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Chris Powell
Ms. Lee
New Technologies 325
March 10, 2015
Game On! The Potential for Gamification in Education
Educators across the country, from graduate schools to middle schools,
are increasingly focusing on gaming methodology to turn learning into an
interactive experience.
Gamification uses game design elements in nongame contexts, but it
should not be confused with a traditional game of any kind. More than other
disruptive technologies, gamification has the potential to change content
delivery systems in the classroom and create truly meaningful experiences
for students.
Nearly every school is challenged to motivate students and strengthen
student engagement. Successful student engagement is the foundation for
learning and includes the learning process, the subject matter, the purpose
of study, and additional social and cultural factors.
Gamification attempts to harness the motivational power of games and
apply it to real-world problems. Game players regularly exhibit persistence,
risk-taking, attention to detail, and problem-solving, all behaviors that ideally
would be regularly demonstrated in school (Lee 7).

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Game-like components that track activities such as custom avatars,


badges, and other rewards keep students motivated and task-oriented.
Presentation can change behavior in many settings. Researchers at
Thefuntheory.com studied whether more people would choose climbing stairs
over taking an escalator if taking the stairs were more fun. When stairs were
covered to look and sound like piano keys, 66% more people than normal
took the stairs, proving that fun can positively impact behavior (The Fun
Theory 1).
Several studies on instructional games revealed that the greatest
benefits were obtained when users could target specific content and knew
the objectives. Instructional games can provide measureable learning for
many different types of learners. Making sure that students knew how to play
2the game was often more important to students than how realistic the
game appeared (Franklin 46-52).
Adequately measuring the games effectiveness both during and after
the activity is crucial to determining whether learning is actually taking place
and evaluating the return on investment. There are four components to
measurement:
1. Reaction Did the student enjoy the experience, and if so, how?
2. Learning How much did the student increase his or her
knowledge about the subject?
3. Behavior Did the students new knowledge translate in a real
way?

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4. Results Were the original goals met?


With adequate investment, training, and instructor guidance,
gamification can reach the same goals as quizzes and tests. Whether the
market can sustain the investment remains an open question.

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Works Cited
Franklin, Anne. Rewarding Play: The Roles of Games in the Classroom. New
York: Roberts Educational Publishing, Inc, 2012. Print.
Lee, Joey J. "Gamification in Education: What, How, Why Bother?" Academic
Exchange Quarterly 1 June 2015.
The Fun Theory. 2015. Web. 4 June 2015.

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