October 9, 2014 Blog 6

Hello everyone! When I first was looking over the class schedule and looking at the different things we would be learning about I saw something called Gamification which I have never heard of before. I was curious as to what it was because it was going to take up about 4 classes! Yesterday we were introduced to it and I believe that it is an awesome resource that teachers should be using with their students. For those who do not know what Gamification is the application of typical elements of game playing to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service. There are tons of different games that are able to be played for all different ages and different subjects. It is a neat way to learn the certain material with individual practice, it promotes collaboration, and even to apply learning. There is something that is called badges or rewards and that is what students can earn to get experience points. Students who have completed what the teacher has asked can earn badges and you can relate that to Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts when you do a certain duty and complete it you then earn badges. The whole purpose of Gamification is for students to get a better understanding of the subject and topic they are learning about through non-game contexts. We did something in class yesterday that was a part of the first level and it was called BrainPop! There were tons of different games for all different subjects that are challenging yet intriguing for the students to use. One common technique is to increase engagement by rewarding users who accomplish desired tasks. With that being said the question was do I feel that Gamification is just another fad? No, I feel that it is something that should be used by all teachers in regards to helping their students learn the material in a different more modern aspect! Below I have posted a link if you were interested in learning more about Gamification and what it has to offer.

Learn Gamification in 60 seconds