Gamification in the K-6 Classroom?

When it comes to gamification, I’m not going to act like I’m an expert. In fact, I’d identify myself as somewhat of a newb, or a rookie, and I'm definitely open to questions and others' thoughts. It’s certainly nice to have a topic of study such as this in EdTech Trends and Issues since I don’t recall having done extreme research on it before. Gamification will now be a focus on my mind after checking out various modes of resources that discuss it in detail. Initially, the thought of its place in the K-6 classroom was mixed. I could see the pros, but I could simultaneously see the cons.

Thankfully, there is not one right way to educate a child. Some of the joys of being a teacher include discovering more about and knowing your context (Cameron-Rogers & Carr, as cited in Barkastas & Bertram, 2016)*, content, and most importantly, your students.

While processing some information from those who seem to be experts (as well as some amateurs) on the issue, I have gathered that there are various ways a teacher could organize one’s classroom or teaching in a gamified fashion. It’s not about playing games all day or centering your class entirely on being run like a game. There are differing definitions of gamification. Karl Kapp (2014) provides a simple one in that it “uses the elements of games to motivate and engage the learner” (see below for more).

Upon listening to Kapp had me wonder, how much related to gaming would a student or class need in order to improve or reignite their motivation or engagement? Would it be more for the teacher’s sake to simply help manage a class? Every teacher’s situation is different. That much is true. Therefore, it’s better to first know the whole situation. In a recent blog, Kapp mentioned the resurgence of board and card games. Needless to say, video games are not to be the sole definition or method of gaming in education. Yet again, another assumption I had made that was broken by the act of becoming more informed.

What I personally am still having a hard time separating (if indeed they are to be separated) are games, competition, and extrinsic rewards. If the learners and their culture have a foundation as well as a continual reiteration of the competition aspect, I would not see gamification as a positive in the learning process. In my opinion as an amateur gamer and professional educator, this is a bigger deal than the possibility of a student formulating an addiction, or over-engagement, though knowing the warning signs or symptoms would be vital to any person (Young, 2009)**. Part of that slight concern would be of students also creating this expectation of extrinsic rewards. At the same time, I know students will inevitably experience rewards in life, but I wouldn’t want extrinsic ones to be their prime motivation or engagement for going into a career or helping others.

All that to say, I wouldn’t say that gamification is wrong or right. That’d be too black and white without considering a teacher’s particular scenario or possible setup. It certainly could have a place in learning if it were to be implemented correctly and in a way that does not compromise with negative effects on students, learning, and their overall health in the long-term.

Even if gamification wouldn’t be utilized in the classroom, I’d highly recommend somehow incorporating games for social interaction and collaborative reasons as well as guiding students in how they could self-identify stages of flow theory when it happens in their lives. In fact, gaming would be one of at least a few ways I’d recommend when directing students in their metacognition.

What do you think? Why or why not? What are some resources you'd recommend?

Some resources I've found so far include Gamification in Learning and Education (Burton, Kim, Lockee, & Song, 2018) and Gamify (Burke, 2014). There's more out there by Kapp too.

*Barkastas, T. & Bertram, A.R. (2016). Global learning in the 21st century (Global education in the 21st century series: Volume 1). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
**Young, K. (2009). Understanding online gaming addiction and treatment issues for adolescents. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37(5), 355–372. doi: 10.1080/01926180902942191

Reconsidering How To Empower Expert Learners

“Good tech integration starts with good pedagogy.”

One of my professors recently stated this, and I could not have asked for a better quote to start a course on Trends and Issues in Educational Technology when considering the mindset essential for implementing technology into education. It can be extremely easy to use tech simply to be “the most modern” or to sell the school as a product. At the same time, it is quite possible to deeply desire improvements in the infusion of technology, connections on local and global scales, and collaboration focused on moving the learning experiences forward. (♪These are a few of my favorite things…)

This is when organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) come into play and make a huge difference. They have been ongoing for over 30 years, and only in the last few recent years have I heard of them and the amazing work they have been doing. One of the many things they have provided for educators on all levels is standards for integrating technology into education. These have served to challenge, empower, and transform the use of technology. ISTE also holds major conferences every year where thousands of educators gather for a plethora of opportunities for learning as well as non-stop collaboration. ISTE is one of the several organizations I follow closely while working abroad in order to stay updated on transformative teaching, the proper integration of technology within my context, and an insane amount of resources.

