Richard Newman is a technology business veteran who currently serves as the CEO of Rezzly Education Technologies, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Rezzly was started based on the principle of quest-based learning. With gamification in education making serious progress in the world of more traditional education techniques, I took the opportunity to talk to Richard about the Rezzly approach.
Richard says that while you hear a lot of talk in the world of gamification about badges and points, there is much more to the process. Allowing students to choose how they learn tasks and to focus on the things that interest them brings a much higher level of engagement and mastery of the subject.
One of the psychological elements of gamification is self-driven learning. If a student doesn’t figure out something the first time, she keeps trying until she does. It becomes a much deeper way to learn than standard rote memorization.
Another aspect of the Rezzly gamification philosophy is getting rid of traditional gradebooks. As Richard puts it, “When you talk about grading students, you talk about what would be a perfect score, and then you subtract from it for the things they get wrong. When you're walking through mastery learning, it's just the opposite. You're really adding as you build up your capabilities to get to the point where you've demonstrated what it was that you set out to learn.”
Students and teachers alike are becoming fans of Rezzly. Communities are forming online, and people are posting videos of their techniques and experiences. The future looks bright for Rezzly and the entire gamification world.
About Richard Newman:
Richard Newman has been the CEO of Rezzly Education Technologies since April, 2017. Prior to that, he spent 18 months as CTO at GoGo Labs, a technology spin-out from Boise State University, where he served as investor, engineer, and management partner.
Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Boise State University and a master’s of business administration from the University of Washington. His strengths include strategic planning, software engineering, and business development.
Further Reading:
Chief Learning Officer - Going Long on Shorter Learning
Additional Reading:
How teachers can level up
Fitting the unique learning style of elementary students
Equity in education supported by progressive school leadership
About Rod Berger, PsyD.
Dr. Rod Berger is President and CEO of MindRocket Media Group. Berger is a global education media personality and strategic influencer featured in The Huffington Post, Scholastic, AmericanEdTV, edCircuit, EdTechReview India and Forbes.
Audiences have enjoyed education interviews with the likes of Sir Ken Robinson, Arne Duncan, Randi Weingarten, Sal Khan along with leading edtech investors, award-winning educators, and state and federal education leaders. Berger’s latest project boasts a collaboration with AmericanEdTV and CBS’s Jack Ford.
Follow Dr. Rod Berger on Twitter.