Gamification in the Classroom

Gamification is a great idea, in my opinion, because it engages learners. After that reason, I do not think another is necessary. My goal as a teacher is to educate students. If students are not engaged in the lesson, they will not learn-plain and simple. Being as I only recently graduated from highschool, I am well aware of the climate of today's classrooms. I was in them less than a year ago. I know what is currently working and not working with twenty-first century learners because I am one. We are competitive, easily distracted and we all know how to use a computer or tablet (at least the basics). Games are the perfect way to get a student interested in learning. Right now, kids are learning information so that they can pass a test and forget it the next day. That is NOT how I want my classroom to go. By incorporating games, students are learning to win. They are learning for fun because games, well, they are fun. If your classroom is not fun, students won't want to be there. They will find every excuse to leave the classroom and will probably pay more attention to their phone than your lecture. It is the job of the teacher to engage students and in my opinion, be fun. Gamification is a great-new age way to get that job done.

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