As teachers we all know that getting students motivated and engaged in their own learning is an important first step in any learning cycle. One successful method of engaging students is to reframe the learning into a more enjoyable context. Good teachers have made learning both rigorous and fun for many years, but method that is gaining considerable attention and showing promise is “gamification.” Gamification, at its core, is the process of substituting the rules of standard grading by structuring course work and course outcomes in a way that is connected to a story. This process, while maintaining the rigor of the learning and the continuity of the learning outcomes, gives the student greater ownership over their own learning processes and engages them more fully in the process. Of course, not all gamification has to be mediated by computers, but the digital age has made the ability of teachers to manage, track, and engage students in a ways that can be robust, rigorous, and engaging. From November 17-December 5, 2014, NCCAT will be hosting an online immersive for North Carolina Public School teachers in the 3DGamelab environment. All participants will have the opportunity to learn about personalized learning and gamification in a state of the art learning system that integrates elements of gameplay in every learning interaction. All participants will have 1 month of complete teacher level access to the 3DGamelab environment and will be able to build and test their own assessments as a part of the course with their own students. The course will be led by gamification experts with decades of experience in the classroom and some of your fellow students will be the leaders in North Carolina educational technology. Experienced teachers and newbies are welcome to join us, and all teachers will qualify for an in-game (in class) contest in which the winners will be given a 1 year subscription to 3DGamelab to use with their personal classes. This program is completely online and provided to North Carolina public school teachers as a part of the State of North Carolina’s professional development offerings. Participants who complete this 40 hour professional development experience will get a recommendation from NCCAT that their LEA award 4 CEUs in Digital Learning. We anticipate all spaces being filled, so apply as soon as you can. Click here for more on course and how to apply. Act now to join us for this special opportunity.