Educators from all around the web are offering ideas for incorporating Pokémon GO into the classroom. The game, which debuted in July, has become an instant hit with kids and adults alike. Similar to the rise ofMinecraft, educators have begun to embrace Pokémon GO because of its potential for gamification.

Here at Teq, we know that the blending of gaming and learning has opened up new doors for education. For that reason, we’ve created 3 different Pokémon GO learning activities you could use in your classroom this September.

Digital Storytelling

Inspire digital storytelling with Pokémon GO. Have students snap pictures of the virtual creatures in real-world settings and use those pictures to create a story. To save the picture, students must screenshot the image of their found Pokémon, and save it to their camera roll.

Be mindful that students will need access to other tools to create their digital stories. Some creation tools include:

• Adobe Spark Video
• Explain Everything
• Comic Master
• Slidestory
• Bubblr

Data Literacy

Embedded in Pokémon GO is a journal tool that automatically tracks and records the date and time of each event the player participates in. Whether it be catching a Pokémon, collecting Pokéballs at a Pokéstop, or battling at a gym, the activity details are recorded in a database.

To strengthen your students’ data literacy skills, students can use the data from their journal to

1. Figure out the average number of Pokémon events they encounter per day
2. Graph the distribution of Pokémon/items obtained

The goal of this is to strengthen your students’ data literacy skills such as data processing, manipulation, graphing, and analysis.

Mapping

Using Google Maps along with Pokémon GO allows your students to practice their map skills, as well as help your students implement math applications into their daily routine.

First, students would gather the GPS points of their Pokémon finds. Next, the teacher would ask their students to view (using Google Maps) the area around their school, community, or home. Last, students would draw a map based on what they viewed in Google Maps, and create the walking route they would take to visit the most Pokéstops.

You can even apply math skills by implementing problems such as time limits for different routes. Students can practice measuring distance in miles since Pokémon GO measures distance in kilometers. Being able to convert measurements would be extremely beneficial here.

Have an idea for how you could use Pokémon GO in your classroom? Share them below!