Many will argue that gaming does nothing but take students away from their studies but it has been found that when gamification and online learning are integrated, students can benefit.
School is not all fun and games, but when a professor takes a gamified approach to teaching content or to delivering a curriculum, students can have fun and stay engaged while they expand their knowledge.
If you would like to learn about a new, innovative and modern way to approach higher learning instruction, read on and learn how gamified instruction is really taking the student experience to the next level.
What is Gamification?
Before you can really understand how gamification is having a dramatic impact on curricula design, you need to have a basic understanding on what this application is and how it is being used.
The idea of gamification was created by Badegville in 2010 when they noticed a shift in customer behaviors. Simply put, gamification is the application of the core elements of competitive game playing to some other type of activity (higher education, online marketing, and workplace performance) where these elements are not commonly integrated.
Some of the game mechanics that can be applied in an effort to engage an audience, motivate, and increase participation are: game rules, point scoring, competing with other players and rewards. As the implementation of game mechanics began to make things in life that tend to be hard more fun, it became increasingly popular in higher education.
How Has Gamification Changed One-Size-Fits-All College Programs?
Education, especially online programs, is becoming self-paced and customized compared to the one-size-fits-all approach of the past. Now, students can make their own schedules, study on their own schedule, and even decide when they want to graduate. One of the most recent changes in curricular design that is replacing mass production is the gamified approach that innovative professors are taking.
Solo practitioners are choosing to design curriculum and develop their courses on their own with a much more collaborative model that will spark student engagement and motivate them to perform. As part of the curriculum design, professors are including scoring for participation and a competitive approach that is making education more fun. Since students are having more fun, engagement rates are higher and students are earning higher grades.
Students are Taking More From Their Online Degree Programs
The key to engagement is getting a student interested. With gamified online programs, there is deeper interest for the curriculum because they are more motivated to learn. Students can earn points for their blog posts, get badges for completing a lesson, level-up when they reach a goal, and work to a meaningful outcome. As they complete activities, they may enjoy public recognition much like someone who is playing a mobile game on social media would enjoy. The idea of rewards and recognition is nothing new, but it is something new in online college programs.
Everything will change or be reinvigorated over time. It is time for higher education to be revamped and designed to give students incentive to perform other than earning their degree. With an incentive, students will stay committed to really immersing themselves in the curriculum. The reward system is something that will make even distance learners stay active. This is why gamification and online learning go so well together.
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