Picture the future. ..A student walks into your class or access the class online and they get a few point just for showing up on time. There is a pop quiz on the homework assignment from last class, the student aces the quiz, they get a 500 point. Its more of a carrot than stick approach to education, plus it could have some really interesting results.

I just finished viewing a very intriguing presentation by Jesse Schell. He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and he runs a game design/development firm as well. The main point of the video talks about why social gaming like Facebook’s FarmVille and Mafia Wars is so popular. Roughly 19 minute into the presentation he mentions Lee Sheldon, a professor at the Indiana University. Instead of giving grades for every assignment he gives experience points (XP) and you can “level up” to an A.

I find this thinking absolutely fascinating. For me, my undergrad program was not very interesting and you have to figure out how each graded items. What IF university was one big point system? Then the students could use those points for items from the school’s bookstore or an apple from the cafe. I think this could really add an interactive and engaging element that hasn’t traditional being in higher education.

Watch the video for yourself…