This week in school we learned about gamification in the classroom with technology. As a kid, we had a few programs that we could play and learn from in school, but nothing like the students have today. When we did have online games available, they were very limited and not as exciting as they are today. It amazes me how the teacher can be so involved in the background, prompting what types of questions are asked or not asked, watching students progress and seeing who is logging in and advancing, and monitoring where students may be struggling, giving the teacher ideas on what needs to be taught.
I know people today have mixed feelings about students playing games to learn in school. Scientist have done a lot of research around this topic, and there are many benefits from students learning by gaming. Please watch this youtube video below describing the the board brain and how it reacts when in this state. Judy Willis speaks about how you need to make your classroom more exciting and engaging to get the students brain in a more functioning state. What better way to excite and engage kids than playing games!
When I become a teacher I will absolutely use technology in the classroom and allow students to learn through gaming. In today’s world, technology is all around us and I think it is important that myself and my students follow along and learn how it all works. By gaming, students will be able to explore technology and learn core curriculum information. Students can finally have fun while learning math, and as a student back in my days I was math could have been fun.
As an EA, and in class this week, I was introduced to many online gaming sites that students enjoyed learning from. Here is a list of links to some of the online sites that I have learned about.
EA Games
- Cool Math Games https://www.coolmathgames.com/
- Reading Eggs https://readingeggs.ca/
- ABCYa https://www.abcya.com/
Class Games
- PBS Games https://pbskids.org/games/
- Education MINECRAFT https://education.minecraft.net/en-us
- Break Out EDU https://breakoutedu.com/
- Prodigy https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/
I really enjoyed learning about gaming this week and wanted to continue my gaming outside of the class time 🙂
Another great post Lauren. I really enjoyed the Judy Willis video (despite how boring it looks – haha); she shared some really interesting information. She has such a different take on boredom than what is popular today. So many people say, “Let your child be bored. That’s where creativity comes from,” and, as a Mother, I want to agree with this. However, as a teacher, I think boredom breeds mischief and/or can create disengaged students, which become disengaged learners, and that is when learning stops. I think that’s why Santosh keeps saying we need to grab the students attention in the introduction of our lessons; get them engaged right off the bat. I, also, like how Judy suggested to keep switching things up, keep things interesting. Again, this conflicts with much of what we hear nowadays that students thrive on routine but, let’s be truthful, sometimes routines can make things dull. I guess, the key would be to maintain routines while making things novel within the routine. For example, we can always do Math right after recess, but we can do it in a different space or with different tools.
Anyways, back to the point of your post, yes gamification can absolutely bring excitement and interest into the classroom while still being educational. I love Prodigy and the coding platforms, but I’m still “on the fence” with Mine Craft. I feel like I need more training on how to make it educational rather than just a fun time filler.
Thanks for your post Lauren. It gave me lots to think about.