Gaming isn’t just for geeks anymore: online gaming has gone mainstream, thanks in part to companies looking to cash in on gamifying their marketing efforts. But it’s also become a successful vehicle for learning, with teachers using games to help students comprehend new concepts, retain course material and collaborate with classmates. As higher education searches for ways to keep students both engaged and on track to graduation, gamifying courses and other college activities serve to show how useful technology can be in education.
Getting into the game
An article about the gamifying of college applications appeared on Technorati last summer; the article features Acceptly, a platform that gives high school students and their parents points and badges for completing various steps of applying for colleges and universities. This is a relatively new way to tackle the college application process: in addition to guiding students and their families through college selection and application with rewards, Acceptly can help students determine which school would be the best fit for them. And by incentivizing the application process, some students might be more likely to follow through on finding and enrolling in college.
Leveling up to graduation
Research suggests that a learning system that rewards students at each stage of academic achievement can be effective for students in several subjects. And tech giant Microsoft is banking on it. In collaboration with several higher education institutions, the company developed a real-world game called Just Press Play, which offers students digital rewards for academic achievement. Player-students receive cards that can be swiped at check-in locations and after communicating or meeting with faculty or staff. The goal is to keep students accountable for their coursework, and the game gives them a chance to receive nearly instant gratification after performing well in classes and other on-campus activities.
State of engagement
Games like these can make learning fun, but they can also serve as a way for students to break down their work into digestible bites—game levels they can tackle one section at a time. This kind of compartmentalization can be important for first-year college students who might become overwhelmed with the newness of college, and ease them into the more demanding nature of higher education.
With online degree programs becoming popular, game-based learning could also help distance students stay engaged with their classmates and faculty; along with encouraging regular participation in class assignments, games can help build a sense of community in a domain where physical contact and face-to-face communication is relatively rare.
Game-based learning and the gamification of higher education won’t work for every student, or for every subject. But what the technique can do is help students become more engaged and invested in their education, as well as offer instructors a way to keep track of students’ progress and weak points. As technology and human creativity evolve, gaming can help create an environment in which students and teachers alike discover ways to win points, and to make the act of learning more effective and enjoyable.
Harper Mac is an online education advocate, and blogs on behalf of Colorado Technical University.
