Gamifying Education - General Discussion

#1 Posted by cheky (5 posts) - 6 months, 18 days ago

Although the idea is very vague, this video does spark up an interesting concept of bringing in the gaming ideals into the education system.

#2 Posted by pweidman (1960 posts) - 6 months, 18 days ago

As an educator I approve of this idea/video. In fact I'd like to share this with some collegues btw. However, tc you need to support the video with some text and conversation starters or the thread will be closed per the policies of this site.

Like where does this go exactly from here? And how can someone implement this into their classroom in a much more detailed, and practical way? Overall, while fascinating and extremely relatable for students, how would this work out in the long run, and can anyone testify through experience to it's effectiveness and practicality, let alone how might it be perceived, and received by parents and administrators?

Stuff like that and much more.

#3 Posted by JOURN3Y (184 posts) - 6 months, 18 days ago

I really do like the idea of gaining XP for grades. I think it would be a great way to motivate students. The general idea seems relatively easy to implement within a class. The difficult part of this new system would be the "skills" gained for each level. I don't think bonus XP would be a good way to way to dish out new "skills" and I think it would introduce a freeriding problem. Also as pweidman stated, administrators and parents might not like this new system and it might be hard to have them onboard.

#4 Edited by BillyMethers (145 posts) - 6 months, 18 days ago

I like the idea, except for the part where you're rewarding students all the time for making progress. While education can be fun, and it's awesome when it is, I think in the end that people should learn because they want to; not because of rewards. Of course I'm referring to college level students and not school children. Children definitely need that motivation to learn, I agree with applying it in that sense. My other concern is with the grading system and if it will lead to mediocrity. If they eliminate the sense that there will be failure and no one really "fails", then how will they deal with failure and overcome it in the future if they've never really had to deal with it?

Overall I like the ideas, but it should be applied carefully so it doesnt dilute too much of the educational process.

#5 Posted by FierceDeity (275 posts) - 6 months, 18 days ago

Nonsense! In the words of Machiavelli, it is better to be feared than loved. Just look at the Asian tiger mother woman - by instilling the fear of failure into her children, she sufficiently motivated them to work much, much harder. By not sparing the whip, parents can get their children back under control. Discipline is the foundation of a productive society!

:-)

Thank you.