Game designers make millions of dollars a year. They know the tricks to keep gamers interested and always coming back for more. If we looked deeper at the features of gaming, we might gain some insight into how gaming features can improve our educational settings. Let's look at the following aspects of gaming and see how they can relate to the learning environment:
1. Failure is ok: In a video game, failure is ok. You just keep trying until you make it to the goal. Most times in education, failure is not encouraged. If failure was encouraged, more kids would be comfortable trying and not worry about the let down.
2. Interesting Tools: Video games provide players with interesting tools such as weapons and magic. Our students need interesting tools too. They need current emerging technologies at their disposal, they need time to research. Too often, students are expected to memorize the material, but they aren't given the tools they need to be successful. Students need hands on practice as well as paper and pencil.
3. Acquire, Test, Master: In a video game, players may be given a gun for the mission, but they are only given access to one part of the gun. Once they master that part, they are given access to the next part. In education, wouldn't this be a great idea! As educators, maybe we need to break apart tasks into smaller tasks. Give students the skills they need to master the small task, and continue to move on to the next small tasks. This would allow students to not be so overwhelmed with a huge task all at once.
4. Go at your own pace: Video games allow the user to work at their own pace. They can take their time mastering skills and moving on as they would like too. In education, most teachers are so slammed with curriculum standards, they can't allow students to move at their own pace. Students that don't keep up with the rest of the class, have to have intervention and then move on. If the education system would allow students to work at their own pace, and actually master a skill before they have to move on to something new. Students that move on to new material without mastering the previous material, will eventually be lost.
5: Autonomy: In a video game, the player has autonomy, they are in control of what they do and where they go in a game. When students are put in control of their learning and given choice, they are more interested and engaged in their learning.
6: Expected Progression and then a surprise 1/2 through: This is the element of surprise that video games have that keep the players interested in the game. They know the goal, but when they are close to the goal, they get a nice surprise that they aren't expecting. In education, we don't do things like this, and we wonder why are students are disengaged in the learning process. We have to keep learning interesting and have unexpected surprises, which in turn will keep students engaged and ready for the next task.
7.Disproportionate Feedback: In a video game, the gamer receives huge rewards for small tasks. In education, we often forget that students need to be rewarded and encouraged. School has become monotone and boring. We need to celebrate the small accomplishments. We need to make their small successes seem BIG! This will keep students pressing forward to the larger goal.
Video games are making billions of dollars and gaining more and more gamers everyday. They must be doing something right. RIGHT? The education system could learn a lot from game designers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our students were as interested in learning as they are playing video games? Wouldn't it be great for our students to feel that same success about their education as they do when they "beat" a game? Think about that for a minute!
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