Some recent turmoil in the Twitterverse about points and cheating…
Exhibit A: Clickers and Points
Exhibit B: Cramster and Homework Points
Exhibit C: Khan Academy Cheats
See also:
- Cheating Khan Academy Point Counter in watching videos
- Khan Academy Bookmarklet that is meant to automatically answer your current question correctly
Exhibit D: Khan Academy and Points
I think all of this cheating and gaming is great. Why? Because it forces us to improve our practice. (Or would you rather wear yourself out playing “To Catch a Cheater?”)
If students do homework and go to class solely because if points, there is a larger systemic issue that needs to be addressed.
To which you say, “But if I don’t give points, they won’t do it.”
So where does it stop? Why do we let ourselves become willing participants in this game for points? We need a culture shift.