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Do you currently use any gamification techniques in your classroom? If so, do they seem to be helpful in better engaging your students? If not, what ways can you see that might be helpful to add to your classroom?

Sean, It really is amazing what gamification can do for a struggling student. My 5 five year old started Pre-K this year and she was really struggling with her ABC's. She could not link the letter with the pronunciation or how to use letters to create word. We tried the tradition ABC's songs, the drill and kill but it was not working. Coming from and Ed Tech background I should have gone in that route from the get go. I down loaded a few ABC's apps on her mini iPad and what do you know, it took her a few days to learn her alphabet and now she spells every word in sight.

Gamification can be defined as the use of game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences to solve problems. I am sorry for the definition but I thought it was important to define gamification. The first question I had about gamification is how does it fit in education? Although there are no simple answers if done correctly, I can safely say it will foster peer to peer collaboration and social learning to a higher level in the classroom. Terms like scaffolding, blended, social are all types of learning used by academia today! Gamification can be the new kid in the block when it comes to learning in the classroom. Additionally, instructional designers are at an advantage to explore and develop gamification techniques when developing instructional modules for their clients. Why? Because the approval of implementation is only a few levels up not like academia that is saturated with bureaucracy. After more research is done with gamification one of the many advantages of this model is that it can be adjusted to the needs of the learners.

Sean, I currently do not use gamification in my classroom. I teach higher education and have not explored that platform for my students. However, I can really see the benefits to adding it. In the article it stated that, "the use of games allows students to fail, overcome, and persevere." That sounds like problem-based learning. It has been long said that students need practical skills like those described in "How Games Support 21st Century Skills" http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/09/how-games-support-21st-century-skills/ These skills described are more likely to be developed though problem-based learning, where students can pursue real world objectives and see the benefits of their accomplishments. I believe gamification could really help students in developing these practical skills. Introducing games can also help students realize that the real world isn't always as it seems. We sometimes go through early childhood not realizing that the world is not fair. Games that provide some players more resources than others can help students learn problem-solving skills using what they have, as long as they know the rules before trying to accomplish the objective. I like the badges/awards aspect of gamification. When I taught high school I would always rewared my students with stickers or stamps on their papers. You would think that high schoolers would not real think that that was "cool" (my hippie word) but if i failed to put one on their paper they quickly and loudly let me know about it. They really wanted to have that sticker and would work pretty hard to get it! Everyone wants a sense of accomplishment and for others to recognize it.

Martin, Congratulations on helping your daughter learn her alphabet! That is amazing how fast she picked it up. I remember a Mac game in the 80's called Reading Rabbit. He wore an orange t-shirt and had lots of friends that would go on all sorts of adventures. My son was struggling with numbers and math concepts at an early age. We bought the Reader Rabbit Math Adventures and he loved it. All of a sudden math was fun and his scores increased daily. It seemed the more he played the better he got. Here is a later version of the same program. They have upgraded quite a bit since the 80's, but the principle is still there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFB8rA_7D4Y Enjoy!

I have used the concept of gamification in math classes. Not too many people like math but they do enjoye playing math games.

Martin, That's fantastic! Your daughter is thriving thanks to your belief in technological innovation. I had a similar experience trying to potty train my son. I tried everything, from pediatrician input to online parenting blogs, but nothing seemed to work. It wasn't until my wife downloaded an iPad application that actually helped teach my son due to it being from a child's perspective. I think we just need to understand and accept the fact that as technology changes, the methods we use to educate will also change. Gamification is just the latest in a series of innovations that can help us better reach our learning audience.

Lu, I agree with you. One good thing about games is that they have an opportunity to show or teach the audience about the real world, and help develop problem-solving skills that could prove helpful throughout kid's lives. Likewise, I think the badges/awards aspect really helps draw me in. As an avid gamer,I find myself looking for ways to earn as many badges or achievements in a game. It actually kept me focused and playing far longer than I would have expected. Now that I am aware of the concept of gamification, I think it's an amazing opportunity to blend the popularity of video games with education. I even started testing this out a bit with my son. We were using a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse application, where you would have to complete a series of tasks and interactive activities. If done successfully, he would gain a variety of badges, and have the opportunity to progress to the next stage. Then we tried another educational application where there was no recognition of correct answers or completion of tasks. I rarely saw him use it after that initial try. He still uses the Mickey app consistently. While gamification has both negative and positive aspects, it is yet another option to add to our educational repetoire to better reach our learning audience.

Jaime, when I first started my degree I began doing research on James Paul Gee, now Mr. Gee is a firm believer that students can learn through games. He has published some very interesting articles that clearly show how this learning occurs. Unfortunately for me, I did not continue in this direction due to the fact that I did not have access to the type of students Mr. Gee has been working with but his findings are extraordinary. It is just incredible what young children can learn by playing a "game," in Mr. Gee case these games were steered toward education.

