So no doubt, you know what games are- video or board, at some point in your life I bet you’ve played at least one. So think back to them, what are the elements of them that stand out? What makes them so fun and memorable? What makes a game (that isn’t real) so competitive that people play for hundreds of real world hours? The answers to those questions are what I would call the main idea of Gamification in the classroom!
I hadn’t heard of gamification before ECI 201, but I had seen it everywhere from Duolingo to Kahoot, gamification crept into my world without me even realizing it! I would work harder to learn French and study in class more than I would have otherwise because I wanted to score high on the leader board, or get bonus points!
Right. So what is gamification? Here’s a video!
But TL;DW, Gamification is taking aspects of video game: Leader boards, scores, badges, points, puzzles, etc; and putting them in the classroom as way to engage students and keep them motivated to succeed. Which is NOT Game-based learning- that take place within a game created specifically to teach the subject.
Back to gamification- why is it so rewarding for students in the classroom? It provides a way for students to be really enthralled in what they’re learning by friendly competition with themselves and their classmates. They see the goal clearly (for example earning a badge), it’s not an incorporeal subject to them, like the idea of learning calculus, but a physical thing they know they can earn through trial and error. It boosts the students sense of accomplishment, and how long they pay attention!
Here’s a video going in depth about how the school system desperately needs a retooling to be more engaging, and how gamification helps!
I think he really hits the nail on the head on why gamification works so well- “You have to make kids believe that they are doing something for a reason- for a purpose“. And Gamification provides a purpose! It also allows students to forge their own path in classroom and create things their own way at their own pace.
To finish off on this blog-post, I thought I would give some resources on gamification to you! So here are some helpful links to ideas! But here are my favorites:
- XP for number of things completed
- A badge system for certain tasks
- Checkpoints to keep you safe after succeeding
- Visible progress like a leaderboard
Thank you so very much for reading!