Meet Jessie Erickson!
Jessie Erickson is the District Assessment Coordinator for Grand Forks Public Schools. Over the years, Jessie has had the opportunity to work with the students and staff as a classroom teacher, special educator, Building Resource Coordinator, Instructional Coach and Curriculum Technology Partner within two seperate school districts. Jessie is also the NE Director for the North Dakota Association of Technology Leaders.
Jessie has always put a focus on facilitating opportunities to ignite students to become passionate about leading and learning. She is passionate about student-centered classrooms, elevating student voice in her classroom, and providing choice for all her learners.
Just like many of us, Jessie has hobbies and interests that include running, gardening, reading, and spending time with her husband and two children!
Jessie was first exposed to GooseChase while she attended the Discovery Education Summer Institute! There, she participated in a week-long GooseChase, interacting with our very own Phil Everson and many other teachers who attended the Institute. We chatted with Jessie to learn more about how she has used GooseChase!
How have you used GooseChase?
I have used GooseChase with classroom teachers and students to review and enhance content and curriculum as an Instructional Coach. My most enjoyable experiences with GooseChase, is using it with preservice, new, and experienced educators highlighting how to gamify learning and increase student engagement. Every fall, for three years, I have hosted a GooseChase game for our newly hired teaching staff. In the winter, I have had the opportunity to present to pre-service educators and host a GooseChase game for them as well. I have also offered GooseChase courses for our current teaching staff and help them create meaningful learning events for their students. My top two GooseChase games have been held during large events. The first was our district-wide school year kick-off game! Phil helped me craft a game that would engage 700 district staff at our fall professional learning event in the fall of 2018. Using missions that would help teachers reflect on learning, we borrowed some GooseChase created missions, and added some just for fun! The teachers LOVED it! There were squeals of joy, infectious laughter, and teachers running down the halls! GooseChase provided some awesome prizes, as we awarded free subscriptions and T-shirts.
Using that game as motivation, the past two years I have created the conference kick-off game for the North Dakota Association of Technology Leaders (NDATL) fall conference. The game is a great way to get teachers up and moving during our evening social. We wanted a high-energy, mix-and-mingle activity that would build on excitement for the next day! It was a hit and the educators loved seeing the mission feed projected throughout the conference hall! Educators networked and met other educators while having so much fun! The association awards an Amazon Echo to the winner. Both years, the game was the perfect way to build energy and buzz for the next day’s learning. Then, a follow-up breakout session was held the next day sharing how educators can use GooseChase to engage learners.
Finally, I shared my love with a colleague that is a German teacher in another city. We collaborated to create a fun, engaging, educational, and memorable GooseChase for his German students as they visited and learned in Germany for a week the summer of 2019! Such a powerful learning tool and experience for the teacher and students!
When do you think you’ll use GooseChase next?
I anticipate that I will continue to use GooseChase with educators of all ages and experience. I was planning to create a game for DENSI2020, however, as a result of the Shelter in Place, that conference has been made virtual. Perhaps, our usual missions that encourage personal connections will need to change to facilitate online friendships. I also anticipate it being a possible kick-off for the NDATL Fall Conference!
What do you think makes GooseChase special?
GooseChase is unique because it allows teachers to customize the content of the game to meet the needs of his or her content and students. It brings an engaging, fun and authentic game feature to the classroom that allows students to move and learn in a collaborative and slightly competitive fashion while elevating learning. It is hands-on and brains-on learning fun.
GooseChase also allows for some novelty in the classroom, which the brain loves and makes the content easier to remember. I love that I see smiling - happy - learners using it! Have you ever seen High School teachers run down the hall during "Staff Development" days? I have - they were playing a GooseChase!
What tip(s) do you have for educators just getting started with GooseChase?
Start with a fun, “get to know you game” with your students. It's a win - win! Students don't get stressed about the "grade" or covering material and you get to know more about the learners you serve. It also gives you and your students a chance to get to know the platform in a non-threatening manner.
Big thank you to Jessie for taking some time to give her insight into using GooseChase! If you want to follow along with Jessie and see the ways in which she uses GooseChase in her classroom, give her a follow on Twitter, @JessieRErickson, or visit her Curriculum and Technology Connections Blog!
