24 May, 2024

Games-based Learning vs. Gamification

In Unit Three, I chose to learn more about gamification.

Below is a short video I made to summarize my learning:

Reflection

Something that has stood out to me during this unit is that while I was working as a lower-elementary teacher, gamification of day to day learning had almost became second nature without my even realizing it. This was not, of course, in a digital setting but in my day to day classroom (ie: reading teams, maths competitions etc). Games-based learning was also a key part of my teaching and the learning in my classroom. Both were obvious tools to keep students excited and engaged.

What I have been pleasantly surprised by is that gamification can be a useful tool for keeping adults engaged as well.

I don’t know why, but it didn’t occur to me that this could be something I could implement with my adult learners. Building out the activity design and implementing these gamification elements has been really interesting, and I am excited to try out gamification in the digital learning I have been working on.