EQ: What is the difference between Gaming and Gamification and why does it matter?
Gamification in Education is the process of transforming typical academic components into gaming themes, which is different from the usual act of gaming. It is an educational approach to motivate students to learn by using video game design and game elements in learning environments. Gamification activities literally create a game out of learning by theming all components of your classroom in a game metaphor; make your class like one big first-person game.
Gaming is the act of playing game, these activities are often outside of an educational theme such as Fortnite, World of Warcraft, or Dungeons and dragons. Gaming is more of an entertainment activity. When I think of gaming with my kids I think of Candy Crush, or Skip Bo.
Gamification, however, is the process of defining the elements which comprise games that make those games fun and motivate players to continue playing, and using those same elements in a non-game context to influence behavior. In other words, gamification is the introduction of game elements in a non-game situation. The goal of educational gamification is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning.
With engagement being the key reason to gamify the classroom, consider:
- Gamification increases competition which can lead to engagement.
- Gamification involves creativity and student choice, which increases engagement.
- Gamification gives students immediate feedback (through peer feedback, progress bars, badges, teacher response, etc.) and allows them to easily track their progress towards academic goals.
Gamification is a great tool to use to improve the overall education experience for students. The most important indicator of a student’s knowledge attainment is engagement; the level of attention and personal involvement a person has with an activity. The more engaged your students are with the learning process, the more they will internalize the learned skills. Studies on gamification show that the use of gamification in the classroom increases student engagement.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification_of_learning
https://ii.library.jhu.edu/2014/05/13/what-is-gamification-and-why-use-it-in-teaching/
https://www.learning-theories.com/gamification-in-education.html
https://tophat.com/blog/gamification-education-class/
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/gamification-in-education-vicki-davis
EDET679-JDI_Gamification 
Josie, I feel like gaming could also take the form of educational games that are used to reinforce a concept that was taught. I too, initially thought “gaming” was exclusive to video games outside of school, but have since changed my definition of gaming.
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Josie, I thought you did a fantastic job in explaining gamification. I agree with Galina that gaming can include educational games that you play in the classroom, such as Quizlet or Kahoot. I also agree that the most important part of gamification especially in learning is engagement. We all know that if a student isn’t engaged, they probably are not learning.
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I really liked how you organized the information in your post! Especially the way you outlined the three ways that students would become engaged in class via gamification. I 100% agree that student engagement is key to their learning, and when students are more engaged, they will learn more. If I’m going to gamify something in my classroom, I would consider those ways to engage students and choose the best one to fit both the activity and the the students.
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I really liked how you outlined this post. It was very easy to follow along. I agree with Sam that I like the bullet points. I am curious to learn if you have any experience with successful gamification in your classroom, or have talked to another teacher who has had games work in their classroom.
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