Game-Based Education

Play has been a part of education for a very long time. While educational games may not be the solution to education woe’s, they definitely can be used to enhance it. Students today think and learn differently than we did as students. The traditional “sit-and-get” mentality is not a part of most classrooms today. Books and lecture still have a place in today’s classroom, but technology can be used as a vital and relevant tool to help students learn and meet the needs of a variety of learning styles.
A couple of terms to differentiate between: gaming education and gamification. Many times these are used interchangeably, but actually they can technically refer to different things. According to Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher.com, “Gamification is ‘applying typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity.’” Gaming education is when you actually use games - students play games - as part of the learning and assessment process. Ms. Davis also points out that great classrooms will incorporate both.

There are such a variety of games out there - and they are much more advanced than the “lemonade stand” played in the early 80s on our Apple IIe computers, and still even more than Carmen SanDiego and Oregon Trail of my early teaching days. Today’s games are rich in problem solving and critical thinking skills. What is particularly exciting is that not only can games be used by teachers to assess student learning and understanding, to enhance a lesson and capture a student’s attention, but students can actually create the games! Recent emphasis and excitement about Minecraft and coding has led to a whole new area for educational gaming. Students are now using skills and knowledge gained from playing games, like Minecraft, and are now building mods and components of their own. The STEM and computer science learning that is going on with these students is both encouraging and exciting.

There is an awesome infographic that gives a great overview of the gamification of education. Edutopia also provides a “Game-based Learning Resource Round-up” that provides a collection of articles, videos, and resources for incorporating gaming into the classroom.

Common Sense’s Graphite, found in your Pepper Resource Library, has information and reviews on a plethora of game-based learning resources. Pepper Professional Development Courses and Workshops and the Resource Library can help you create a more engaged and active classroom that include game-based learning - for you and for your students. We’re adding new courses and workshops regularly, so be sure to check them out.

Game Over? Not When it Comes to Student Learning Through Games!

In the age of video games and mobile devices, young students seem to learn better when their instruction combines virtual reality and real world application, according to Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers came up with a study that tested how technology could best contribute to learning through a testing platform called, "NoRILLA". Testing 92 children ages six to eight, researchers wanted to see if they learned better in a mixed reality or a screen-only educational game. They tested before and after the game to retrieve sound results. The end result: Students learn up to FIVE times better combining virtual reality with the real world. Read more about the results here.

Digital Learning Activities and Educational Games -- Free!

As every teacher knows, not all educational games are created equal! Some have genuine value and can serve as wonderful reinforcements for student learning, or can expand student learning beyond the classroom. Yet how do you find educational games and digital learning activities that have been vetted and curated without spending hours of your own time testing them, or paying for memberships?

Check out this fantastic website: Powermylearning.org! It's a free digital learning platform with resources for teachers, students, and parents alike, and was developed by the well-respected national education nonprofit CFY. If you're looking for games, videos, interactives, and other digital resources to incorporate into your Common Core lesson plans for the classroom, then this is the website for you.

Each resource in Math and ELA is aligned directly to a Common Core standard. Plus, there are countless resources for science, social studies, the arts, technology and more. You'll need to create an account to access all the material on the site, but once you do, you'll be able to tap into hundreds of carefully-vetted, free digital resources.