Lu, I will definitely look into Reader Rabbit, who knows, it might come in handy down the road for my daughter.

Lu, I also like badges/awards aspect of gamification and believe that it is something that can appeal to learners of all ages. It makes me think back to some of my earliest memories in school regarding badges/awards such as the "Book it" badge with Pizza Hut. I was learning and reading interesting books while working towards that award. I think badges/awards can help increase a learner's intrinsic motivation when it comes to various activities and assignments. This aspect of gamification encourages the learners to work towards a goal or accomplishment while increasing their knowledge and skills. Plus, in my opinion, I think that most people enjoy a form of recognition.

Martin, I think your daughter's ABC experience with the iPad app is a perfect example of how gamification can benefit a student's learning experience. If we can connect the material with something the student enjoys or something else that they are familiar with, I think this will definitely improve their ability to learn the material. From my own observations, I think many students do not look forward to math or science, but gamification could be a possible remedy for this issue. For one of my previous courses, I was involved in a group project where we created a very simple flash game concerning mean, median, and mode. The gamification involved basketball activities such as ordering numbered basketballs and placing them into hoops.

Amanda, I had forgotten about "Book It." My oldest son loved that program and the Pizza Hut pizza that he never got unless it was through "Book It." He said that that little certificate meant not only pizza, which he loved but a feeling of accomplishment after reading all those books! Thanks for the memory!

We can all assume that technology is a very positive things for our learners not only in the classroom but with our own kids.However, we need to be vigilant that our kids also understand the concept of verbal communication. I just witness a family at a restaurant all utilizing their Ipads and Iphones and no one was conversing with each other.This is why, I have a rule with my family that no one is allowed to use their phone when we are together.

Jaime, I do confess, we are that family, my oldest daughter is on her iPhone, my younger one on her mini iPad, I'm keeping up with classes I'm taking and teaching on my iPad and my wife is texting away. I will take a page from your book and will prohibit electronic devices when we are together as a family.

Jaime, You are absolutely correct ! Technology has taken over society as a whole. I have witnessed the exact same thing when dining out with my family. However, I am guilty because I keep my 4 year old daughter entertain with her IPAD during dinner. I will definitely take your advice on how we should all put our electronic devices away during family time. I think back with my parents and they never had this problem.

Martin, My daughter is in pre-k and just turned 4 years old. She is also struggling with her letters and numbers. Her problem is the visual in recognizing letters and numbers. I will definitely take your advice and download an educational game with letters and numbers that she will enjoy but help her as well. I was amazed how fast your daughter learned with the game. Congrats! We need to explore different sights that will be able to help our kids learn.

Great article posting Sean! I definitely agree that games are a great way to help raise student motivation, and I use games in the classroom all of time. When I use games in my classroom, the students seem more engaged and willing to participate. From your posted article, I like the badge idea, and do equate it to token economy, as we know it works well with young children. But it makes sense that it would also work well conversely. I reward my students if they win a classroom game with something out of the classroom treasure chest. Gamification is a great idea to use in education, because games come across as informal to students, and so they can relate to it, and in fact prefer it. Through game learning students have so much fun, that they tend to forget 'the fun' is educational in nature. In fact, students continue to learn for the sheer completive thrill of it, and as educators we couldn't ask for anything better than that right? Here is an excellent article that I found: https://sites.google.com/site/gameonlearning/games-in-education. It speaks on how games in learning promotes "student centered learning." In this way, educators are better able to "speak the studen'ts own language," since we live in the technology age. Therefore, games will definitely help raise a student's motivational level to learn, and thus get them to participate in the instruction with more fervor. In addition, everyone likes receiving something for their efforts and badges are the way of the future.

Jaime, I too have seen families that go out to eat, and are not even talking to each other, because their noses are stuck to a phone or some type of electronic device. But I guess that's the way of the world now a days, and if we don't adapt we are swallowed up by society- so I'm forgiving. Having said that- I don't feel guilty that I downloaded many learning apps from my own Android, so that I could trick my daughter into learning. I feel that games are a great way to acquire knowledge, because as humans we have a competitive side to us that yearns to be exploited- for a lack of a better word. From Sean's article I could see why people are glued to games that reward, and why we tend to want to learn in these formats. Just like the badge system, we all want something for our efforts. Even though as the article points out "games can't be used to replace pedagogy," I think they have a real benefit in the way that students take information in. So I'm all for it.

