Where do we set the limits when we introduce gamification in class?

The last Educational Innovation class was one of the most profitable for me. As I have made clear throughout all my posts, I consider innovation is something crucial to achieve involvement and motivation in students. And not only in students, but also in teachers. One of the possibilities we count on in terms of innovation is technology as there are countless options it offers us. Nonetheless, there is also gamification. And today, I am going to focus on this topic.

Nowadays, Gamification is increasingly present in the classroom, although it is true there are still those who feel kind of rejection for this type of methodologies. This is where I want to make special emphasis. I consider the problem itself is not the fact of including games as a way of learning, but that in many cases, the person responsible for the classroom, in this case, the teacher, does not know how to set limits. It is crucial to know why and for what purpose we choose a game as classroom work. We must always have in mind how to relate it to the subject matter seen in class. Moreover, one of the most important things for me is also to know how to transmit it to the students. And not only that, but we must make them enjoy it, but avoiding it becomes literal game in which winning is the only goal. We must make it clear as teachers that it is a fun, different and interactive way of learning, but not a game for winning. At least, not when we are in a class.

We should not be afraid of games, on the contrary. They are strategies that allow us to learn obviously the intended knowledge, but also that provide scholars with many other virtues such as: responsibility, humility, attention, companionship... and that train students in developing imagination, observation, gaining skills, and so on.

I believe game-based learning let students to develop a lot with very little. Also, they are such original activities that grant scholars remember what they have worked on. The fact that the games implied fun moments for them, allows them to keep a good memory of the activity itself as well as the knowledge is better acquired.

Honestly, gamification is a tool that we can get a lot out of thanks to the variety it offers us, as well as making learning something pleasing and interesting. Therefore, from my viewpoint, it should be used much more in schools but always setting limits and always keeping in mind the goal to be achieved. All in all, games are wonderful!

I attach a link to a YouTube video that I found super useful for teachers and future teachers that includes some ideas we could include in our classes for making use of gamification! I hope these can be advantageous for all of us! See you on my next post, have a great weak!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CZtIIy7tRU