During this week’s class, we talked about gamification and teacher education. We watched some informative videos on games like minecraft and had some thoughtful discussions about using games for learning. For example, I hadn’t considered that games could trigger health problems in students such as motion sickness. I looked into this issue more and found a really interesting article on kidshealth.org. It is also important to note that not all kids enjoy video games and those students would maybe not be reached through introducing games to the class. 

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Another issue when it comes to video games is age appropriateness. If a game is introduced with social ‘chat’ functions, it’s important to check if these chats are being monitored for inappropriate content. Games with reward systems can also produce decreased intrinsic motivation once rewards are removed or not present for a task. Of course, games do have many benefits and can increase engagement in even completely disinterested kids. 

Dashboard of the Habitica app.

I already mentioned Gizmos as a resource for games related to science. Another platform is called Habitica which can gamify your entire life. You can create your character and give it rewards for doing something as simple as chores. Teachers can also use it in their classrooms as a class points system. This is a really interesting resource that I definitely want to look further into. 

If there are any other cool ways to incorporate gamification into the classroom, comment them below!