How to Use Gamification Meaningfully in the Classroom
To successfully implement digital games into your classroom and make it a meaningful learning activity for your students you need to construct a well-thought out plan. During this planning process there are many things to consider, such as:
- What games will you be using and why?
- Does the game provide meaningful learning opportunities for your students?
- Are the concepts in the game relevant to the curriculum your are teaching?
- Does the game promote the building of other non-curricular positive skills and/or behaviours?
- Are you planning on using the game as a tool for instruction, assessment, or homework?
- If you plan on using them at school, does your school/class have the necessary resources?
- If you are intending them to be used as a homework tool, do your students have the necessary resources to play them at home?
- Is there a cost associated with the game?
- How often should/will the students be playing the game?
- Will the game engage and motivate your students adequately?
Your answers to these questions will help you understand if this technology will benefit your students and create a more positive and effective learning environment, as well as help you get started in your planning process.
The video below is from Paul Anderson's TED X talk, Classroom Game Design, in which he explains how he incorporated elements of digital games into his lesson designs to improve learning in his science classroom at Bozeman High School. Through planning and experimentation, he has found ways to use digital games to motivate and engage his students, and provide them with opportunities to explore science concepts in new and authentic ways.
(TEDxTalks, 2012. Classroom Game Design: Paul Andersen)