Gamification is all about creating a new classroom environment where our students can thrive. In the video game world as well as the real world competition drives our students to complete tasks that seemed daunting or too risky to complete. This is not a new concept for anyone who has worked with high school students. Many times those students who struggle in the classroom to concentrate or grasp key concepts can excel on the playing field or on the court. This does not mean that the student does not care about academics or fails to understand the long term consequences of their actions it is simply a testament to how powerful the idea of competition can be.
In 2002 the video game world was radically changed. The release of the “Xbox Live” system to the world allowed gamers to compete against other gamers online from anywhere in the world. This transformative system of online gaming has been replicated and now stands as a fundamental pillar of the video game community. It is rare (and considered unwise) to see a new game released that does not have some kind of online environment. With this new power gamers everywhere could play games like Halo: Combat Evolved against a dozen of their friends without someone’s mom yelling down into the basement to “Keep it down! We are trying to sleep!” When these students of our become engaged in a competition environment (especially with close friends) little can stop them from hours of gameplay in the constant search for victory (over 2 billion hours have been played as of 2012!) The concept of competition in the classroom seems to be a little more daunting to some teachers. They worry that competition may drive the learning out of the class or that more shy kids will not want to participate when challenged by more aggressive peers. Although these are valid concerns I wonder if getting students to work together and strive for more just outside their comfort zone has ever been a bad idea? As a teacher at an all boys school I see competition as one of many motivators for high school students to achieve more in the classroom. As part of my gamified classroom environment the students compete as collaborative squads against other groups of students. I also see a positive impact on learning when we compete in the “Geography World Cup” which challenges those same squads to identify as many countries in one continent as possible. To see students crammed over a textbook memorizing locations of nations while a timer slowly ticks down tells me they are engaged in the content. Then as the scramble to write down just one more country and encourage their teammates as the seconds reach zero, that is competition at work. I see competition work every day with students who want to give just the bare minimum. If I can engage those students for even 20 minutes in an interactive competition I may have just unlocked a door for that student to other learning opportunities.
3 Comments
Ann Mausbach
2/11/2015 04:21:34 am
Brandon,
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Ann Mausbach
2/11/2015 05:24:55 am
Brandon,
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JJ Pick
2/16/2015 08:05:13 am
Brandon,
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Brandon LewisMy name is Brandon Lewis and I am a high school history teacher in St. Louis Missouri. I practice the art of teaching at St. John Vianney High School. Archives
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