There is a tremendous difference between the terms: game-based learning and gamification. I have already been involved with game-based learning. My students learn to type by playing typing games, and learn to code by participating in class games. In fact, most of the activities in my classroom involve some gaming, but this is not the same thing as gamification - at least as I understand it. After watching a few TED Talks, over the past year, I really began to think about why my students, and I love playing video games. My students LOVE playing Minecraft. My own children BEG me to let them play Minecraft all the time. I like to play video games, too! I am especially fond of the games like Lego Star Wars, or Tomb Raider, or Donkey Kong. I love working my way through each level and earning more points and unlocking new skills, abilities and secret levels as I go. Game makers really understand how the human brain works. They know that if they chunk their game up into levels, people will keep working to push themselves to explore a new level. This of course made me think about the classroom. What if school was a game? I have worked pretty hard this summer to try and figure out a way to do convert my class into a giant game just like Donkey Kong and Legend of Zelda. It isn't just about earning badges, or "winning" but rather encouraging and inspiring kids to ENJOY the process of learning. As it stands now, I am set up for all my students from 2nd- 5th to be members of a huge game. I made the game spaced-themed, and so students will begin the year as Astronaut Candidates, and hopefully become full fledged Astronaut Leaders by the end of the school year. They earn XP points for every assignment, and will be able to see where they stand on the leaderboard as individuals, as space stations (homerooms) and as crew members (groups). The best part is that from grades 2nd - 5th, I assigned the same 6 crew names which means that when looking at the crew leader board, those crews will be made up of students of all ages. I have also set special incentives that build mutual encouragement and reward. For example, if a student in your crew achieves Astronaut level -- then every memeber of that crew will gain 200 XP points - hopefully this will push students to celebrate one another's success. This is MY FIRST EVER class = game attempt, so I don't know if this will be as great as I hope, but very soon, we shall see! I hope that it motivates my students and helps them to want to truly apply themselves to each assignment. I really hope that in that process, students who didn't think they could learn to be technologically proficient, discover that they not only are capable, but that they enjoy it. Here's hoping!
2 Comments
James
7/17/2017 10:31:55 am
Jen,
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Patrick
7/17/2017 06:18:16 pm
I really like your comment about wanting it to be about developing a love for learning. Sure, some people play games to beat them. In most games, beating the final boss or clearing the final level is a big motivator. I love Legend of Zelda and fighting Gannon at the end of every game is definitely a highlight. I usually have a duplicate save file right before the boss so I can go do that encounter whenever I want. But, most of what I love about Zelda is not beating Gannon and watching credits, it the game as a whole. I love playing the game, adventuring in the world, solving puzzles, finding items. I think that is true of most games. The final level is always a big carrot for the gamer, but no one makes it to the final level if the game does not inspire you to want to play. Leveling up by itself is, in my experience, not enough. Sure some people enjoy just leveling up. People spend literal days on World of Warcraft just trying to max out a character. Runescape had people spend literla hours cutting down trees to get Level 99 Woodcutting and get a special cape for doing it. However, I would argue, even among gamers, those "hard levelers" are a minority group. This, I think, is where gamification can miss the mark sometimes. Not every person is motivated by collecting badges and achievements. Was your favorite part of Pokemon collecting gym badges or something else? Our classrooms need to have a similar idea. Badges and levels are great and will REALLY motivate some kids. But our overall goal needs to make a game that kids enjoy actively playing, otherwise it will not be about the content but getting the badges with the least work possible.
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AuthorJen has been teaching school for awhile now. She's learned some stuff, but she's got tons more to learn. Archives
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