Gaming in the Classroom

 

Hi everyone! Today we’re going to talk about gaming in the classroom. So, first up we’re going to talk about the benefits. Of course, putting games in the classroom can get people more engaged, can get your students to have a bit more fun with the content. Roblyer and Hughes (2018) say that “Motivation and competition, Interactivity and feedback, Achievement and rewards, Playfulness” are all some of the benefits of gaming in the classroom. It can just have more interaction, have more fun, and get the students more engaged with the content. So of course that’s some of the benefits.

As far as challenges, there are obviously challenges with selecting platforms. What systems or platforms are you going to use for gaming? How are you going to integrate it into the lesson (Roblyer & Hughes, 2018)? Particularly if you have issues where your learning objectives in your classroom are not lining up with the learning objectives that the game has, how to you determine what to do with that? (Roblyer & Hughes, 2018) Do you pick a different game? Do you have to, or should you even adjust your learning objectives to match up with the game or just not use the game and follow your learning objectives? So, there are obviously some real-life application challenges in regard to using games in the classroom.

Personally, I have been working to try and implement using a quiz-type gaming system in my classes. One particular that I’ve been working with is called “Kahoot!” And this particular gaming system can be used to increase student interaction and also make the learning more fun just like some of the benefits that I mentioned earlier (E-Learning, Presentation and Events with Kahoot! For Business, 2020). I would also like to see about potentially including some Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software. There’s a lot of need for typing skills increases, so that’s kind of a direction I would like to also go. That particular software has been around for 33 years, and I think it has proven itself beneficial (Rossen, 2017).

As far as inappropriate, obviously there are content in video games may not be appropriate for the audience that you are teaching. Maybe it may be something on the more violent and/or maybe language content. So whenever there are any issues with regard to social or societal expectations we have to consider where we’re at in the classroom, and what those expectations are for the classroom, if that would be acceptable for you as the teacher to present or not (Roblyer & Hughes, 2018).

 

E-learning, presentation and events with Kahoot! for business. (2020). Kahoot! https://kahoot.com/business/

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2018). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (8th ed.) [E-book]. Pearson Education, Incorporated.

Rossen, J. (2017, August 24). Typecast: Mavis Beacon, The Typing Teacher Who Never Was, Is Turning 30. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/503528/typecast-mavis-beacon-typing-teacher-who-never-was-turning-30