From: https://pixabay.com/p-593313/?no_redirect
“Gamification” as it has been coined is making its way into the education system. For years, teachers have been taught to activate students prior knowledge and make connections to students’ backgrounds and cultures. In today’s world, this means video games. 91% of children play video games (Camp, 2011). That is a staggering percentage of students who participate in a culture that our education system is only beginning to tap into. Why is “gamification” in education important and how can it be utilized for curriculum and assessments in the classroom?
Gamification is important for the classroom because it bridges the gap between students’ main entertainment and education. Students are spending hours gaming and fully engaged. Yet, teachers complain about the inattention of their students on simple tasks. When the two areas are merged it creates an environment where learning becomes fun and rewarding. In the gaming world, players are constantly rewarded for their actions and successes. Schools are looking for students to have the intrinsic motivation that, especially at an elementary level, they have yet to develop and quite frankly since the rise of video games appears to be dwindling. Gamifying curriculum motivates students to learn and as Gabe Zichermann (2011) said come back to the activity again and again. Many times we hear “gamification” and we automatically think online gaming. We think this must mean we have to transform our classroom curriculum into an online world. But as Zichermann (2011) stated through this many examples of “gamification” in the workplace, that is not the case. Gamification can simply mean applying the ideas of “gaming” with social interactions and rewards to our classroom curriculum. Zicherman (2011) goes on to explain how gaming requires everything listed for creating a more fluid intelligence. Isn’t our goal in education to help students become better critical thinkers? Why then, would we not use the tool that students are already drawn to to help achieve that goal? Take the curriculum that we already teach and gamify it by creating levels and ways for students to “level up”. Integrate activities that require social networking where each student has a skill or “power” that they need to complete the assignment to show their understanding of the content. Utilize online games for assessing students learning and allow them to gain the positive rewards that they desire. Gaming can be a powerful tool that can help bring education to the 21st century and teach students the necessary skills of problem solving, critical thinking, multi-tasking, social networking, goal setting, and hard working.
References:
(2011, June 09). TEDxKids@Brussels – Gabe Zichermann – Gamification. Retrieved November 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=353&v=O2N-5maKZ9Q
Camp, J. V. (2011, October 11). 91 percent of kids play video games, says study. Retrieved November 21, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/91-percent-of-kids-play-video-games-says-study/
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