Game-Based Learning: What it is, Why it Works, and Where it's Going

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. –William Butler Yeats Introduction Deconstruct the fun in any good game, and it becomes clear that what makes it enjoyable is the built-in learning process. To progress in a game is to learn; when we are actively engaged with a game, our minds are experiencing the pleasure of grappling with (and coming to understand) a new system. The implications of delivering game experiences for education and training are enormous. Because of good game design, more than 11 million subscribers spend an average of 23 hours per week immersed in World of Warcraft. What is Effective Game-based Learning, and Why Does it Work? When education or training feels dull, we are not being engaged and motivated. We don’t need more time in the classroom to learn how to think and perform in the face of real-world challenges. Good game-based learning applications can draw us into virtual environments that look and feel familiar and relevant. How We Learn Related: Gamification

10 Strategies To Make Learning Feel More Like A Game - 10 Strategies To Make Learning Feel More Like A Game by TeachThought Staff We’ve talked about gamification quite a bit, which is different than game-based learning, if you’ll recall. (The definition of gamification is the application of game-like mechanics to non-game entities to encourage a specific behavior. You can read more if you’d like.) Making your classroom work like a game may not be feasible. 1. To immerse students in gamification, start by allowing them to create the narrative of their class. 2. And third. 3. Feedback is essential in any game or classroom. 4. Literally. Instead of using grades and percentages, teachers can issue progress bars that gauge student progress. Kids love seeing visible progress. 5. Motivate students to advance their learning through self-directed instruction by allowing them to add epic elements to work and projects. 6. 7. 8. Teachers can implement class-wide reward systems, where everyone can celebrate individual and collaborative accomplishments. 9.

The Free Real-Time Strategy Game Internet Safety Cheat Sheet For Digital Media Use In Schools Digital media use is exploding in education. Unfortunately, internet safety is something many teachers–and worse, students-take for granted. While many teachers–and librarians–are concerned with breaking copyright laws, controlling digital media use is often an afterthought. Or worse, so heavily scrutinized that district filters kill any authentic access at all. But as our libraries gradually become virtual spaces, and our media becomes digital, controlling digital media use is going to become increasingly relevant. Which makes Jen Gordon’s–from the aptly-named internetsafetycheatsheet.com–inforgraphic below on netflix, YouTube, Instagram, Google, and Apple hardware so relevant for you. Unless your district has already taken this burden off your shoulders.

How Games Naturally Promote A Growth Mindset How Games Naturally Promote A Growth Mindset by Mary Wissinger Let’s face it: our students are playing games. Lots of them. In a growth mindset, there are larger factors than the outcome. With a game, kids already expect a learning curve. We can bridge this gap by incorporating games that allow practice of educational concepts, such as word games or logic puzzles. The Challenges Of A Fixed Mindset To a student locked in a fixed mindset, every school task either keeps them on track, or derails their dreams. Games give students a chance to practice saying yet. It’s tough, though, for students to persist when they get a low grade or see themselves repeatedly not meeting the objectives of a unit. The true beauty of a game is that, like a growth mindset, the outcome is never fixed. Mary Wissinger is a writer, educator and Creativity Coach found at Chin Up Heat Open.

10 Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom Move over, Facebook—if you teach middle or high schoolers, you know that Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels for teens and tweens today. And while it may not seem like it at first, there are many applications for Instagram in the classroom. Of course, it's important to protect students' privacy, especially when using a public channel like Instagram. If you're interested in trying any of the ideas below, we recommend creating a classroom account that you set to "private" and carefully vetting any potential followers. You might also try adapting our suggestions to an educational social media platform such as Edmodo. Finally, be sure to check your school's technology policies before you begin. Okay, disclaimer over! Showcase students' work.

What Is Gamification? Everything You Need To Know To Get Started The term ‘Gamification’ was coined back in 2002 by Nick Pelling, a British-born computer programmer and inventor, and hit the mainstream thanks to Foursquare in 2009. By 2011, it officially became a buzzword when Gartner added it to its ‘Hype Cycle’ list. Now, in 2015, Gamification is hotter than ever. People are looking to implement Gamification in almost every aspect of their lives. More and more business are looking to gamify different aspects of their work: Either to increase user engagement or better motivate their employees. Gamification is everywhere! What do you really know about Gamification? After searching for a thorough beginners guide to Gamification, listening to dozens of TED talks about engagement, and diving deep into the gaming community, we found that there seems to be a lack of articles that simply cover the Gamification essentials. So we’ve created this short but coherent guide for anyone who wants to easily grasp the basics of Gamification. What is Gamification? B.F. Dr.

4 Gorgeous Interactive Android eBooks For Kids If you have ever read books to toddlers you know there’s something really special about seeing them enjoy the story. The more they understand, the more they enjoy it and it becomes a bit of a feedback loop until they suddenly move on to new stories. You may also have noticed that there’s a certain age where books with lift-up flaps, textures, things that move and instructions for the reader often become favourites among toddlers. In fact, interactivity is often cited as a great learning tool. “I hear and I forget. Icky Mr Fox Icky Mr Fox is all about Mr Fox’s disastrous efforts at getting some dinner, as he tries to catch Mr Rabbit and Mr Mole eating afternoon tea. The app needs Adobe Air to run, but is the smallest app of the bunch at 7.5M. Even Monsters Get Sick Even Monsters Get Sick is a tale to teach little ones about looking after other people and to remind them that everyone gets sick sometimes. Meet Heckerty The Meet Heckerty book is designed to be an educational, but sweet story.

Explore Like a Pirate | Engaging, Enrich, and Elevate Learners through the Power of Gamification Eight Roles of an Effective Online Teacher June 3rd, 2013 By: Bernard Bull EdD Teaching face-to-face and teaching online are both teaching, but they are qualitatively different. In comparison, driving a car and riding a motorcycle are both forms of transportation, but they have enough differences to warrant additional training and preparation when switching from one to the other. The same is true when faculty move from the traditional classroom to the online classroom. There are some things that the two have in common, but there are also plenty of differences. Tour Guide – A tour guide leads one or more people through a place or a series of places, usually revolving around some sort of common theme or subject. Dr. Sign up today and get articles like this one delivered right to your inbox.

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The quote that stood out to me from this article is: "We don’t need more time in the classroom to learn how to think and perform in the face of real-world challenges. We need effective, interactive experiences that motivate and actively engage us in the learning process." I couldn't agree with this more. Games help motivate our students to learn, along with many other real-world, PBL lessons. I believe games in education is another tool we can use to enhance our lessons. I do not believe that it is the answer to all student learning problems, but I do believe that when properly integrated, games can help all learners succeed. The key to success is the theory behind the game implemented. Why are you using it and how can it enhance learning. by psmeyers Oct 4