Gamification: The Future of Video Games in Academia

Are you struggling to keep your students engaged and motivated during lessons? It would help if you considered gamification for your classroom. Technology has already been integrated into the education sector in multiple ways, affecting how students interact with course material and approach assignments. 

Recently, the focus on education technology has started to shift to how video games can be used to enhance learning, in a phenomenon referred to as gamification. According to gamification theory, interactive video games improve student engagement, enhance memory, and support learning outcomes. Today, students use tech to research assignments, collaborate on tasks, study, and seek essay service online. This article explores why more instructors need to adopt gamification in their teaching strategies. 

What Is Gamification in Education?

Experts have always recognized the importance of games in improving learning and student engagement. The theory is that games help teach students new ways of seeing and understanding problems. Games can take one of two forms, one designed for entertainment but used in educational settings. The second type involves educators adopting the features of game design to enhance instruction.  

Gamification in education generally means applying elements of game design in the educational setting. It is the education of transforming the learning environment into game themes, creating a game out of learning. The objective is to make learning more engaging and enjoyable. When well implemented, a gamified lesson keeps learners engaged and maintains learning objectives, while making the instructional process more fun. In other words, gamification can be a crucial tool that build motivation and interest, thereby reducing challenges related to students.

How Does Gamification Benefit Classrooms?

There was once a time when video games were considered a distraction and detrimental to the learning process. Things have now changed and experts recommend gamification for improved student engagement and classroom management. Here are some reasons to integrate gamification in academia: 

• Improves Problem Solving 

Gamification can also be a powerful tool for educators to use when they want to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills in their students. Critical and problem-solving skills are crucial to survive in the modern workplace. These skills include evaluating, analyzing, creating, and applying information to different situations and to solve different problems. Creative problem-solving also requires students to use logical reasoning and collaboration. 

Gamification helps students develop all these skills as they become more independent learners and leaders. Gamification supports problem-solving by offering students meaningful and relevant learning experiences. Also, the use of gaming elements like rules, goals, rewards, and feedback helps students structure their learning processes. For teachers, gamification offers a structure and a tool for monitoring student progress and providing feedback on learning. 

• Helps Improve Motivation 

One of the most notable benefits of gamification education is that it helps improve motivation. According to experts, gaming influences people’s behavior, with evidence showing that it can improve motivation. Students are already engaged with tech elsewhere in their lives. They use tech to communicate, work, and entertain. When used in classrooms, the tech makes students motivated to work in class, and has been shown to reduce absenteeism. In other words, the integration of gaming themes in education makes students eager to learn, pay attention, and participate in classroom processes. 

Gamification can also serve as a useful classroom management tool. it is fun, incentivizing, and a critical tool for managing student behavior. It is a tool for programs, applications, and general tech in the classroom. Please note that gamification is more than just using games in the classroom. It means giving students an incentive to students to behave in a certain way as they get levels, rewards, and points for doing the right thing.

• Improves Student’s Attentiveness 

Since the games move fast, students need to be alert and attentive for prolonged periods. By using gamification, students improve their ability to focus on tasks for extensive periods. Students also benefit from the variety in instruction, as it allows them to experience educational content in diverse ways. This allows them to pay attention for longer and to better understand complex concepts. Gamification in education it enhances student attention. Evidence shows that students can learn better when they are attentive and focused. Using tools and processes that keep students focused and engaged is great for their academic performance. All teachers want students to be able to pay attention during class and when studying. Setting learners loose to play in a structured setting has numerous benefits. 

• Improves Language Development 

Gamification in education has also been shown to improve second language acquisition. The idea of using gamification to teach a second language has grown in popularity over the years, with evidence showing that games make learning new languages interesting and less intimidating. It contextualizes second language instruction, meaning that students get to attach meaning and value to words and concepts. So, gaming not only has a motivation factor when teaching a second language but also helps with structuring and organizing classrooms. The games don’t even have to be language-focused to help with language acquisition. 

• Improves Collaborative Learning 

One of the most notable benefits of gamification in education is that it helps enhance collaboration between learners. Evidence shows that a collaborative approach to instruction is highly effective and leads to positive learning outcomes. Collaboration allows learners to share knowledge and benefit from the skills of others, gamification not only makes this type of collaboration possible through group work but also builds communication and teamwork skills. 

The Bottom Line 

Gamification in education comes with numerous benefits, including improved motivation, engagement, and better collaboration. Students get to improve their teamwork skills and benefit in terms of memory workouts. Students get to work in teams, which enhances peer-to-peer learning and improves comprehension. Gamification also helps students improve their problem-solving skills and develop the competencies needed in today’s workplace.