Gamification is the process of adding games or game-like elements to some things such as tasks to encourage participation. It contains the game elements in instructions to encourage students learning and academic behavior. It is noticed as a student-centered instruction design.
Gamification is based on learning. Gamified learning has a large impact on students’s ability to think critically, creativity, and solve problems. It is integrating, interesting, and engaging activities that activate interest in the learners resulting in learning. Gamification makes learners responsible for their own learning. Such as using dice, bingo, letter titles, boards, cards, and games to support a lesson, educational websites, apps, and video-guided activities. It is the application of game strategy and mechanism to enhance non-game contexts. It has become increasingly popular these days due to its versatile nature.
Gamification in education includes using game methods like point-scoring and rewards to make learning more engaging and fun. It aims to create meaningful learning experiences and encourage active participation through instant response.
To control the effect of COVID-19 on the educational sector, the Government of Nepal implemented different new policies extending from traditional technologies like radio, Television, and landline phones to connect the students of remote districts of Nepal to modern mobile technologies. Online classes through with internet as an alternative source of education during the pandemic. The Ministry of Education launched the e-education gateway with a source of e-books, course-wise lessons, and other necessary educational teaching materials.
For example, students can learn how different countries work through an online game with a virtual world they can interact with other players and gain points for their actions. It reduces the monotonous nature of traditional educational materials while at the same time teaching them. It is a new concept, and it is gaining popularity rapidly. It is based on the idea that people are inherently competitive, so students will be more likely to participate in learning experiences or work tasks by using game elements. It’s about creating a framework around the learning experiences.
Some students are intrinsically motivated, while others need a push. Gamifying the classroom gives students some things to keep them interested. It makes learning information, fun, and exciting. It allows learners to have more control over their education and enhances to learn new information. Students’ brains are more likely to absorb that knowledge than if they had read or watched. It encourages students to try new things independently without fear of failure. Gamified learning and technology give teachers the ability to enhance lessons to help every child succeed in their education.
Some techniques in which gamification can be designed in the classroom:-
- Build a point system for Academic and Non-Academic Goals
- Transform the Perception of “Progression”
- Create Healthy Competitive Environments
- Encourage Self-analysis of Personal Performance
Intrinsic motivation comes from the joy and satisfaction one feels while doing the activities themselves. Extrinsic motivation comes from external rewards like grades or marks.
For example:
Assume students practice their multiplication tables instead of assigning them flashcards and displaying them to practice repeatedly until they get them right. In such cases, can create a game where they get points for multiplying two numbers jointly. This makes learning more fun for students.
The future of the gamification:
Children will always enjoy playing games whether or without technology. While more research still needs to be done on game-based learning to ensure the best practices in the classroom. The teaching strategy’s popularity is growing as it continues to help students succeed in school. Game-based learning has the potential to ultimately change the ways that students prepare for career future education. Providing students with opportunities to engage in activities that can improve their knowledge while having fun. The teacher can easily gamify their classroom by thoroughly choosing games and activities that meet standards and learning targets. I believe gamified learning is continually evolving and growing as more educators practice. These skills to be able to provide valuable resources to support their student’s success. It makes learning more fun and therefore less dry and the same. It makes use of the benefits of the learning.
It always them to develop their values and attitudes such as openness to new experiences and curiosity. Gamification helps learners maintain a positive collaboration among participants. Overall it increases learners’ motivation and promotes long-term commitments to the training. Gamification concerning theories, learning styles, and teaching technologies is more relevant to 21st-century learning. Knowledge gained through digital game design activities in the learning process will able to create a learning environment that helps improve students’ knowledge skills, and motivation to learn.
Benefits Of the gamification:
- It increases students’ engagement and makes learning fun and interactive
- It provides instant feedback
- Promoting behavioral change
- Reinforce learning, game-based interaction
- Ensure better comprehension: games are very useful in delivering process training and skills.
- Helps increase the time spent on learning
- Anytime anywhere learning
- It creates such an environment that learners realize ” knowledge is every”.
- Gamification does not imply creating a game it can make education fun and engaging.
- Positive feedback they get pushed forward and become more interested and stimulated to learn.
Through this game, teachers can create connections between students ” love for gaming and their learning, which can mean that the classroom becomes a more relatable and stimulating outer space. This theory intently supports Vygotsky” ‘s Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) and the concept of scaffolding in education theory. Scaffolding refers to the support given to students to help them cross this area. In a gamified setting, the progressing nature of the task serves as built-in scaffolding. Gamification helps students progress through their ZPD. It is the process of game thinking and mechanics.
It increases learners’ motivation and engages students in a friendly competitive environment with other learners. Gamification is an effective approach to making positive changes in students’ behavior and attitudes toward learning to improve their motivation and engagement. The result of the change has a bilateral nature. It is a game mechanic. Game mechanic to nongame situation. It is not about using gaming attributes to conceptual practices with outcomes that able students.
