Making the Grade: Teacher modifies Pokémon game for learning

The Holy Innocents Episcopal School instructor is constantly scouting ways to engage young students in active learning. What more persuasive method could there be than a game they’re already absorbed in playing?

In Ross’s version, Bookiemon is more than 50 who have escaped the bounds of literature and are hiding in the lower school hallways. The game, Bookiemon-Gone, sets students off on a timed quest to find the covers of the books they read over the summer.

“I’ve wanted for so long to teach augmented reality,” said Ross, who has been part of the Sandy Springs school for 30 years. “Then came Pokémon, and it gave me an idea for a way to show students this technology. The theme for my class this year is how to use technology to make a difference. I want them to figure out ways to make it work for us. This is a way to do that, and maybe help them come up with their own ideas.”

Ross adapted the game for the 400 first-through-fifth graders by scanning the book covers of each grade’s summer reading list: Charlotte’s Web, Rainbow Fish, Alex and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, for example. She then planted images around the building on places such as fire extinguishers, automatic door buttons and bulletin board decorations. Students use classroom iPads to find the images and download them to laptops and desktops. It all happens during a timed part of a regular class period — and without disturbing other classrooms, an infraction that means forfeiting an iPad.

“When they find an image, they tap on it and take a selfie with it,” said Ross. “The squeals you hear when they find them are amazing.”

At the end of class, Ross can show on her smartboard which students captured which characters. A running tally is also posted in the hall, creating a sense of competition among the kids. And, since the game only takes place in one building, it’s a safe way for the students to engage in a craze, said Ross.

“It’s getting kids to use the most powerful computer – the one between your ears,” she said.

Fourth grader Nick Neumann is an enthusiastic player and excited to engage in a game he didn’t think he would be part of a class.

“They’re all around, everywhere,” he said. “Ms. Ross is even going to teach us how to do them so we can put them all around our houses.”

Ross is also willing to share Bookiemon-Gone with other teachers who want to give it a try.

“It’s about giving back for me,” she said. “I’m lucky the school gives me such opportunities to be creative. As an educator, if you’re allowed to expand your horizons, then the kids will expand theirs, too. It’s gratifying and rewarding for me to help give them an edge and to learn that there’s so much more we can do with technology that’s not just sitting in front of a screen.”