The use of gamification in education

By Lea M. Gacelos

Teacher III

The students of today have new profiles and are digital natives. They have different learning styles, a new perspective on the learning process, and higher expectations for teaching and learning because they grew up with digital tools. Instructors must address significant problems and tailor the learning process to the needs, preferences, and requirements of their pupils. Teachers must employ a variety of instructional strategies and techniques to enable students to take an active role in their education and to be highly motivated and engaged learners. The employment of ICT in conjunction with contemporary educational paradigms and trends establishes the conditions for utilizing novel strategies and tactics to execute active learning. One of these developments in training is gamification. The current work’s objectives are to examine and outline the characteristics and advantages of gamification and to offer suggestions for its application in the classroom.

The current work aims to introduce and analyze the nature and advantages of gamification and offers suggestions for its educational use.

• Users are all involved parties, including staff members or customers for businesses and students for educational institutions; • challenges and tasks that users do in order to move closer to predetermined goals; • points obtained by the completion of tasks; • tiers that users advance through based on points; • badges that are awarded for accomplishing tasks; • a user ranking based on accomplishments. Distinctions of Gamification. Certain terminology and concepts are interchangeable: serious games, games, simulations, gamification, and game-inspired design. There is uncertainty about where they separate from one another. Using concepts and ways of thinking that are inherent in games is known as “game inspired design.” Playful design is used instead of adding game features to create design that is inspired by games. Gamification is the process of applying concepts, ideas, and metaphors from games to a non-gaming situation with the aim of influencing user behavior and boosting motivation and commitment. Serious games are not just for entertainment; they are made with training in mind. They seem like games and have all the components of games, but they have predefined goals to accomplish. Though they imitate real-world events and serve as user training in a setting that resembles real life, simulations are akin to serious games. Everything that was previously discussed is included in games, which are meant to be entertaining. One thing unites all the aforementioned concepts: they all make use of game-based aspects with the aim of enhancing user engagement and supporting learning. Gamification techniques increase users’ enthusiasm and dedication to the tasks and procedures they participate in. Consumers are familiar with game mechanics because the majority of them have played or are currently playing a variety of games. This conclusion holds true for businesses and their workers, but it is unassailably true for education. The primary issues facing contemporary education stem from students’ low motivation and lack of participation in the learning process. Teachers therefore attempt to employ novel methods and strategies to elicit engagement from their pupils and inspire them to take part in instruction. Giving prizes for efforts and accomplishments is one way to address this issue and boost engagement and activity levels. Based on how gaming aspects are used in the learning process, that decision was made. The application of game techniques and aspects in an educational setting is known as gamification. The use of gamification is made easier by e-learning, which is based on contemporary ICT. Software tools can produce comprehensive reports, and automated procedures for processing student data and progress monitoring make gamification possible. Given that some facts are common to both games and training, integrating game components into teaching makes sense. In games, players take activities with the intention of winning a certain objective in the face of challenges. There are learning objectives in education that must be met by engaging with instructional content or carrying out particular learning activities. Monitoring a player’s progress in a game is crucial because it determines their next move and course of action. Monitoring student development is crucial in education to meet learning objectives. The degree of knowledge and skills attained by students determines their learning path. Working together in the classroom is a crucial first step toward implementing active learning. In contrast, games have a strong competitive component. Instead of emphasizing student competition, the learning process should concentrate on cultivating abilities for cooperation, teamwork, and accountability for the collective performance of the group. Knowledge and skills are not directly related to gamification. Gamification has an impact on students’ motivation, conduct, and dedication, which can enhance their knowledge and abilities.

HOW IS GAMIFICATION IN EDUCATION.

Developing a successful plan for gamification in e-learning necessitates a thorough examination of the current environment and software resources. The following are the strategy’s primary steps:

1. The primary and deciding elements are the students’ inclination to engage with the material and take part in competitive learning activities. Teachers must determine and keep in mind the skills that participants need to accomplish the goals, including if the tasks and activities call for specialized knowledge from the students. When things are really simple or challenging, as there could be a negative effect and learner demotivation. What happens when they succeed and the atmosphere of the learning process influence students’ willingness to engage in training.

2) An explanation of the learning goals. The learning objectives must be well-defined and precise. Achieving the learning objectives is the goal of education; without it, all activities—including gamification activities—will seem meaningless. The goals specify what instructional materials and exercises should be used in the learning process, as well as the best game mechanics and strategies to use in order to reach them.

3. Developing educational activities and content for gamification. Educational materials ought to be dynamic, captivating, and full of multimedia components. Training exercises should be created with the learning objectives in mind and should permit performances. In addition, learning exercises should be planned such that students can retake them if they don’t work out the first time. Setting up the right circumstances and opportunities is crucial to achieving the end result. Repetition will help students get better at what they do.

4) Including game mechanics and aspects. The main component of gamification is the addition of tasks that students must complete. Completing activities results in earning rewards, moving up the levels, and accruing points. The goal of all of these activities is to meet pre-established learning objectives. The specified objectives (what information and abilities should be obtained as a result of the assignment) will determine which aspects will be included in the training. Assignments that call for pupils to work independently yield personal rewards (like badges). The social component of training is interaction with other students; it integrates students into a larger learning community and makes their outputs accessible to the public.