What Is The Effect Of Gamification

“All it took was once class period—Syllabus Day, at that—to convince me that the gamified classroom was an infinitely unique, innovative, and effective alternative to the traditional classroom” said Morgan Ebbs in his article on the “Benefits of Gaming in Academia”. When I saw the two words “Gaming” and “Academia” together I thought surly this must be a mistake or possibly a joke. I stood corrected. Morgan proved me wrong as the class “The Rhetoric of Gaming” proved Morgan wrong. I was utterly shocked when reading this article because It explained, what I thought to be the, impossible. The impossible was using the concept of entertainment as a tool for learning.

Gamification is the use of game elements in non-game contexts on the purpose of making the object entertained. (Deterding et al., 2011) Gamification in education can be interpreted as the notion of presenting learning materials and designing pedagogy by integrating game mechanics. It is believed that without the desire of learning, learners will lose passion for pursue knowledge. As a result, the features of gaming, competition and motivation are the reasons that the integration of gamification has been increasingly placed emphasis. Yet, there are a few researches in terms of the efficiency and learning outcome of gamification in education.

A video game course is a good method of stimulating the mind. Both video games and games, in reality, creates a problem in which the players within the game have to solve. These situations stimulate the mind and make your brain work hard in order to solve the issue within the game.

A Controlled/no-gaming learning situation was also included in the study. The students’ also completed two 40 minute math sessions per week for a total of 4 weeks. The math exercise session was done individually. But this time around laptops were not included. Student were instructed individually using paper and pencil to take on math exercises that revolved around math concepts and skills. At the end, the teachers gave feedback to all students. Feedback that reflected on whether they got correct or incorrect items answers on the exercise sheets.

students’ learning motivation (Proulx etc.). Many modern day U.S. schools use digital game-based learning. This approach, “integrat[es] appropriate learning strategies into a game [to]

The U.S. public education system has been subject for debate for many years now, budget cuts, overcrowding and lack of innovation have severely impacted the effectiveness of our schools. As a result, according to a report by Education Week, “In mathematics, 29 nations and other jurisdictions outperformed the United States by a statistically significant margin, up from 23 three years ago” (Heitin). Coupled with our 19th and 22nd ranking of literacy and science respectively, because of this, we can conclude a reform is necessary if we want to remain prevalent in tomorrow 's economy (Heitin). To get to the root of the problem and secure economic prosperity for our children, we need to reconcile the relationship between schools and students. Some of the reasons students dislike school is because it revolves around the prospect of failure, not gaining knowledge or solving problems. Therefore, this method is not very effective as it does not encourage curiosity and relies on extrinsic motivation. Many educators have played around with the idea of using video games in the classroom, kids love to play these simulations where one must learn the game and fail, in order to succeed. Even though they are usually viewed as an expensive entertainment medium, recent technological advancements in hardware capabilities have resulted in better and more immersive gameplay while lowering the cost of each unit may help bring video games into the classroom. Video games can be used as a medium to

students’ learning motivation (Proulx etc.). Many modern day U.S. schools use digital game-based learning. This approach, “integrat[es] appropriate

Video games plays an important role in the cognition process in many of this generation children. This statement is the main point of this TedTalk arguement led by Gabe Zichermann in the presentation called “Video Games: How Games Make Kids Smarter”. Gabe Zichermann is the world’s leading expert in the topic of gamification; he is also a public speaker, author and entrepreneur, and the founder and editor-in-chief of a magazine called “Gamification.co”. Gabe Zichermann discusses that generation G (the current generation) obtain, learn and process information differently compared to any other generation. The term “gamification” is the application of gaming mechanisms in non-game circumstances and is the process of engaging the current generations

“Gaming to re-engage boys in learning” is a TedTalk performed by a former grade 3 teacher by the name of Ali Carr-Chellman, who is now an instructional designer, author, and educator who studies effective learning strategies for students and recognizes the changes that need to be implemented within schools to successfully accommodate the individual learning needs of students. Carr-Chellman (2010) raises awareness about the decreasing number of males in educational institutions and thereby advocates for changes to the traditional forms of education in an attempt to re-engage boys back into the classroom - more specifically with the use of video games, as it is a common male activity. The speaker explains the formulation of her TedTalk

People tend to think that play and game is considered as similar types of leisure. Gaming is sometimes expensive and resources are required; there are rules, structures and even involvement relies on the selected strategy. However playing is free to practice, safe, without any rules of commitment and no equipment needed. According to some Educational theorist, gaming is behaviorist, whereas playing is constructivist. But what is the relationship between play and game? This essay’s aim is to clarify the understanding of this relationship, by basing some example on the angry birds game. At first a definition of play will be discussed, secondly a definition of game will be analyzed, thirdly the concept of immersion and interactivity will be pointed out and finally the relationship between play and game will be identify.

According to the article, "There are three psychological needs the games satisfy." The first is competency, which is why most gamified businesses use rewards. The second is the need of being able to choose, or autonomy. This is normally satisfied by choosing what path earns you points. The final need is the need to be recognized by your peers, which is why the games have you compete against other people. When all three of these are fulfilled by gamification, the game is very successful. In conclusion, the author of "Your Life: The Game" thinks gamification has personal advantages.

This is a wonderful point, if of course the instructor chooses to incorporate actual video games into the class at all. I don’t believe the author of this article fully understood the concept of gamification. It seems to me that she believes everyone will be sitting around playing video games all day. When, in reality, it’s simply borrowing game mechanics of achievement, progress, collaboration, competition, chance, and success to bring into classroom scenarios. A gamified classroom may never see an actual video game used in class at all! I believe it would be up to the instructor to choose whether or not to incorporate games into their curriculum. From this article I see a problem that needs to be addressed. The problem is misinformation regarding what gamification actually entails. A clear line should be drawn between educational learning with games versus personal playing. To be frank, I wouldn’t support gamification at all if it constantly had me playing video games to finish homework assignments. I wouldn’t enjoy games to the fullest, or at least I wouldn’t find enjoyment playing them outside of school because it’ll feel like work. Yet, on the occasion a homework assignment to play a game would be

o Inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing - James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says that playing a video game is similar to working through a science problem. Like students in a laboratory, gamers must come up with a hypothesis. For example, players in some games constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, they change hypothesis and try the next one. Video games are goal-driven experiences, says Gee, which are fundamental to learning.

Video games can be used as instructional tools as well. They have positive elements and add value; they create a micro world of their own. The players act based on natural tendencies towards learning. Therefore, learning occurs while playing (Rosas et al., 2003).

Educators are faced with the question of how gamification can motivate students will to learn and how can they incorporate it into their curriculums. Based on scientific research, students are motivated by both external and internal motivation for example, some students may excel in their reading assignments because of their love of reading, while other students are motivated by rewards or being praise by their teachers and peers. While students do require both internal and external motivation, researcher’s believes gamification can assist teachers in motivating both types of learners. The use of gamification enables students to overcome and conquer complex subjects where they can move and learn at their own pace and not feel judged by their teachers or peers. Gamification can give a students a sense of empowerment where it will enable them to try harder or do better the next time. The major benefit of gamification in the classrooms will add a multitude of engagements for students and can increase student’s awareness and understanding of topics they might not have normally understood, especially those who are struggling.