The Role of Games Through Gamification in Higher Education

The Role of Games Through Gamification in Higher Education

The Role of Games Through Gamification in Higher Education

Gastón Sanglier Contreras, Juan Carlos Zuil Escobar, Carmen Belén Martínez Cepa, Inés Serrano Fernández

Abstract

“In the past, the idea of games was related to a form of pastime or entertainment; however, today they have also become a growing trend in formal environments such as business and education. Gaming environments have the ability to hold the user's attention and constantly challenge them. In addition to having remarkable motivational power, games attract industry professionals, and especially students to participate in them often without any reward, just for the pleasure of playing and having an engaging learning experience . In an educational environment, the benefits of incorporating game elements provide extra motivation for students. In this environment, students are allowed to progress at their own pace through personal and timely feedback, in addition to developing skills such as problem solving, collaboration and communication. Gamification is proposed, not as a new methodology, but as a learning technique incorporated to the new times, which transfers the mechanics of games to the educational-professional field, in order to achieve better results, and produce an additional incentive to students in educational centers from basic to higher education. Currently, students are satisfied with the use of technological tools to support their teaching and learning process, but new processes must be activated and it is necessary to establish what type of Gamification tools improve results in each specific case. Regarding the methodology of rewards when recognizing the efforts of each student or group, there is a wide debate as to whether they should be physical prizes, qualities obtained, educational bonuses or access to virtual games/platforms (1,3). This is perhaps the most critical point of a methodology in which constant learning is highly valued and which is beginning to be implemented in many educational centers. Many times and in certain circumstances, the following phrase should be taken into account: "Life is a game. Ask yourself if you like the game you are playing. If not, roll the dice again in a different direction”.

Reference

Contreras, G. S., Escobar, J. C. Z., Cepa, C. B. M., Fernández, I. S., & González, A. H. (2021). The Role of Games Through Gamification in Higher Education. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350664037_The_Role_of_Games_Through_Gamification_in_Higher_Education 

Keywords 

Environment, methodology, virtual games