Games Based Learning and Gamification

It is no secret that video games captures the attention of young and old for hours upon hours. They are engaging, motivating and above all fun. When an activity or task is turned into a game, there seems to be this instant motivation to want to play. Judy Willis argues the importance of using the principles of video games in the classroom as a way to increase motivation of students as well as resiliency when they receive feedback. 

Games are always goal oriented whether it is to complete a level or end up with the most money at the end of the game. There is always something you are aiming to achieve. This idea of achievement motivates the player to continue until they are successful. Games provide a low rate of failure as they allow the player to try repeatedly until sucessful. Games are always providing feedback to the player. Sometimes the feedback is not being able to make it past a certain point in the game until the player figures out a new strategy. 

This past year, our Year 5 classes created a gamified unit of mathematics called the Battle 4 Chatz. Our goal was to make the entire geometry unit one big game where each class ('gang' or 'team') had to battle the other 2 classes in order to win over the various sections of the school. This unit was played as a mixed learning enviornment with both online and in person components. It had a narrative of a MR. ME character taunting the students to get better at math so they could capture each other and defeat the other teams only to have things change drastically in the final boss level. Along the way, there were also many sidequests for the students to participate in. Motivation and participation in mathematics was at an all time high as students were completing work at home and in class with enthusiasm to work towards badges and help their team achieve their goals. 

Breaking it down by Willis' main ideas, you will see that we took the principles of video games to create a positive experience for our students: 

- Motivation: Gain more points than the other two teams through completing individual activities, which would then allow students to capture different areas of the school. 

- Incremental Goal Progress: Students rewarded when a number of activities completed. A class could capture a portion of the school at the end of each level if they had the most points. 

- Individual Achievable Challenge: There were 2-3 activities per level that were mandatory based on the grade expectations with tutorials for support. Students had to complete tasks individually in order to help their team. If they completed the mandatory tasks (main storyline), they could challenge themselves by doing sidequests for bonus points to add to their teams total. 

-Feedback: Students received immediate feedback every time they completed an individual activity on their progress. As a class, their point totals were seen on the game site and updated in real time. 

If you are interested in learning about the theory and reasoning behind the game, feel free to check out the link here: https://sites.google.com/a/chatsworth.com.sg/battle4chatzsite/ 

You can also access the game site itself here: https://sites.google.com/a/chatsworth.com.sg/math-turf-wars/

References
Willis, J. (2011) A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/neurologist-makes-case-video-game-model-learning-tool

Video Game Model

To be honest, I actually had a Grade 1 teacher who let us play video games when we finished our mental math early. Some may not agree with it but the motivation of the students in that class was always high and we worked really hard to learn our math facts. 

In addition, video games provide a huge opportunity for our students  to develop problem solving skills. While you may argue that the classroom has no place for video games, games like MineCraft are sweeping through education and becoming a new way to engage our students in a safe learning environment where they can expand their ideas and learn in a way that best fits there needs while still being a lot of fun at the same time. 

A Simulation Resource

We used MineCraft in Year 6 this past year as a simulation. There were 3 tribes that had 3 separate pieces of land within a given world. Ultimately the game was to survive. The teams started by fighting each other and stealing things from the different places of the world. Eventually some started to form government and systems to have a more civil environment where it was easier for all to thrive. It was interesting to hear about the different types of government that came out of the experience as well from dictatorship to democracy. 

The unit was about types of governments. The best part was the teachers had to do little input but rather let the students explore and learn through inquiry. As they needed information, the teachers would support them or the students would research information. These types of experiential learning opportunities are very important for students and allows them to engage with the learning in a meaningful and memorable way... plus it is fun!

As I was reading the Marc Prensky articles, I felt like the labels are less relevant if we think more about a balanced approach to technology as well as a willingness to be a risk taker and learn/use technology. 

My students have a 1-to-1 laptop programme at our school and regularly use them as a resource for their studies. For major projects, I tell my students they can choose how they show their knowledge as long as I can see what they know. Many projects have them making presentations, videos, animations and more. However, I still remember the first time I had students approach me and ask if they could make a brochure by hand instead of doing it digitally. Of course I said it was but it also became a more frequent conversation. I also had students going to the library looking for books rather than looking online at sites. It is important to know what resources are available and how to access them. It amazed me at first that students wouldn't want to incorporate technology but rather have a variety of options. There are sometimes days when our laptops go untouched from our desk and then others where we are on them a good chunk of the day. Even I still prefer a notebook and pen for my to do lists but find taking notes for my studies online easier. It is important that students understand that technology is just one of the many resources available for them to draw upon. Thus, even our digital natives don't always want technology but rather it is necessary to find the balance and appropriate times to use technology effectively. 

I also thought about it is more important to have a willingness to use and explore technology rather than whether or not you grew up using technology as a 'digital native'. I would argue I am more on the digital native spectrum. But still have a lot of digital immigrant tendencies. I grew up using technology from elementary school but the last 2 years is when I really have skyrocketed in my learning. There are others of all ages at my school who are very proficient with their technology usage and others who aren't. A few of our new teachers who would definitely be considered digital natives are not comfortable using technology in the classroom. So is it more important you grew up in it? Or are more willing to explore teaching through technology? Labels can sometimes be too confining to fully explain the situation in reality. 

I also wonder if we are needing to rethink our teaching as digital immigrants for the digital natives, what will this impact be 10, 20 , 50 years from now? How will it effect the new generation beyond our current digital natives. What implications will there be when digital natives are teaching digital natives? (Or even teaching the next label we come up with?)

Gamification and games based learning has been a real interest of mine in the last year. We have created some full units that are games and I'm excited we will be exploring this more in the next few weeks. Games are so engaging, rewarded, and have a low failure rate. Students have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and try a variety of tasks. There are awards, leader boards, levels, main quests, side quests, avatars and storylines to really help the students have fun while learning. Hope to have some great discussions about this in the coming weeks.