Week 1

Essential Question: Why games in education?

Gamification has been on the rise in education for several years now because of its many benefits to students. Research shows that educational video games and simulators can help students improve in their academic skills as well as their soft skills (Kuo, 2016). As we learned in EDET677 (Mechanical Applications of Technology), play is an important part of learning.

Games can create an alternate world for students to be involved in while learning. "Students must exercise critical thinking, resilience, and creative problem solving to succeed in an alternate reality game" (The benefits of Gaming, 2017). Games can open new doors for students. As students are exposed to learning in the world of gaming, they may develop an interest in technology or even coding and programming at a young age. As we know, having this background in today's world is rather valuable.

Many games encourage students to interact with one another. Some games encourage students to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal and other games create motivation by encouraging friendly competition. Both types of games can give students opportunities to refine their communication skills, build relationships and increase their self esteem (The benefits of Gaming, 2017).

Personally, I am a board game and card lover. Gaming is an integral part of the time our family spends together. It creates opportunities for me to teach my young children how to win and lose gracefully and more importantly allows them to build a growth mindset. I am highly motivated by competition that can be found in games.

So it only makes sense that we take something that is motivating and encouraging in our daily lives and use it in the classroom. My students love playing Kahoot!, Gimkit, Quizizz, and more. These are great ways to increase their engagement. So going back to the essential question of "Why games in education?", I would say it boils down to motivation.


Resources:

The benefits of Gaming in Education: The Build A World case: Acer for Education. (2017, January 27). Retrieved May 17, 2020, from https://eu-acerforeducation.acer.com/success-stories/the-benefits-of-gaming-in-education-the-build-a-world-case/

Kuo, I. (2016, January 14). A Review On The Benefits of Video Games in Education. Retrieved May 17, 2020, from https://www.gamification.co/2016/01/14/review-benefits-video-games-education/

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 25, 2020 at 5:21 PM

    Heather,

    Great blog here on why to use games in education. I am also a big fan of board games. I agree that games are a great way to increase student engagement. My students love to change it up with a learning game as long as they deem it as fun. Problem solving skills are also extremely important for our students, and games are a fun way to give our students the opportunity to work on that skill.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 26, 2020 at 3:38 PM

    Nice discussion. Games are fun. I too am a fan of board games. How to incorporate learning while keeping the engagement is something that will take some skill.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Douglas WMay 31, 2020 at 4:48 PM

    Games have always had a place in education. I also like that you mentioned games play a large role in education. I do hope that games provides more than just motivation. I think it can be another solid teaching strategy framed in a way students naturally understand.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 20, 2020 at 1:20 PM

    That engagement and motivation component is integral. I love playing games and have gotten into some of the more complex board games recently, probably spurred by my long love of Axis and Allies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coby HaasJuly 20, 2020 at 1:21 PM

      Used the wrong account to post that last one...

      Delete

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