EDT 476 Week 7 Reflection by Addison Bosscher

Podcast

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 18:40:26 UTC

In this podcast, Tim Needles explains what gamification is and how it can be used in classrooms. The main point Tim makes in this podcast is that play is important in school and learning shouldn't be boring. Gamification is a great tool for teachers to use to make content more engaging and playful. It sounds like a big word, but you can use gamification across all levels of education. There are so many different ways to use gamification in the classroom since it's so elastic. Gamification can also be catered to fit all students' needs and the personality of the classroom. The best place to get started is to create a storyline of learning and include students in the process. When teachers use gamification to teach content, students get a chance to collaborate with each other and are encouraged to be actively involved in their learning.

Video

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 18:53:51 UTC

In this video, Mr. Anderson explains how he is uses gamification to improve learning. Video games are much more fun than learning, but it shouldn't be that way. Students spend most of the day passively listening to their teacher. They are taught that they must remember everything they learn because failure is not okay. Schools often stigmatize failure by refusing to let students redo their work. Students should be taught that no matter how many times it takes, content can be mastered. Leveling allows students to move at their own pace and move onto different content once they've mastered old content. Many of these components are also components of video games, which should make learning more interesting to students.

Video

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 18:59:37 UTC

In this video, Scott Herbert talks about why the modern education system is experiencing an engagement crisis. When students are unable to entertain themselves with content, they find other things to entertain themselves with. Many students experience the same day of school over and over again which means they are increasingly unentertained as the school year goes on. Using gamification daily changes students experience in the classroom and keeps them entertained. Games are littered with creativity, so being creative with learning makes content more game-like. Making content more game-like helps students learn though play, which is the natural way children are meant to learn.

Smiderl et al. (2020)

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:10:44 UTC

Gamification of education is a strategy for increasing motivation by incorporating game elements into learning. This study aimed to find whether the gamification of learning affects students differently depending on their personality traits. The results from this study found that students who learned through gamification had a higher average of points than students that learned without gamification. They also found that students who used gamification had a significant improvement in the quality and accuracy of work submitted. Even introverted students had a high number of points with gamification. Students of the non-gamified group with low conscientiousness obtained the lowest number of points. The results suggest that all students benefit from the gamification of learning regardless of different personality traits.

Ofgang (2024)

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:22:00 UTC

The best results from gamification occur when groups of students must work together against other groups of students, creating a collaborative yet competitive environment. This also gives students more motivation to learn new skills. However, there can be times when gamification is too limited. Most gamification methods use a few elements of games rather than focus on the overall outcome. Some students may look at badges or points from games as the full picture rather than the content embedded in them. These badges are meant to represent goal-setting, but this can distract students from the overall purpose of the game.

Prepare (2023)

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:27:31 UTC

Gamification is the art of transforming mundane tasks into engaging activities by infusing them with game-design elements. There are both pros and cons to the gamification of learning. The main pros to gamification are enhanced engagement, immediate feedback, healthy competition, customized learning paths, collaboration, creativity, and development of soft skills. The main cons to gamification are overemphasis on rewards, lack of equity, distraction, inflexible, and too much preparation time. Starting small and providing clear instructions can help teachers implement gamification in a productive way. Gamification offers a blend of challenges but must be incorporated with a balanced approach.

My Thoughts

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:40:38 UTC

Gamification seems to be a useful tool for learning so long as it is used correctly by teachers. For example, gamification can be engaging but also distracting, individualized but also lack equity. The line between helpful and hurtful feels thin, but using specific strategies to implement gamification seems to be the key. One strategy that seems to make gamification helpful to learning is aligning it with clear learning objectives. Making sure students understand the purpose of gamification makes learning more clear and can prevent pitfalls. If students don't understand that the points they earn in games represent content learned, they miss the point. Keeping learning transparent and clear is a crucial element to successfully implement gamification into the classroom. Including elements like points or badges can be motivating for some students but not others. Knowing your students allows you to gamify content in a way that will benefit all students. Gamification doesn't have to be used all the time but can be used to keep learning fun. Knowing when to use gamification is another key element to successful implementation. Creating a game to help students learn numbers is different than creating a game about slavery. Some subjects are okay to gamify while others are inappropriate. Using a balanced approach to gamification will really help teachers get the most out of it while making sure students are actually learning from it. There is a thin line between helpful and hurtful with gamification, so teachers should walk it carefully.

Pros

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:47:42 UTC

When gamification is implemented into the classroom correctly, students experience:

Increased motivation and engagement
Immediate feedback to learning
Healthy competition and collaboration
Individualized learning paths
Soft skill development
Enhanced retention and recall skills
Increased attendance and participation
Enhanced digital literacy

Cons

cffc45d35ae941aa8afc4c183739374d_61768_1 — 2024-10-08 19:50:32 UTC

When gamification is NOT implemented into the classroom correctly, students experience:

An overemphasis on rewards
Unfair expectations of technology use
Distractions from learning
Increased preperation time
Inappropriate application to topics
Lack of learning time
Lack of intrinsic motivation
Unclear learning objectives