Bringing games into the classroom: how gamification and learning go hand-in-hand
Bringing games into the classroom: how gamification and learning go hand-in-hand
Bringing games into the classroom: how gamification and learning go hand-in-hand
February 28, 2020
By Paige Colley
Summary
Leila, a native of the planet Io, has come to Earth for help. By traveling to exotic realms through the magic of fiction and completing quests, a group of travelers can explore the galaxy and help explain to Leila what it means to be human.
This adventure, called Fantastic Places, Unhuman Humans, is not the newest fantasy game, however; it’s an English class taught at Brown University.
At PAX East, an annual gaming convention held in Boston, a crowd made largely of teachers of all education levels gathered Friday to listen to a panel of experts talk about the ways games can help assist learning.
"The longer you want to sustain the learner the more important the story becomes," Pariseault said.
Narrative is only one of many on the spectrum of game types. Others include simulations, puzzles, role-playing and serious games.
"A serious game overall is one that is developed from the ground up to be used for learning," said Dave Eng, a clinical professor and educational technologist at New York University. To help encourage students, Pariseault emphasizes the importance of finding motivators.
"We all have different core desires and things that we enjoy and like and motivate us to do different things," she said. "Extrinsic rewards are tangible things, and often in game design and gamification design that can be gimmicky … If you want to really move someone, you’re also going to want to pair that with intrinsic rewards".
In addition to narrative and rewards, another element that makes gamification successful is that it is conducive to an effective learning environment.
Reference
Colley, P. (2020, February 29). Bringing games into the classroom: how gamification and learning go hand-in-hand. Retrieved March 5, 2020, from http://bunewsservice.com/bringing-games-into-the-classroom-how-gamification-and-learning-go-hand-in-hand/