Gamification (the use of game design elements in non-game contexts) has tremendous potential in the education space. Knewton asks, “ow can we use it to deliver truly meaningful experiences to students?” This infographic attempts to answer that question, using dates, facts and examples for your perusal.
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The Neurology of Gaming [INFOGRAPHIC]
OnlineUniversities.com created this infographic breaking out the impact of gaming on the human nervous system ,both the pros and the cons, incorporating data from half a dozen other sources to present a more complete picture. What’s your take? How do you reap the benefits of gaming in your classroom, while also mindfully protecting children from the undesirable side effects?
How Gamification is Used in eLearning
Reposted from eLearning Industry:
Gamification has marked benefits as it allows a business to meet its staff in a setting that they understand and with clear actionable objectives. In the field of elearning gamification becomes increasingly useful and it aids learning and information retention.
However gamification isn’t always implemented well and in fact, often doesn’t meet the desired objectives. Technology researchers at Gartner released a report that predicted that 80% of gamified applications will fail to meet their objectives by 2014. This is due to poor design, including meaningless points and badges, and has led to many gamified applications being considered as failures.
The question then is how to implement gamification effectively and to fulfill your desired objectives. Let’s consider the effective ways to adopt this practice and galvanise your training efforts.
23 of the Best Game-Based Education Resources
Reposted from Edudemic:
Edudemic has covered game-based learning and gamification in the classroom on numerous occasions in the past. When learning becomes a game, it’s an enjoyable, effective experience for students and teachers alike. We’ve curated 23 of the best game-based education resources for 2014. If your class hasn’t gotten its game on yet, then now is the time.
The concept of game-based education is one that’s easily dismissed as being frivolous or time-wasting. These go-to resources will help teachers who would like to learn more about the effectiveness of using game-driven approaches in the classroom:
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The Institute of Play explains how games nurture the higher-order thinking skills kids will need in their futures, including the ability to analyze and solve problems using media resources. The Why Games & Learning page on its site makes a particularly succinct and compelling argument on behalf of game-based learning. It describes games as “complex eco-systems extending beyond the game space to involve networks of people in a variety of roles and rich interactions.”
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Educational technology company Knewton presents an easy-to-digest infographic about the prevalence of gaming in today’s society, the benefits of gaming in school, and how teachers can harness the powers of gaming for the good of public education.
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In Gamification in the Classroom: The Right or Wrong Way to Motivate Students?, Tim Walker of the National Education Association (NEA) takes a look at today’s gamification trend, with a call-to-action for teachers to choose their methodology wisely. Although the article is rather critical of gamification in learning, it nonetheless offers valuable perspective to prevent educators from going too far with this method.
AU Fellowship Promotes New Media, Gaming and Entrepreneurship
Reposted from the Knight Foundation Blog:
As a top school in communication and media located in the nation’s capital, with expertise in journalism practice, media entrepreneurship and a growing capacity in game design and persuasive play, American University School of Communication is embarking on a pilot program to grow new leaders at the intersection of these domains.
With $250,000 in support from Knight Foundation, we are launching JoLT (Journalism Leadership Transformation), a program to incubate a cohort of disruptive leaders who – armed with experience and skills in engagement design, systems thinking and transformational leadership – will pilot an effort to apply cutting-edge practices in game design to leadership challenges in journalism and media.
The JoLT pilot program will host three master’s student fellows, who will enroll full time in the MA in game design (operated jointly with American University’s College of Arts and Sciences) while participating in a range of activities such as news game jams, leadership workshops and design projects for the American University Game Lab and its project partners. JoLT will also enable fellows and leading industry professionals to explore game design thinking, rapid prototyping and journalism trends through two Washington, D.C.-based summits and a speaker series.
2014 Survey Results: Using Digital Gaming in Instruction
Reposted from Games & Learning:
The state of technology and the way games are used by teachers appears to be evolving quickly. Use of tablets, while still not the primary tool for playing games in the classroom, continues to grow. The GLPC survey found that a majority of teachers still use desktop computers to play games (72%) and a sizable group (41%) is using interactive whiteboards. But still, tablets have quickly grown to equal the whiteboard usage.
This growth of mobile technology was also highlighted in a new survey from the technology and education firm Amplify. That survey found that of those not using tablets 67 percent plan to invest in them in the next 1-2 years. “Mobile technology now has a substantial presence in most school districts,” the Amplify research report found. “2014 continued the trend of steady growth in mobile technology adoption, with additional growth very likely in the next two years.”
It is also worth noting that there is no single way in which teachers have students play games in the classroom. As many have students play games individually (30%) as have them play with another classmate or in small groups up to five (34%). Notably fewer teachers (only 17%) have lessons where students play as a class.
A Model for Game-Enhanced Learning from Bergen, Norway [VIDEO 3:35]
This video showcases the digital, futuristic learning environments and game-enhanced curriculum that are at the core of learning at Nordahl Grieg Upper Secondary, a public high school located in the coastal city of Bergen in Norway. “We want children to know they can change the world. We want them to know they are important,” shares principal Lin Holvik.
Commercial games are repurposed and modified to support curricular goals, as opposed to driving them. Of course, learning can and should also be based on games, as they are valid texts that can be studied in and of themselves, but it is important to see video games as elastic tools whose potential uses exceed their intended purpose.
The Norwegian Ministry of Education now takes video games seriously, and has designated two officials, Jørund Høie Skaug and Vibeke Guttormsgaard, to undertake a national project to integrate games in schools. “With a great team of young teachers with game experience, and with time to plan and develop their game pedagogy, Nordahl Grieg now shines as an example and an inspiration to other schools,” said Guttormsgaard. Skaug added that they are developing a Civilization, The Walking Dead and Portal 2 teaching guide with the gamer-teachers at Nordahl Grieg.
Are Multiplayer Games the Future of Education?
Reposted from the Atlantic:
“It was just supposed to be a quick trip to Beijing, a touristy group thing to take in the sights. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. There wasn’t supposed to be a lost manuscript; the travelers weren’t supposed to turn on each other. The only good, if any, to be found in this godforsaken quest, this unholy mission, was that by the end of it, they would all know how to speak Mandarin.
This intricate Maltese Falcon-like story will unfold each day, over the course of semester, as a multiplayer game at Renssalear Polytechnic Institute in New York. It is being designed as a language-learning exercise by Lee Sheldon, an associate professor in the college’s Games and Simulations Arts and Sciences Program. “Using games and storytelling to teach—it’s not that radical of a concept,” says Sheldon. “It makes them more interested in what’s going on.”
Sheldon is a pioneer in gamification, a new movement that essentially takes all the things that make video games engaging and applies them to classroom learning. Sheldon started developing the theory eight years ago. Since then, gamification now comes in all shapes and sizes and is used across educational levels, for kindergarteners through adult learners. Its practitioners range from individual teachers experimenting with game-like elements in their classrooms to entire schools that have integrated the games into their curricula.”
Improvement vs. Innovation: 21st Century Learning [VIDEO 3:18]
From Woodville Gardens School in South Australia, teachers discuss how gaming is being used in instruction to reach disadvantaged and disenfranchised students. “We’re not necessarily doing what other schools are doing for students, but we’re doing what we think is best for learning for our students.” How does this learning philosophy compare with yours?
Actualization 