Gamification introduces game-design elements and game mechanics in a non-game environment like an online community, official website or even a learning system. It can also be pictured as a set of activities and processes to solve questions by using or applying the essence of game elements. The main aim of this process is to engage people and encourage them to interact and collaborate.
Gamification involves the gaming mechanics and game dynamics to provide individuals with proactive directions and important feedback, resulting in the achievement of desired aims and objectives. An interesting gamification experience taps into a participant's potential and simply paints the best course of action for them to chieve their desired goals. Individuals that interact with gamification software receive immediate feedback on their performance and are aware of their next step in achieving their goal. This modern instructional methodology blends various components and qualities of gaming society with conventional processes. Gamification is an important element in forming an active learning environment as it provides experiential learning.
Learning is one of the most significant areas where gamification is widely used. Motivation and interest are the two key components in academic success. This is because these characteristics influence the amount of effort and time a student devotes to studying. Learning is always more engaging when learners have fun. According to the gamification hypothesis (especially in online learning), learners learn the best when they are having fun. In addition to this, students tend to complete their tasks (in this case, perform better) when they have clear objectives, targets, and accomplishments to achieve. The motivation is amplified when there is a sense of enjoyment for the learner.
The conventional video games include addictive aspects that entice people and keep them intrigued. Similar results are expected and observed when these game-based elements are applied to learning materials. One of the most effective game-like elements is quizzes. These are some of the best ways to engage students in the class while imparting knowledge. When teachers or educators conduct fun quizzes for their learners or students, it increases their attention span, and they seem to be more interested in the class than before.
Games and game-like elements have been used to in the world of education to increase class participation and class engagement for many years. Some of the effective game elements are; point system, badges, and leaderboards.
In this blog, we will take you through some of the ways to gamify your classroom. This will help you increase engagement, boost the morale of the class, inculcate a sense of team spirit among students and increase the knowledge.
1. Classroom Games
You can introduce gaming elements like a treasure hunt and dumb charades to make your classroom engaging and more fun. If it's an online class, you can conduct a crossword puzzle or provide your students with a list of things to search around their home and then they can share on the online platform. You could also make them play bingo in classes for suitable subjects.
2. Digital Games
This is especially for online learning. Subjects like English and History will benefit from digital games. You can make your students get more invested in your classes by playing games like picture quizzes and solving puzzles, where your students will not only learn the subject but also have fun along with it.
3. Point System
The reward system is very effective because they tend to perform better when they receive a reward for their work. In this case, the prize is in the form of points. Encourage students to solve the questions in different ways. Reward student points for their progress on how well-structured, well-written, or correct their answers are. The point system can also work well for non-academic tasks as well.
4. Give Badges
Every student wants acknowledgement from their teacher. Getting rewards in the form of appreciation will encourage and motivate them to continue performing well and sometimes even perform better. The perception about a teacher to students is based on their response and remarks on a particular student. Gaining badges will validate their achievements. The Point system is great, but it is more suited for rewarding class participation, but badges allow you to recognise accomplishments. A combination of points and badges will boost your class morale and make the students try harder and perform better. However, one should bear in mind that some students do not obtain enough points does not indicate that they are not putting in the effort. Giving badges to students also serves as an overall class progress. Badges can be for any achievements. It can be for mastery of software or 100% attendance, or even academic performance. Badges can be awarded to track someone's progress by proving their badges at the completion of every level. Students will want to collect and save all of their badges and keep track of their progress throughout the course. You can offer bonus points with different badges to provide an added layer of excitement.
5. Leader Boards
A leaderboard is a scoreboard that tracks the students' scores. If you have a small population in class, you can keep scores for individual students. If your class strength is large, then you can divide the class into various groups and maintain the leaderboard. This will help you and your students track their progress and improve wherever required.
6. Foster Team Spirit
The word “game” in a classroom can be off-putting to many, but it does not have to be controversial. It can be simple games like bingo or even puzzles that will allow students to get more interested. Games involving groups may improve classroom morale. Getting students to play and interact together fosters a welcoming environment and teaches them the importance of teamwork and team spirit. Allow students to share points, scores, or even power-ups among their groups. During a collaboration, students tend to put in more effort to aid their team to succeed and please their teammates. This is especially true if the reward can be shared (points or badges). Not to mention how much more exciting the game will become with students excitedly rooting for their teammates.
Conclusion
One of the important aspects of teaching is to make your classroom interactive and engaging. This is can be achieved by introducing game-like elements to your instruction. Elements like the point system, rewards, badges etc., are a great way to introduce gamification in the classroom and boost your class morale.
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