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As any good teacher knows, it’s important to engage students so they learn the information and can apply it. Memorizing information for a test earns a good grade, but understanding the causes and effects of dry facts and being able to think critically about them will stay with a student long after the course ends.
Using technology to do this began a century ago with radio and then movie technology. Today’s school children use quiz games and world-building simulation games to study math, science, geography, and history. But what about post-secondary education students?
College and career-education courses use gamification, game-based learning, and virtual reality to enhance student understanding and engagement too. Many have been using this approach for more than a decade. A 2010 article written by Max Lieberman of the University of Texas at Austin’s Digital Writing and Research Lab praised the experiential nature of teaching with video games. These researchers listed four ways of using video games in instruction: games that teach content; using games as texts; having students design games; and integrating game-like motivational systems into the classroom.
Games that teach content, also called game-based learning, is what most think of when imagining technology’s integration into the classroom. Game-based learning, according to The Teaching and Learning Center at West Chester University (PA), is when games are used so students experience the learning firsthand. Playing a game that has course content in it promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Gamification, or integrating game-like motivational systems into the classroom, is when game characteristics are used in the learning setting. Examples include points systems, badges, leaderboards, and discussion boards.
Both game-based learning and gamification can “increase learner engagement and sustain motivation using concepts like goals, interaction, feedback, problem solving, competition, and narrative,” according to an article in The Teaching and Learning Center’s online resources.
Using virtual reality for instruction achieves this as well. Simply put, VR learning uses immersive and interactive simulations. It’s a hands-on way to learn without being real. Some examples of VR training in Ohio include simulations for students in nursing and law enforcement. Other uses of VR in education include virtual field trips to historical sites or other countries, the simulation of real-world scenarios that allow students to practice skills and responses. This has practical application in fields like medicine, engineering, law enforcement, education, and aviation.
While there are challenges to using VR in the classroom setting – such as cost and instructor training – there are some key benefits according to Bankim Chandra, who wrote about this technology in the Forbes Technology Council’s March 28, 2024 newsletter. Like other technology, VR can cater to different learning styles, tailoring education to each student. VR helps students visualize and experience complex or abstract concepts in 3D and real time. Chandra cites the example of students learning about the human body’s inner workings with hands-on experience.
While using a VR or video-game approach to learning is useful for all ages due to its adaptability and flexibility, it is particularly valuable when students are digital native Millennials or Gen Z, all born after 1980. The interactive nature of game-based learning and gamification, not to mention virtual reality, matches their learning styles. As digital curriculum provider Gameplan states, “The dynamic nature of video games gets students to engage with content… Research suggests that the interactive and immersive qualities of games can significantly improve engagement and motivation.” Another key feature is that games allow for immediate feedback and adjust to different learning speeds. They can motivate students to take risks in a safe, low-stakes way. Psychologist Susan Rivers points out that it’s through failure that we learn. Mistakes force students to adjust and re-evaluate before trying again, key components to many video games.
“There’s something beautiful about interactive gameplay that draws young people in to thinking about complex topics like narrative design, like identity, like character building, like complicated storytelling that’s not linear,” Rivers said on an American Psychological Association podcast in February 2024.
No matter your age as a lifelong learner, when you use your Union Education Trust benefits to take a course, you may find that the instructional environment is more interactive than a traditional lecture. Whether it’s game-based learning, gamification, or virtual reality, you will immerse yourself in learning. And like all games, it’ll be fun!
An AI-curated list of examples:
Platforms like Minecraft Education are used to teach subjects like math, science, and coding in an interactive and engaging way.
Some courses focus on the use of commercial video games (like Minecraft or World of Warcraft) as an educational tool, helping students learn through games they already enjoy.
Games can make learning more engaging and fun, particularly for students who may struggle with traditional teaching methods.
University of Oklahoma has developed a calculus game, and Texas A&M University developed a similar game, Variant: Limits, showing that games can increase student mastery in subjects like calculus.
Games like Assassin's Creed can even be used to pique interest in history, as demonstrated in a teacher education course at the University of Northern Colorado.
Games like SimCity encourage critical thinking as students navigate real-world challenges and learn the impact of their decisions, according to the United States Academic Esports League.