Agent SmithChallenging the matrix of traditional, boring education.

I was recently inspired by Paul Andersen, a Science teacher in Montana.  His Biology class is presented in a “video game” format, where the students can earn achievements, progress at their own pace, and “level up” as they gain knowledge in the subject.

I have been hearing about such a format over the past few years, and would love to implement something like that in at least one of my classes.  I teach K-8 Computer Science, and while this may not be appropriate for the Kindergarteners, I think the 8th graders would love it!  My goal is to try something like this with them next year, so I want to start investigating Learning Management Systems.  I want something web-based, so I don’t have to download any software or mess with databases.  I’ve narrowed it down to three candidates:

http://brainhoney.com/

http://www.rcampus.com/

http://ninehub.com/

Have you used any of these?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.  I’m going to review them and post my findings here.