakout EDU. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 48(2), 192–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239519877165
Sánchez-Martín, J., Corrales-Serrano, M., Luque-Sendra, A., & Zamora-Polo, F. (2020). Exit for success. Gamifying science and technology for university students using escape- room. A preliminary approach. Heliyon, 6(7), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04340
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