EDTECH 532: Gamifying Education

Daniel Floyd's man point is to emphasize that gaming should be fun.  However, in the process there is no reason that the player cannot enrich their life in some way by learning while enjoying.  It doesn't have to be educational or entertainment.  It can be educational and entertainment.  In the past, educational games have picked a topic to impose on a player and try to make it fun in some way.  Entertainment has placed an emphasis just on fun.  Daniel Floyd points out that through tangential learning the two can be brought together in a more natural fashion.  Through exposure to an educational topic in a fun game, players may chose to self educate themselves on the topic introduced.

This is an interesting thought for me.  Through tangential learning I do think it is possible to turn fun and entertaining games into something more which is very important because of the time being spent by people gaming.  I don't think it works quite as well in reverse.  When I think of an educational game, I cannot consider it to be something that a player might play and chose to learn something more after playing.  If I am going to use games during learning time, I have to feel confident that students will be learning, not that they might be.  I do think it is possible to take some leads from entertainment games on engagement to enhance true educational games.

Grade: Professional 

Subject: Technology 

Sub-Focus: None 

Standard: ISTE 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity 

Details: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers: a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes. d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.