Hello everyone,

Gaming is fun for the students. Games can engage and encourage students to learn. Because there aren’t enough systems, students are encouraged to practice teamwork. The use of games in the classroom gives the students immediate feedback and information about their score compared to a fun paper activity where the student waits for a grade. The use of games can personalize lessons based on the student’s ability or disabilities. The great thing about games is students can work at their own pace. According to The Role of Instructional Design in Supporting the Transfer of Mathematical Knowledge and Skills written by Ari et al. “adaptive learning systems can offer the most appropriate learning trajectory for each learner considering various individual difference factors.” (Ari et al. 2020).

 All games may not be conducive for all students. We must consider students with either physical or cognitive disabilities. For these students, special gaming equipment like joysticks, and keyboards must be purchased, which increases the cost of games.  Another issue is students can become addicted which can cause students to refuse or negate traditional means of learning. We all know the most popular games are usually never geared toward enhancing learning objectives.   

My strategies are that games must be relevant to the subject and students should understand games are enhancements, not requirements. Good behavior must be maintained during the use of games. Games become inappropriate when there is no link to a lesson objective. According to Hughes and Roblyer pg. 161 of Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching “The goals of such games can create a problem in which the player can work to win the game but not learn anything” (Hughes & Roblyer 2022 pg. 161).

Reference:

Ari, F., Arslan-Ari, I., Inan, F.A., Flores, R. (2020). The Role of Instructional Design in Supporting the Transfer of Mathematical Knowledge and Skills. In: Bishop, M.J., Boling, E., Elen, J., Svihla, V. (eds) Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1007/978-3-030-36119-8_20

Hughes, J. E., & Roblyer, M. D. (2022). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (9th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780137544622