Lucretia, I like what you said about "Introducing games can also help students realize that the real world isn't always as it seems." Games seem less formal, and as I've learned people learn better in a more conversational way. Therefore, this format will definitely help enhance student's problem solving skills. In addition, everyone likes receiving something for their efforts, and so badges seem to be the way of the future. I'm glad you're considering implementing games into your curriculum with your older students, because it worked for me. For example, two semesters ago I took an online class through Coursera, and was granted a badge for my efforts. The class was on philosophy, but had a real game feel to it. Each week, the course's student leaders would be announced, of which made me excited to see who was leading the pack. Of course, Coursera has too many students enrolled…but it was still fun to see if the leader would be knocked down. It reminded me of what we are currently working on with Zondle. People want to make sure that their first place, or at least close to it, and in the process of that one tends to get smarter. It's very true that games can "enhance the overall learning experience," as the article points out. I didn't stop playing Zondle until I was first place. There is much to be said about that.

Sean, I don't use gamificaton in my class but I use it a lot at home. My 5 yr old was having trouble with his alphabet during the summer time. I researched and found a great tool online. Of course you have to pay a little to use it but It is worth it! The tool I found was ABC Mouse .com. He loves playing it! He thinks it is game but in my mind I am saying nope you are learning. He has learned so much and doesn't hesitate to log on. I am so thankful for it. They are others as pbskids.org, starfall and many more. My daughter does use gamification in her class. She enjoys it! I think it is great if us parents know how to utilize it the right way. Children love to earn their rewards at the end whether it be badges or tickets. My daughter grew up using reader rabbit a lot before introducing her to the internet.

Martin and Jose, It must be something about alphabet struggle. My 5 yr old had the same trouble. Thank goodness for educational online learning activities. This has helped them and Martin it helped your daughter as well. Jose introduce it to your daughter you will see a big difference. I know that I did!

Sean, I don't use gamification in my classroom (a math classroom), however I could use it to provide students to achieve certain tasks for extra credit purposes. For example, I could have students develop a poster for an upcoming lesson, providing tutoring services to other students, attend saturday study sessions, etc. Thank you for providing me the opportunity of including a different means of engaging my students. Justin

Very good article. As was suggested, many of the gaming practices can be incorporated into the classroom environment to help motivate students to succeed in this education game. Grading for example in our EdTech classes are points driven. I remember having my engineering students participate in an international digital bridge building competition which spurred a massive following once our students starting showing up on the top ten teams leading in the three week contest. Making it to the leader board and seeing realtime changes was very motivational. I even started to get concerned parents when student would stay up late at night trying to make the top ten. It really was not a game and students learned the design and material characteristics which determined whether the bridge could sustain the given load. The contest by design took many of the gaming aspects into account to achieve the learning objective.

As a society, we need to find a balance between too much technology and the human touch. Many of you have mentioned the educational benefits of gamification and other technologies. As educators and leaders we need to encourage technology but must not forget the human touch.

This is a very relevant article in relation to what should really be going on in classrooms. Let's face it, "gaming" and technology is not the future- it's the present. I tried thinking back to my days in school and realized that my first experience with gaming was "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego". This game introduced me to geography, critical thinking skills based on the questions it asked and was a fun way to learn given the technology available then. I recently purchased a Leapfrog Pad for my 2 year old daughter and she uses it all the time. While me and my wife are on our phones reading articles or checking our various pages she is playing games that award her with badges. Even at such a young age she is learning while playing. Granted, the games she plays are very simple like taking care of her pet dog, cat, monkey, etc she is learning how to take care of something and keep it alive. There is another game that teaches her emotions and she now understands the concepts of happy, sad and how to comfort someone.

I agree with you Daniel gaming and technology is not the future its the present. The University of Texas at Brownsville offer a gaming class for Physics majors.

Does anyone know the outcomes for this gaming class that is offered for Physics majors?

Daniel, This class is only offer during summer here is the website: http://www.phys.utb.edu/people/mohanty.shtml.

Sean, Great article! Gamification is a way of life for our learners now in days. Everything has to have a goal and a reward. I take my own daughter who is four years old. As she sits in the car she will began by asking me for my cell phone so that she can play. I allow her to play games that contain numbers and the alphabet. Then, after a solid two minutes she becomes bored and switches to the tablet which allows her to play a different game with a larger screen. That games comes and goes and then before you know it I ran out of games. Yet, if they aren't purposeful and creative my four year old will drop it after two minutes. Gamification is now a way of life and a way of learning.

I found my learning audience in the corporate world to pay more attention to trainings that incorporate gamification techniques, especially the "badges" or "achievement" system. Have you ever used gamification techniques in your classroom? If so, did you students seem to buy into it or not?

