Gamification is a fairly new and fast growing field in academia that will teach 21st century skills to students along with giving them a wider more flexible style of learning which will help them develop their knowledge and motivate them to learn however businesses have been relying on gamification for years (de Freitas & de Freitas, 2013, p187). Gamification is best defined by Buckley and Doyle (2014, p.2) as ‘using-game based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning and solve problems’. Many would argue that the studies carried out to date are few and far between thereupon the true extent of the studies and outcomes are yet to be known in relation to what the full effect of gamification has on education. This being said the overwhelming positives from these studies for both students and teachers combined when the classroom is gamified should indeed be seen as important and significant and included in the school curriculum from primary all the way through to university. Gamification of the classroom has increased the student’s motivation to learn, try new things and excel in school studies by increasing their learning abilities due to their increased thirst for knowledge from gamified classrooms which caters for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivated learners.
Gamification in the classroom benefits students by increasing their learning not just from primary school but all the way through to university (Al-Azawi, Al-Faliti, Al-Bushi, 2016, p 132-136). There are said to be at least five benefits to adding gamification to the classroom and they can be catergorised into the following areas, firstly, they boost the student’s enthusiasm towards learning by engaging them throughout lessons. A gamified classroom lessens disruptive behaviour from the students that would otherwise be bored, along with increases in cognitive growth which improves a student’s attention span through game-centric learning. It incorporates make believe which increases development and growth within the students imagination and creative (Bruder, 2015). When gamification is introduced into the classroom which has a good game design and is implemented with elements such as continuous challenges that have interesting storylines which keep the students engaged and enthralled. With a combination of fun and realism incorporated within the game which has immediate and useful rewards including new missions, roles, locations and most importantly the flexibility of more than one way to win which allows the students to make mistakes (Bruder, 2015). The students can experiment by exploring their own creative options in their own time and learn that failure, making mistakes, trial and error and eventually having success through their past experience, practice, patience, reflection and lastly learning for their mistakes. Gamification can help students develop a positive relationship with failure which leads to their increased motivation to master the curricula (Buckley & Doyle, 2014).
A gamified classroom caters for both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivated students who have varying needs and differing learning styles (Brull & Finlayson, 2016). Intrinsically motivated students are best described as learners that are interested and have a curiosity about what they are learning and the actual learning process itself (Buckley & Doyle, 2014). They also thrive on immediate feedback, control, have persistence and gain pleasure in relation to the material they are learning which leads to a deeper understanding and aptitude (Banfield & Wilkerson, 2014). Extrinsically motivated student are learners who engage in class due to it being a means to and end and are only motivated to learn for recognition, rewards, avoid punishment, to gain the grades to pass the subjects or test and once achieved these learners tend to forget what they have learnt and can become less cooperative and disruptive in class (Kuo & Chuang, 2016). When Gamification is introduced within the classroom it engages both of these learners as the programmers have combined both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within the systems some of these features include virtual rewards for completion of their work, scoring systems, leader boards, instant feedback, virtual worlds which engages their mind and curiosity which increases their thirst to learn and try new things and acquire new skills and learn these things without even realising (Barata, Gama, Jorge & Goncalves 2014). Teachers can also use a gamified classroom to find the balance between catering for the varying needs of students but also achieving their teaching objectives (Dichev, Dicheva, Angelova, & Agre, 2015).
The student’s motivation, learning experiences and confidence levels excel as a result of gamification in classrooms (Buckley & Doyle, 2014). Traditional teaching techniques including the classroom environment is considered to be quite rigid and old fashioned. In this environment the students can be are scared to make mistakes due to being punished which leads them to become discouraged which then has the flow on effect and leads to their creative processes not being used or further developed (de Freitas & de Freitas, 2013). Through gamification students are transformed from passive participants to motivated learners and their engagement in class is impacted significantly due to this (de Freitas & de Freitas, 2013) and their engagement and knowledge of the subjects improves which results in higher grades in both class assessments and tests (Barata, Gama, Jorge & Goncalves 2014). When a classroom is gamified the students receive rapid feedback in relation to the task that they have completed for example an assignment that has been submitted, if it is completed correctly they earn rewards and move accordingly on the leader board (Dichev, Dicheva, Angelova, & Agre, 2015). A students persistence, curiosity and performance in relation to their learning objectives intensifies due to these rewards (Banfield & Wilkerson, 2014). While there is no educational reason for implementing animated avatars to a gamified classroom it adds added incentive for the students especially when seeing other student’s avatars and where they sit on the leader board which enhances the students engagement in activities and encourages healthy competition amongst one another plus added motivation. (de Freitas & de Freitas).
The positives of applying gamification into education for both the students and teachers far outweigh any negatives and will bring teaching into the 21st century and beyond. Gamification not only boosts motivation, it develops their imaginations through avatars, make believe worlds and storylines. It also increases their learning capacity due to healthy competition for other students within the class and there is less disruptive behaviour due to the engagement within the classroom due to gamification catering for both the intrinsic and extrinsic students and their individual needs. Through gamified class’ and activities students are taught that it is ok to make mistakes and how to deal with failure thereupon learning through trial and error. As citied by Prenksy, (2001) ‘A sine qua non of successful learning is motivation: a motivated learner can’t be stopped’, and with gamification in education this can be achieved.