Adding storytelling to the classroom is an essential part of gamification. Through stories, we can add meaning to the content we teach. As educators, we want our students to progress, and though storytelling, we can give them a vehicle to do that. So, next time you're developing a lesson plan think about how you can add story elements to motivate students to want to learn the content in order to see how the story unfolds. To learn more about the importance of storytelling in gamification, read this blog posting by Hanna Kucwaij.

Think about this; if you were asked to memorize 10 or more facts that you give them one time, verbally. How many do you think you would remember a day later? 2-4? Now, combine those facts into a logical story without much "fluff." How much of that story (and the facts within) would you remember a day later? Most likely, you would remember most of the story and the facts. Our brains are wired to remember stories much more than a list of facts or information. Therefore, adding story to a learning experience can make learning much more powerful and memorable. Learn more about using stories to aid in memorization.

In this course, we are not combining the information you are learning into the course's story. Instead, I have added a story about a raid boss in order to show an alternate way of incorporating story elements into a course; I hope that having this kind of story will spark your creativity when you are developing lessons in the future. In a more direct sense, the story of the raid boss is meant to motivate students to complete their assignments, explore optional assignments, improve good habits, and assist each other throughout the course (Virtual Clubhouse). This is almost identical to the way raid-bosses work in video games.