Gamification and Game-Based Learning — The Future of Education?

Game-based learning techniques not only appeal to children but also show high effectiveness if they are applied correctly. That’s why the education technology (EdTech) industry is growing fast. Recently, experts from paper help company said that online learning and EdTech were the future. Now, you do not need to be an analyst to understand this is already the present. So, what can educators learn from video game developers?

Today’s schools are increasingly using various digital devices to replace the classic blackboard. Teachers often use computers and tablets to diversify the educational process, take it outside the school walls, and involve students in it. Children are used to the devices and often master them before learning to read. Video games, for them, are part of everyday life, with few exceptions. Many companies are beginning to produce game-based educational products (Game-Based Learning). The most progressive educators are already using them in schools.

The term Game-Based Learning refers to games that aim to develop the child and instill useful skills. Such applications often aim to reveal analytical thinking and logic, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and the ability to solve complex problems. UNESCO recognizes game-Based Learning methods as a useful and effective tool for teaching children. And last year, the game app for teaching mathematics won this international organization’s competition for innovation in education.

How does technology affect children’s development?

• They help teach children cause and effect, develop natural curiosity, and the ability to educate themselves.
• Touch-screen, button, and computer mouse devices can be used to develop fine motor skills and coordination and to strengthen the connection between hand actions and gaze direction.
• Allow students to conduct independent research on a topic of interest, supporting independent learning skills at home. Children are vividly interested in anything new, and technology provides almost limitless opportunities to explore stories of famous people, interesting places on the planet, and historical facts.
• Observing parents who constantly use technology, children learn when and in what circumstances different devices and programs can be useful. Many children are already used to seeing an adult navigating to the right place using their phone, shopping online, or ordering food to go home. During the general quarantine, many school children have explored other device scenarios in detail, watching their parents work with office applications on a laptop, communicate with colleagues via video call from a smartphone or tablet, and use special mobile apps.
• Allowing them to stay connected and maintain relationships with friends and family even despite distance and restrictions (e.g., quarantine). Socialization through a device screen is one of the obligatory components of the digital generation, although it does not cancel the equally obligatory physical interaction in contact games.

The Differences Between Gamification and Game-Based Learning

At first glance, it may seem like they are synonymous. Indeed, these terms are often mixed and used interchangeably. One can make a distinction between these definitions. Gamification refers to using game design and logic elements, techniques in non-game environments, and processes. Gamification is used to reward a child for certain behavior, encouragement in the form of stars, points, and trophies. These methods can be used in online learning to develop motivation to learn more and compete with other children.

Game-Based Learning (GBL) has been evolving as a pedagogical method for more than 40 years, starting in the 1970s when the first computers appeared. But only in the two-thousandths did leading universities begin to investigate the effectiveness of methods that involve using games to achieve educational goals. That is, the entire learning process is a game. For example, Sudoku or crossword puzzles are a game activity, the result of better memorization of words by addressing them in a new context, as well as scientifically proven improvement of memory and development of abstract thinking in children. Such word games also help a child focus, develop the ability to make decisions and not give up in the face of difficult tasks, and teach patience. All of these factors ultimately develop the ability to learn and improve the quality of learning.

The Benefits of Game-Based Learning or Game-Based Learning

• Games in education shape the notion that learning is fun and not scary, making the overall classroom atmosphere more positive. In one study, 54% of students reported not liking math; and 67% reported not knowing it well. After incorporating math games into the educational curriculum, nearly 100% of those same students reported that their attitude toward the subject became either good or excellent.
• Knowledge and skills in educational games are put into practice, and “learning by application” is included. The child is thus 20% more aware of how new information and abilities are useful in the real world. Children also develop their ability to learn and become “quick learners,” i.e., they learn on the fly.
• Properly chosen by age and complexity of educational games increase self-esteem, according to various sources, by about 20%. To do this, the tasks should not be too easy but not too difficult. It is called the rule of “desirable difficulty” — a rule of thumb. Then the child feels that he or she has achieved something by climbing the difficulty levels in the game.
• The level of conceptual understanding increases by 11% due to interactivity and greater involvement of the student in the educational process. Overall, this has a positive impact on the quality of learning.
• These methods improve memorization by an impressive 90% (results of the same study by Tracy Sitzmann, “A Meta-Analytical Examination of the Institutional Effectiveness of Computer-Based Simulation Games,” 2011), thanks to visual reinforcement and clear illustrations of complex concepts. The so-called principle of “visual learning” reduces the time to learn the material and increases the level of engagement, resulting in the quality and effectiveness of learning.
• According to a study by MIT, children complete three times as many tasks in play as they do in traditional learning simply because it’s fun.
• Four times the chance to improve analytical skills and critical thinking through learning games that give logic, puzzle-solving, and critical thinking tasks. This category, for example, includes the same sudoku, scrabble, and crossword puzzles. Also, some games in which you need to interact with other participants (e.g., The Sims) increase leadership skills.

Parenting as an Equal

The technology used for child development certainly can’t and shouldn’t replace “physical” activities like playing with sand, drawing, reading books, writing lessons on paper, and theatrical performances. But devices can be aides for parents and teachers.

And as the Stirling University study found, attitudes toward technology in the family are a major determinant of how a child develops relationships with them in the future. Researchers watched children 3–5 years old and found that it’s not the technology that shapes a child’s experiences and preferences but the socio-cultural context in the family. If parents are socializing at dinner, not sitting or staring at the phone, children will willingly follow their example and will not become addicted to the screen. Suppose a child has many situations where he can get a dose of endorphins from physical activity or offline games. In that case, he will perceive the smartphone as only one of many pleasant options for pastime, not the only and indispensable one.