Sean, I completely agree with this. It does engage the child more. Them knowing that are going to earn that step up makes them excited. My son's teacher uses gamification and my son is always talking about it at home. He looks forward to earning that trip to the computer in his class.

I have been through two Disney Business seminars and they use prizes (little Disney figurines) to get people to answer questions. Everyone answered questions because they wanted more free figurines. This is the same concept as earning points or badges towards a prize or having the most in the class. If adults at the university level buy into this technique then students will definitely appreciate this technique as well.

Sean My Father works in a private school here in Brownsville where they uses gamification. My dad was telling me that the students get all excited when they are playing with the educational games. This will help the student to focus more in learning.

Jose, what programs do they use? Is there an achievement system?

I don't know what program did they uses but, I will ask him.

Do you currently use any of these techniques? If so, which seem to work best for you? Here is a video that I think you might find helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuDLw1zIc94

Rene, In your 30 years of experience, I'm sure you've seen quite a few innovations come and go. Coming from a family of teachers, I ended up experiencing most of them at some point throughout my life. I think gamification really resonates with me since I grew up as computers and video games really started to thrive. While I enjoyed them, I hadn't really seen any educators really put forth the effort to integrate education and gaming concepts. Thankfully, that's starting to change. Heck, I think one of the best web-based trainings I have ever experienced was an annual training that offered "badges" or "achievements" for completing specific aspects of the training if you got a perfect score. Couple that with more interactive opportunities, such as matching vocabulary or concepts or the trusty "drag and drop", and you have a solid recipe for learner interest (assuming the overall training is well-produced, of course).

Sean, I do not currently use gamification in my classes, but I remember in one of the other EDTC courses doing some research on it. There was an article that caught my eye. It was "Video games becoming required coursework in schools"by Emily Chung, CBC News Posted: Sep 02, 2013. A college in Alberta, Canada is requiring that all their students in order to graduate, use an iPad to set up a lemonade stand and build it into an empire. "The Farmville-esque game Lemonade Stand is a central part of the new mandatory Discover Entrepreneurship course." The college opted for a game like environment to help students gain real world experience. What are your thoughts on the mandatory aspect of gamification? Check out the article it is pretty interesting. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/video-games-becoming-required-coursework-in-schools-1.1321035

Sean, I agree with you, the concept of gamification is used in the classroom but soon I am sure it will be used by the corporate audience. It definitely has potential to increase more and more student involvement. I have also seen it used with students at home for homework purposes and its a great idea to encourage informal learning. Technology is changing rapidly and we need to learn from it and embrace it.

Jose, how right you are. I'm currently working in a corporate environment where I have the opportunity to introduce gamification to our training material. Although it is still very much a work in progress, it adds a new dimension for our learning audience (and hopefully only increases their engagement with the material).

Amanda, You bring up a great point. Learning, and in particular, online learning is driven by a variety of student types. Much like yourself, I had to force myself out of my introverted norm in order to achieve my personal and professional goals. Were it not for the use of a variety of technologies, I might have found the journey a little more difficult. Likewise, shy or introverted students now have even more options than ever to help them overcome their own walls. Hopefully, gamification is yet another option for students of all types to reach their learning goals (and help teachers to better reach and engage their learning audience).

I currently do not use gamification in my classroom. I tried using zondle.com to see how the students reacted and used it. It worked well however, it seemed more like a tool for memorization than actual game play and learning. I think mandatory gamification in schools is an interesting concept but it will take a lot of learning and preparation on the part of the teacher and support from the administration. I do believe it would engage students more in the classroom and give them a sense of "agency." I do think corporate agency's and businesses will have more resources to be able to use gamification budget wise.

I currently do not see gaming in the classroom as well in my school district. A strict curriculum is followed and more tracking than gaming goes on in the classroom. Tracking data provides the learner with feedback on how they are doing and where they stand. Yet, tracking as I have observed impacts motivation in the most minimal fashion. Gaming is a type of learning or intervention that I believe can help with motivation and with learning a difficult task, skill or knowledge. I believe gaming can allow the learner who is already successful at gaming to utilize it as a mean to attempt new skills and attempt failures or fears. It can also be used as an incentive, motivator and stress reliever.

I currently do not see gaming in the classroom as well in my school district. A strict curriculum is followed and more tracking than gaming goes on in the classroom. Tracking data provides the learner with feedback on how they are doing and where they stand. Yet, tracking as I have observed impacts motivation in the most minimal fashion. Gaming is a type of learning or intervention that I believe can help with motivation and with learning a difficult task, skill or knowledge. I believe gaming can allow the learner who is already successful at gaming to utilize it as a mean to attempt new skills and attempt failures or fears. It can also be used as an incentive, motivator and stress reliever.