Change a Word: Grab Attention?

Little things can grab someone’s attention. I recently read an article by John Waters Engaging Students with Active Learning where he stated that you can increase student interest in your class just by adding the word EXTREME to the title. His example was “Weather and Climate” to “Extreme Weather.” Amazing. It really does grab your attention a bit more, doesn’t it?

I’ve been working on doing something similar to one of my courses – Technology for Teachers. I’m not adding Extreme to the title, but I have been “gamifying” it by changing some of the vocabulary and offering more choice. Sometimes the thought of technology in the classroom, especially to a new teacher, can be a bit scary.