Sneak Peeks
If you are looking for some teasers for the book, you've come to the right place!
Here is where I will post comments, explanations, and images for the book as it is developed.
Please note that all materials here are © 2023 Mink Hollow Media with All Rights Reserved
If you have any questions, or special requests, please feel free to ask.
—- watch this space for more —–
#2 & 3 of the interview Questions...
To help readers get to know me and my approach a little better, I am sharing a series of interviews and panel questions I did for the The Game-Based Learning Virtual Summit, held on Nov. 1-3, 2023 hosted by Dr. Patrick Felicia
My Field: Applying game design principles to teaching and learning (= Gameful Learning)
Question: What are the core principles or philosophies that guide your work or approach to your field?
Question 3: Can you share some insights into your current projects or areas of focus? What's keeping you excited and motivated right now?
This Time, For Sure....
So, this time, I'm determined to get these done! We've had Covid, and a whole bunch of of other things vying for attention and time.
I am determined to get at least one volume of this series done by the end of summer. It will be either Book 1 or Book 2.
This series shows educators of all sorts how to make learning and instruction more gameful, and in the process increase engagement, enjoyment, satisfaction, and retention for BOTH the learners and the educators.
There 3 books planned in the series. The order is independent. Each one addresses a different aspect of gameful learning.
- How to Bring Joy back to Learning By Making Your Classroom Gameful (Book 1)
- Death to Deadlines: Gamification and Other Subversive Thoughts on Formal Education (Book 2)
- The Complete Guide to Gameful Learning (Book 3)
And, to help readers get to know me and my approach a little better, I am sharing a series of interviews and panel questions I did for the The Game-Based Learning Virtual Summit, held on Nov. 1-3, 2023 hosted by Dr. Patrick Felicia
When you stumble, they say just pick yourself up and .....
So, here we are, THREE years after my last post, and look what I've written … almost nothing (see something I DID do below). 
Oh well; it seems I am most motivated to do this when I am actually doing this….. as in, when I am teaching. I haven't been teaching since the pandemic began, and I haven't been writing (much) either.
But, I am trying again.
I decided to switch the order of the books around - the “collected” essays will be first.
It is closest to being done, and the least like a how-to.
The second is now the practical guide.
The third will be the “academic” volume, suitable for use as a textbook.
I will try and post regular updates an teasers, so please stay tuned….
One thing I did do is publish my table distinguishing gamification, from game-based learning, from serious games, …. This chart will go in (possibly all) of my books, but for now, if you want to cite it in something you are doing, you can do it this way:
Becker, K. (2021). What’s the difference between gamification, serious games, educational games,and game-based learning? Academia Letters, Article 209. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL209
The image is also on the landing page of this site.
Why did YOU become a teacher?
It turns out, that one of the main reasons MOST people become teachers is to make a positive difference in the world - to help people learn.
So, given that, what's the problem?
Why do things so often go awry? Why do we seem to have so much trouble with our students now? Why do so many of our colleagues complain so much about how their students are unprepared, or lazy, or untrustworthy?
What do YOU think the problem(s) is(are)?
Would You Buy This Book?
Death to Deadlines: Gamification and Other Subversive Thoughts on Formal Education
With any luck at all, this book will save you countless hours heading down rabbit holes.

While you might find something wonderful in those rabbit holes, this book will get you started on your path to understanding gamification and ways to avoid some of the pitfalls that might ensnare you.
We often talk about the value of inquiry-based teaching in Education, but how often do we, as educators, apply the same ideas to us and our own work? How often do we actually “walk the talk”?
I’ve been teaching for 40 years now. In that time, I both fell into and willingly headed down a great many rabbit holes.
I suppose that many people begin to take a longer view of their work once they’ve been doing it for as long as I have, and I’m no different. Some years back, in parallel with my going all in with my gamified approach, I began to ask some fairly fundamental “What If” questions. Such as, “What would happen if I DIDN’T have deadlines for the work in my classes?
Some of the answers I found surprised even me.
This book outlines some of the rabbits holes I've been down and what I discovered there.