Gaming and education have always
been considered as separate entities by traditional systems of teaching and
learning. Despite this fact, a large number of students and even adults spend
millions of hours completely immersed in the games sitting in front of TVs,
computers, mobile phones, iPads or other PDAs.
explores the possibilities of integrating games in
traditional instructional methodologies, both online and face to face, so that
teachers can help students learn the ability to perform problem solving, engage
in high-level thinking skills, promote collaboration, foster engagement with
the subject matter and retention.
If teachers pretermit the gamification of education,
they would not be able to connect with the learners who are practically born in
this digital world. The advancement in the
digital world calls for changes in the way education is imparted to students.
The demands and needs of the modern world have
changed a lot, and teachers can not continue teaching the same way as they used
to teach in 20th century, moreover, this may not bring the best results for
today’s technologically advanced students
support the fact that computer games can motivate
students to learn and better transform the way students acquire knowledge.
Kirriemuir (2008) further claims that, “Games are associated with fun, play, challenge,
imagination, enjoyment, lateral thinking and experimentation – concepts that,
for many, sit uneasily with study, concentration, silence, obedience and
checklist (or curriculum) teaching
believes that digital game environments can enhance
human cognition and always involve purposeful human action within a specific
context. Gee (2003) sees games as a medium of mastering new literacy practices.
Gee(2003) considers ‘literacy’ practices as reading, writing, sounds,
interpretation and manipulation of images. Digital games have been used in
formal settings for the last decade, but still there is a lot of scope
it has been demonstrated that games can supplement
formal education and may not necessarily interfere with existing instructional
strategies
Many interactive games, known as ‘Serious games’,
usually combine educational content with game and its elements
Games,
by design, rely on intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation and ‘intrinsic
motivation can be undermined by external rewards linked to tasks’ (Lepper &
Green 1976). Wlodkowski (1999), defines
motivation as the driving force behind someone’s actions. Intrinsic
motivation are the internal desires to
perform a particular task whereas extrinsic motivation is doing something because of external rewards (Deci
& Ryan, 1985). The classroom
environment and the teacher interaction are also very important in motivating
students (Grolnick and Ryan, 1990). Further, Waraich states that “For any
learning task to be meaningful to the learner, they must have both a sufficient
context for the learning and motivation to perform the tasks that will help
them to learn.”(2004, p.98). Malone and Lepper
(1987) observed that games intrinsically motivate players to engage in problem
solving and critical thinking, because challenge, curiosity and fantasy act as
the motivating factors.
