Gamification and Game-Based Learning (GBL) are all about student engagement. Does the kid in the following picture look engaged?
Pixabay Image
And how often do we see little ones looking like the one above?
How often do we see teenagers not just sleeping in class because they are not getting enough sleep at night or because they have to wake up early but because they are bored in school?
Some Rights Reserved – Rico S
Those of us who are gamifying our courses or using games to engage our students in learning at school want this (notice the look on the face of the kid in the middle):
Some Rights Reserved – Oakly Originals
In gaming there are two phases gamers go through when they get really involved in a game, flow and fiero. In a blog post, Gamer Psychology 101: Flow vs. Fiero, flow is defined as:
that ‘in the zone’ feeling. Flow is the feeling of intense concentration and efficiency
While fiero is defined as:
the Italian word for “Pride” and a term often used by game designers to describe that feeling of emotional elation after a huge discovery or victory within a game
Teachers look to provide our students more flow and fiero opportunities in school and gamification and gbl are ways that have been gaining a lot of popularity lately. My motivation, honestly, stems from the fact that I love playing games. I enjoy the feeling I get when I play games, how I get lost in the game, and see how excited students get when talking about the games they play or how they get when playing games. I want school to be exciting for my students, memorable. And if they learn AND enjoy themselves, that’s a win-win!
What’s your reason for looking at gamification or gbl?
