Gamification

When you think of games, the thing that is most likely to pop into your mind is Mario Kart, Minecraft, Pokemon, Call of Duty and so on, but accompanied with those thoughts there is also the opinion that games are useless and a waste of time. The stereotypical gamer is seen as someone that spends their entire day in their parents’ basement eating junk food, when in reality they are people who are hyper dedicated to what they are doing. Games motivate people and enhance engagement which is why a person is more likely to do something when it is fun and intriguing. It is easy to accomplish these feelings with gamification.

The term gamification is the integration of game-like qualities in a non-gaming environment to enhance motivation, participation, competition and improvement. It is used on a daily basis throughout many features of life. We can see examples of gamification in businesses, workplaces, apps, social media and even in the army!

The US Army developed an online game that consisted of a multiplayer strategic shooter environment to put players’ skills to the test as a way of recruiting new soldiers. This was only a way of marketing and promoting the US Army, resulting in an increasing number of new recruits.

Gamification can be used in any aspect you want it to, including education. It is no doubt that education has been out of date for a long time, classrooms look and work the same way they used to look and work more than a century ago. If there is one place where motivation is most important, it’s in education. Teaching is about connecting with the students and how can we best connect with them? By gamifying our classroom.

Gamifying education has been done and it has proven to be very effective. By using this method, students learn while enjoying themselves. If you feel gamification is the answer to your problem, here are some ideas to get you started on making your classroom the best it can be.

2. Leaderboard. You can put up a leaderboard somewhere in the classroom where it is visible so students will feel motivated to see their names/pictures on the top of the list. This gives introverts a chance to shine without having to be the center of attention.

3. Class-wide rewarding. Encourage the students to work together toward the same goal. Strike a deal with them (e.g. if more than half of the class get an A, there will be a party, or pizza and ice cream). This will motivate them to practice and help each other.

4. Mark progress. There was nothing more rewarding than seeing your Pokemon evolve into their most powerful self and watch how it became stronger with each fight. Keeping a progress bar for each student is a great way to motivate them to do their best, they will work hard to get to 100%. If you want to make things more interesting, let the students choose a Pokemon (or any character that evolves) for the semester so you can print them and put it next to their progress bar. According to how well they are doing in class, their Pokemon will grow and evolve. The percentage for when the Pokemon will evolve is entirely up to the teacher.

5. Incorporating apps and games. Most of the students today have a phone or tablet that has access to an app store. There are thousands of educational apps that educators can use to teach their students and manage their classroom.. Some apps are Khan Academy, Duolingo, Class Dojo, Fun Math Games, and much more. Find the one that best suits you and your class.

6. Divide the class in teams and do competitions, debates, and tournaments. Assign the subjects that would be used before hand and stand referee to keep everything under control.

This post was written by our Journalist, Natalia D. Vega-Maisonave.

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