EDC 340 - Gamification & eSports

    

    Video games have been regularly used by children, teens, and adults for a long time and have the capability to be incorporated into classrooms. The article, 5 Ways to Gamify Your Classroom by Michele Haiken discusses how teachers can implement video games into their lessons. The first point the author mentions is to adapt old-school games for classroom use. This can be done by utilizing older games like bingo, dice games, and connecting four to differentiate learning and improve collaboration skills. The article offers an alternative for hybrid students by recommending the site Goose Chase to create digital scavenger hunts. This helps students who are online stay connected with in-person students. The second point is to play digital games. Many options such as Kahoot!, Quizizz, Quizlet Live, Gimkit, and Blooket allow teachers to interact with their students engagingly and productively. This point also talks about retrieval practice, which the author defines as, “When you force yourself to remember… you are more likely to remember and learn the content than if you were to flip through your notes'' (Haiken). This displays that quizzes can be a valuable form of retrieval practice, especially through gamification. 

    The third point is to create a quest. The article mentions that a quest is a mission with an objective, and it pertains to weekly current events. They can be completed independently or serve as an activity for students that get their work done early. The fourth point is to battle it out with a boss battle. A unique gamification platform that is brought up during this point is Classcraft, which enables teachers to create their own boss battle and a quest that follows the material currently being taught. The fifth point is to earn a badge for mastery. This concept is described as teachers using student academic and behavioral accomplishments to reward students with badges. Different badges display an understanding of a concept or skill. It is recommended to use Classbadges to present earned badges. This is a creative way to motivate students to stay on task and work hard.

    A unique gamification platform that has made substantial progress for technology utilized in classrooms is the introduction of eSports. The paper, eSports in K-12 and Post-Secondary Schools by Gregory Rothwell and Michael Shaffer discusses eSports' impact on education. The authors mention that it emphasizes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), CTE (Career Technical Education), and programs like English and Language Arts. The authors define eSports by saying, “eSports are organized, multiplayer video game competitions, primarily played between professional teams or individuals, which differ from single-player, traditional video games” (Rothwell and Shaffer). This displays that eSports serve as an educational tool to strengthen teamwork and technology skills. One of the examples in the text that I found interesting was the usage of Minecraft. It is a great way to relate to students and differentiate instruction, affecting behavior and academic performance.

    An important factor that plays into eSports in STEM education is soft skills. They are skills consisting of intra- and interpersonal skills essential for development and success in life, whether for the social or work aspect. eSports focus on communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, which would be a useful tool in the classroom. Statistically, it is proven that student-athletes are more likely to stay enrolled in school, maintain a higher GPA, and graduate. This affects high school students, college students, and career opportunities. There are various jobs such as programmers, video game testers, software developers, etc. Inclusion, eSports, and gamification are something that teachers should implement because it is proven to improve student performance and offers a unique way of learning. Technology will only increase throughout the years; therefore, it should be applied to education in every way possible.