How can gamification and the use of computer games be used to enhance learning in the classroom?

How can gamification and the use of computer games be used to enhance learning in the classroom?
With the rise of the ‘IT’ age heavily upon us it is becoming almost mandatory for everyone to know and use some kind of technology in the lives (Aldrich, 2002). So it only makes sense to start to incorporate it into the classroom and use it not only for teaching fact/figures etc, but also for the use of the children in the classes. Gamification could be one way to do this. We will be looking into and discussing how this can be used in the classroom and what advantages it might bring with it.
First of all, what does gamification mean?  The World Government Summit (2016, P.3) defines gamification as “the introduction or application of elements of games into non-game contexts”. So bringing virtual games, which children would play outside of education, and using them as a teaching tool to help progress the development of children’s learning. But how can children learn from just playing a video game? Surely they just learn how to play a game then their learning is over? Well this is not true. People think that learning has to be about knowing the right facts and figures and being able to pass written tests by remembering these facts where actually, research has shown that students taught under such a regime, though they may be able to pass tests, cannot actually apply their knowledge to solve problems or understand the conceptual lay of the land in the area they are learning (e.g., Gardner 1985) (Gee, 2013).
These applications and gamification approaches to teaching have the potential to provide a better learning experience to children (Halloluwa, et. al. 2018). Several studies have been carried out which suggest that technology and games help students to achieve better educational goals. These studies used different devices ranging from desktop computers to multi-touch setups. The researchers argue that the games that consist of both fun and motivational features can be used as a means to improve and strengthen the quality of education (Schneider, et. al. 2010).
Miller (2013, P.196) states that “humans of all ages and cultures like playing games. We have always played games and likely always will.” Games are a universal part of the human experience and have existed across all cultures. Many different types of games exist, which makes an exact definition difficult. However, games can largely be defined by the following characteristics: by having Rules, Feedback systems and Goals (World Government Summit, 2016). Games allow users to have enjoyment, pleasure, engagement, motivation and participation and finding the right connection to transfer these with gamification and children’s educational learning would be an advantage for the sake of the children’s development (Prontera, 2017).
Many researchers comment about the association of gaming and problem solving skills such as the powers of deduction, spatial thinking (in addition to linear thinking), and evidence based decision making (Kapp, 2012). Gaming allows a pupil to exercise their imagination, to fantasize about aspirational roles and ‘become’ them (Miller, 2013). Playing in general is positive way for children to assemble real life experiences from outside of the classroom and make sense of this to make it part of themselves (Play Wales. 2014). Pretend or fantasy play also helps with this, which is why gamification has such a great potential in education (Fehr, & Russ, 2013).
In today’s technology society, digital learning has the features of not being constrained by time and space. Being more attractive to learning attention of students compared to traditional instruction can increase learning motivation; promote problem-solving ability, which results in achieving better learning effects (Rula, 2016). In the educational field, it is thought that motivation and engagement could positively influence learning outcomes and students’ wellbeing, which supports the idea above (Hassan, et. al. 2018).
There are a few challenges presented to the idea of bring video games into the classroom like children becoming distracted or not focused on their work but the positive evidence for gamification highly outweighs the negative.
To conclude, looking at the ways gamification and computers games can be used in general in the classroom to enhance learning, it is clear that this is something that this generations of primary children and perhaps the next generation, could majorly benefit from. They are already growing up in an environment where technology is thrust upon them from an early age so they are capable users – some better than the adults teaching them are - and will thrive will this style of learning and self motivating.


References:
Aldrich, R. (2002) A Century of Education, London: Routledge.
Fehr, K. & Russ, S. (2013) Aggression in Pretend Play and Aggressive Behaviour in the Classroom, Early Education and Development, 24(3), P.332.
Gee, J. (2013) Good video games and good learning, Available online at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/931654/mod_resource/content/1/GOOD%20VIDEO%20GAMES%20AND%20GOOD%20LEARNING.pdf(Accessed on 6thMay 2019).
Halloluwa, T. Vyas, D. Usoof, H. Hewagamage, K. (2018) Gamification for development: a case of collaborative learning in Sri Lankan primary schools. Available online at: https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/docview/2022063865?accountid=15588&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo(Accessed on 6thMay 2019).
Hassan, L Harviainen, J. Hamarie, J. (2018) Enter Hogwarts: Lessons on how to gamify education from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Available online at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/938047/mod_resource/content/1/Enter%20Hogwarts%20Lessons%20on%20how%20to%20gamify%20education%20from%20the%20wizarding%20world%20of%20Harry%20Potter.pdf(Accessed on 6thMay 2019).
Kapp, K. (2012) The gamification of learning and instruction: game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Miller, C. (2013) The gamification of education. In Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning: Proceedings of the Annual ABSEL conference (Vol. 40).
Play Wales. (2014) What is Play? Available online at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/817972/mod_resource/content/1/what%20is%2 0play%20and%20why%20is%20it%20important.pdf (Accessed on 6thMay 2019).
Prontera, A. (2017) Gamification in education: fashion of the moment or a new learning frontier? Available online at: https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/docview/1944160134?accountid=15588&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo(Accessed on 6thMay 2019).
Rula A. Fatma A. & Mazin A. (2016) Educational Gamification Vs. Game Based Learning: Comparative Study, International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 7, No. 4,
Schneider J, Derboven J, Luyten K et. al. (2010) Multi-user multi-touch setups for collaborative learning in an educational setting. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) 6240 LNCS: 181–188.
World Government Summit, (2016) Gamification and the Future of Education, Available online at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/931655/mod_resource/content/1/Gamification_and%20Future%20of%20Education.pdf (Accessed on 6thMay 2019).


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