More important than technology are the media utilized for learning and growth. Recently, I have been reading Teaching in a Digital Age by Dr. Tony Bates, and he takes a chapter to explain the differences between technology, media, and their intricacies. It was humbling delving into a topic like this since solely relying on my experience had me certainly confuse the meanings of the two words. In my mind, media had basically become technology and vice versa. Differentiating the two and examining the perplexity of each had me build a fresh foundation of understanding for the implementation of technology within teaching, leading, and learning.

I will confess too. I had forgotten that media is the plural form of medium, or “a means by which something is communicated or expressed” (according to my Apple dictionary). Thus, I took this revisited piece of word knowledge to the ELLs in my high school health class. The topic came up naturally since we discuss media occasionally in class. I asked the students to describe how media and technology are different. Following some proceeding thoughts, I then asked if they knew that the word media was the plural form of a word. They didn’t. It’s crucial to understand what we don’t know, and that’s what has been happening in my Master’s courses, research on technology’s place in education, and reflections/steps in improving my own teaching.

https://tinyurl.com/y8n3653n

In regards to my teaching, that same professor passed on information related to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Curriculum. This curriculum design is distinctive and includes four vital and interrelated components. While perusing the site, at least a couple things stuck out to me. Firstly, I found myself lost in the moment clicking on the hyperlinks related to my context or needs. Before I even realized what was happening, I had sought out several “Checkpoints,” or examples and resources, and tried at least one to two models within each one. I became quite absorbed on how to incorporate the resources into my teaching, but I don’t think that’s the best way of contemplating media’s place in learning. What I read in Bates’ book were more than a couple suggestions of how to examine the details of a certain medium before its utilization. Secondly, I noticed how #futureready UDL is when it comes to molding expert learners. Through guidance from ISTE and application of Bates’ insights, the potential of UDL could be amplified. The interconnectedness of these three resources could bring about possibilities and benefits that educators, in the right time and place, could maximize for the students.

Next Steps for a Connected Educator

Though I’ve been connected on social media for a few years, I feel like there should be more to the network, the community, the redefinition of it…all of this has made me think about the next steps I could should take when utilizing it as well as technology and the place they have within the innovation I myself as a person and teacher should strive for.

To be honest, when it comes to social media, I’ve already started to utilize Feedly, Pinterest, Evernote, and Twitter into my own personal methods of professional development and collaboration (though Evernote is on its last leg). Feedly came within the last couple months off of a recommendation from Steven Anderson since I couldn’t find a quality app for Blogger on the App Store. I initially didn’t join Pinterest because I used to think it was only for recipes, decoration ideas, and wedding planning. Little did I know with such a naïve mind. It’s great for curating content while Evernote allows me to save the article then and there in various ways. (Side notes: Pinterest is now blocked in China as of a few weeks ago, Evernote is in Chinese on the local internet, and Twitter has been game-changing. Who would have thought any of those would have happened?)

What I have found is that simply joining these platforms is not enough in itself. Lurking is a decent first step, but to move forward one must learn how to partake, collaborate, and create when ready. Therefore, I joined ISTE’s #ETCoaches / Blogging Buddies a month or so back to obtain more interaction and communal growth. I would also like to start utilizing YouTube and possibly YouKu (China’s YouTube) more often along with the inclusion of more multimedia than just simply pictures within posts/sharing. Then there's live-streaming, whether it be Periscope or YouTube.

Some of these tools have Chinese versions (in-app or on the website), which I always check when browsing the App Store or web. It’s also been vital to check the Chinese App Store since there are some apps present or missing when compared to the American one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25275534@N00/8631695619

I’ve been using American platforms, but I’d like to take a step with Chinese ones as well. I’m still considering how to do this long-term, and that includes how to get the most out of WeChat, QQ, and Weibo (China’s Twitter). WeChat is the big one here, and it very well may have an effect on your internet. With that said, I don’t want to keep switching between what kind of internet or which social media I use because the students and colleagues I interact with on a daily basis usually surf a different one from the one I’ve been accustomed to. (If only there was a Chinese version of Buffer.)

How should I go about this? Which steps would you suggest or take in this situation?

What steps can you take to go outside your comfort zone and move forward in your journey as a connected educator?

Photo Credits: ePublicist