Gamification and Games-Based Learning
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Debika Thiruchelvam
Debika Thiruchelvam<EMAIL_ADDRESS>University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Abstract
As society becomes increasingly focused and dependent upon technology, the educational scene must shift to accommodate such changes to help students tackle challenges in the twenty first century workplace. One of the ways this can be accomplished is through the implementation of game-based learning in the classroom. This paper discusses how game-based learning can be used in the K-12 context, specifically for mathematics education. The importance of creating technologically advanced classrooms with a shift in the traditional educational paradigm is discussed. A literature review of existing studies at the K-12 level discusses the advantages to students in terms of their academic achievement and intrinsic motivation. The use of DimensionM, an immersive educational game designed to improve math performance in the classroom, is discussed as a realistic implementation of these principles into Canadian classrooms.
Keywords: game-based, learning, math, K-12, elementary, high, school, student, achievement, motivation.
Introduction
The goal of education is to prepare youth for lifelong learning (Divjak & Tomic, 2011). As digital technology pervades into all spheres of life, it is imperative that education includes technology. An increasing number of classrooms are now using technology to facilitate learning (Rosen & Beck-Hill, 2012). The aim of using technology in education is to create environments that are engaging for students, easing their ability to understand and remember curriculum content (Rosen & Beck-Hill, 2012). Furthermore, technology assists teachers with differentiating their instruction to suit the needs of individual learners. Differentiation refers to “providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas” (p. 228).
Although technology provides a rich source of materials for educational reform, it seems that most educators do not use technology to enact deep enough of a change resulting in a paradigm shift, but rather use technology marginally to reinforce traditional teaching methods (Rosen & Beck-Hill, 2012). The benefit of using technology such as the iPad, for instance, in the classroom is that it allows young learners to use many a variety of their senses, such as aural and visual, which has been shown to benefit learning, especially in math (Carr, 2012). Such technologies foster environments that permit student centered learning (Carr, 2012).
Over the last four decades, several studies have pointed to the use of games as a way of increasing learning whilst simultaneously decreasing the amount of time spent teaching (Divjak & Tomic, 2011). Games may be a better reflection of the kind of learning environment that learners prefer and can thrive in than is the traditional classroom (Kebritchi, Hirumi & Bai, 2010). As stated b