Integrating games into the classroom is not a new idea; it’s not a secret that students love games and enjoy the competition. When I went to school popular classroom games were, Heads up 7 up, Bingo and Hangman. However, gamification and the use of online games to support student learning has evolved in recent years. Educational games or serious games have a specific learning outcome, they are designed with a purpose beyond entertainment. Educational games have a goal of fostering students intrinsic motivation, teachers have control to influence the learning and contains curriculum-based instruction. There are poor educational games on the market and these are referred to as Edutainment. These platforms offer a game if students deal with minuscule educational content.

Games are a system that requires rules, tools, mechanics and players according to Dale (2014). Games motivate players to change behaviour and develop skills to achieve goals, winning the game. Gamification seems to have varying views in terms of its purpose, goals and features. I think one thing everyone can agree on is that digital games are engaging for students and there is a growing number of program options available for educators to choose from.

While reading the content of this module about gamification and the engagement and intrinsic motivation games provide students, I found myself wondering how can we gamify a school or a school system? How can we use gamification techniques to motivate educators to take risks and try new, creative activities in their classrooms?

References

Dale, S. (2014). Gamification. Making work fun, or making fun of work? Business Information Review, 31(2), 82-90. doi:10.1177/0266382114538350