Most of us know the word ‘gaming’ when we hear it. Whether it’s students in the classroom or our own kids at home, we’re all familiar with the joy, excitement, connection and frustration that gaming can bring.
But how about transforming game-based elements into a tool that can be used in classrooms for top-notch teaching and learning?
This is the future of learning, and it’s known as gamification.
Gamification in education is not a distant dream only available to elite private schools. It’s here to stay and is now readily available via sustainable and democratic learning platforms such as the UNESCO- and UNICEF-awarded platform, Eduten.
The Benefits of Gamified Learning
Gamification works because it increases engagement and motivation. According to researchers at Eduten, gamified learning:
- Allows repeated experimentation and continuous feedback
- Shows progress and goals
- Empowers students to actively take responsibility for their learning.
- Rewards students for completing work and is a solid tool for formative assessment.
What Is Gamification Of Learning?
Gamification means including game mechanics in a non-game context. Eduten makes goals and student progress visible. For example, in the context of gamified math, equations might pop up on a screen and the student steers their personal racing car toward the correct answer.
What Gamification of Learning Is Not
Often misunderstood, gamification of learning does not mean turning every single task into some sort of game. Nor is it an unrelated game that stops every now and again to ask a student a question. The nature of learning is sometimes repetitive and often ‘hard work’, therefore gamifying everything might have a negative effect if used incorrectly.
How Can Teachers Gamify Their Work?
Gamification is at the tip of any good educator’s tongue. It’s a core teaching tool that attracts, engages, retains and motivates students. Before the internet, teachers used charts, reward systems, concrete materials and prizes alongside their teaching and learning methods.
The future of learning includes also utilizing innovative digital platforms such as Eduten, which have demonstrated scientifically proven math gamification that works.
Drawbacks of Gamification
Gamification is not a cure-all for current education systems. When misused, it can erode learning rather than expand it. Sometimes the best intentions of gamification go awry due to resistance from parents, poor implementation from teachers or incorrect selection of authentic, science-backed tools.
All of these drawbacks are easily fixed with clear education about the tool at hand as well as curiosity and trust from school communities at large.
Does Gamification Equal the End of Teachers?
Gamification is a complementary tool that works alongside conventional teaching.
Teachers will always be needed to interpret the technology and continue working side-by-side with students at either end of the educational spectrum.
Gamification also includes the recognition and reward by teachers, parents and other students. This is done by human interaction, discussion celebration and — yes, you guessed it- plain old reward charts on the wall as well!
Reward charts are used alongside Eduten’s digital platform.
Looking to the Future
Used the right way, gamification means higher student engagement, faster learning and improved results. Recognising that students have different routes to educational success means using different methodologies. Gamification is one of them.
References
Simões, J., Redondo, R. D., & Vilas, A. F. (2013). A social gamification framework for a K-6 learning platform. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(2), 345–353.
Gamification and the Future of Education. Link: https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/api/publications/document?id=2b0d6ac4-e97c-6578-b2f8-ff0000a7ddb6
