Growing up, I spent most of my days playing games. Online, outside, with friends, and by myself. I am definitely not alone in this. Why not translate this obvious interest in games into learning? According to the University of Waterloo, gamification is the integration of game elements like point systems, leaderboards, badges, or other elements related to games into “conventional” learning activities in order to increase engagement and motivation. Essentially, the goal is to turn learning into games. However, this doesn’t mean that there needs to be a winner and a loser. Gamification is not limited to the virtual world. Any lesson plan can be designed to have a ‘challenge’ or a goal that everyone is working towards. However, there are many different websites that have learning games. Some of these websites are listed below:
- https://www.mathgames.com/
- https://pbskids.org/games/science
- https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3006
- https://www.roomrecess.com/pages/WordGames.html
“The gamification theory in education is that learners learn best when they are also having fun. Not only this – they also learn best when they have goals, targets and achievements to reach for, of course in a way the learner still perceives as fun.” – True Education Partnerships