Gamification – sounds like an intimidating technical term, doesn’t it? In reality, it’s quite the opposite. Most teachers don’t even realize they’re already using this technique in their classrooms. For those who aren’t fully aware of this term, gamification of learning refers to the introduction of game-like elements in your teaching strategies so as to motivate students to learn. These games can vary from physical to mental ones as well as from competitions to engaging activities. Basically, you transform your classroom into a fun gaming setup!

Gamification: The Future of Classroom

Although adults and teachers have always been using this strategy in their classrooms, modern educational institutions favor the gamification of learning even more. It is the new, revolutionary way to engage learners, particularly those who have a hard time focusing or paying attention to content within a classroom setting. Through using gamification of learning techniques, teachers and instructors can make it easier for students to assimilate knowledge and understand complex concepts without ever getting distracted or bored. And with more and more teachers realizing the effectiveness of this technique, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say that gamification is the future of classrooms.

The Attention-Span Barrier

When discussing the most common problems teachers have with children, the small attention span is always somewhere on the top of the list. Since kids have a brief attention span, it is tough to keep them focused and motivated.

Gamification of learning is an effective and practical solution to this problem. When you engage kids in a gaming activity, they are more likely to pay attention and concentrate on the activity for extended periods of time. This method works on children of every age group and gender. Thus, if you creatively gamify a learning task, you can get them to pay more attention and fully concentrate on it.

 

3 Ways You Can Gamify Your Learning Environment

• Rewards and Badges

Introduce and promote the idea of rewards. Set up a criterion and promise a special bonus for those who fulfill the requirements. For example, propose a norm in the classroom that high-scores (more than 80% scores or so) will get a reward. This reward could be a gift, cash, snacks, or anything else you think would excite the children.

Similarly, you can also create badges and promise one to the kids who earn it. You can even create different types of badges for various tasks, such as the Fastest Typer badge, the Punctuality badge, High-scorer badge, etc. Doing this will continuously motivate the children to do their best to earn a reward or a badge.

 

• Video Games

Several different kinds of video games are designed to specifically promote fast and healthy learning amongst kids. These games are often beneficial for improving language and math skills.

More often than not, kids find these subjects very dull. Sometimes, they even get frustrated and lose interest entirely. Gaming activities can be a great way to revive interest amongst children and motivate them to learn. Sometimes video games designed for learning purposes can provide the right shift in perspective that a student needs in order to understand a concept and be willing to commit to learning more.

 

• Role-playing

Even if you don’t promote competitions among the children, having them role-play is another suitable type of gamification of learning.For example, if you want to teach the class about history or influential politics, you can arrange activities in which children could play specific roles. This way, they could learn more about particular personalities while keeping everything fun and exciting!

 

4 Benefits of Gamification of Learning in the Classroom

• Interactive Learning 

Since games and fun activities ensure engagement, kids interact more enthusiastically. More interaction leads to better communication of the concept you’re teaching, improved social behaviors and habits, and an overall healthier learning environment.

 

• Practical Implementation of Knowledge

Often, students have no idea how their knowledge is beneficial for them in the practical world. Playing games close to reality can help kids understand the importance and implementation of whatever they’re learning at school. Again, this understanding is beneficial for students of all age groups.

 

• Motivates Kids to Learn More 

Gamification of learning makes everything more fun and exciting. This makes children excited to come back to school and learn more. As a result, emotions like frustration, exhaustion, childhood depression, and many other issues are kept at bay.

 

• Gamification of Learning Ensures Instant Feedback 

When you promote learning through games, most of the time, the feedback is immediate. Their response helps you figure out just how much they enjoy the process. Moreover, it helps you understand what concepts they’re easily grasping and what concepts might need further refining. Because you get the feedback in real-time, you can identify the flaws right away. Then, you can fix them instantly and ensure better results.

 

Final Thoughts 

Alongside games, there are several softwares that perform a similar substitute role of getting the child engaged in practical application of tasks. Introducing and promoting software into your teaching strategies is, in fact, another good example of the gamification of learning concept at work. For instance, KeyboardingOnline is a typing software that helps children improve their typing skills and speed. The software is ideal for use in classroom environments. It’s also suitable hosting creative competitions, keeping a digital track of progress, and boosting your students’ motivation levels.

Incorporating something as simple and engaging as the KeyboardingOnline software can mean the difference between a child that actively engages and a child that simply gets through another day of class. Gamification of learning might not be a novel concept, but schools and teachers are eager to explore all the wonderful possibilities it has to offer. Explore KeyboardingOnline and jump on on board – let’s build the future of classrooms together.