Integrating games in teaching-learning process for the 21st century learners

By Lea M. Gacelos

Teacher III

These learners have new profiles and are digital natives. They are the students of today. Due to the fact that they were raised with digital technologies, they have different learning styles, a new viewpoint on the learning process, and higher expectations for teaching and learning. In order to meet the demands, preferences, and requirements of their students, teachers are required to address key problems and customize the learning process to meet those necessities. For students to be highly motivated and engaged learners, teachers need to apply a variety of instructional strategies and techniques. This will allow students to take an active role in their own education and empower them to become active participants. The purpose of this work is to investigate and describe the qualities and benefits of gamification, as well as to provide recommendations on how it might be utilized in educational settings.

The purpose of this work is to provide an introduction to gamification, as well as an analysis of its nature and benefits, as well as some suggestions for its application in educational settings.

Effect of Games Integration in Education. The creation of design that is inspired by games is accomplished through the use of playful design rather than the addition of game features. There is a process known as gamification, which involves adapting concepts, ideas, and metaphors from games to situations that are not related to gaming. The purpose of this process is to influence user behavior and to enhance motivation and commitment. There is more to games than just amusement; they are designed with the purpose of providing training. Not only do they feature all the elements that are associated with games, but they also have predetermined objectives that players must achieve. In spite of the fact that they simulate real-world occurrences and provide user training in an environment that is analogous to the actual world, simulations are somewhat comparable to serious games. Game mechanics are something that learners are familiar with because the majority of them have played a number of games in the past or are presently playing a range of games. This conclusion is not only valid for learners but also to teachers who work with them, that is unquestionably valid for the field of education. Students’ lack of desire and their inability to actively participate in the learning process are the fundamental causes of the problems that contemporary education is currently confronting. It is for this reason that educators make an effort to implement innovative approaches and strategies in order to elicit engagement from their students and motivate them to participate in the learning process. As a means of addressing this issue and increasing levels of involvement and activity, one approach would be to award prizes for individuals’ efforts and achievements. This decision was taken on the basis of the manner in which gaming elements are utilized in the process of learning. When participating in games, players engage in activities with the goal of achieving a particular objective while they are confronted with obstacles. In the field of education, there are learning objectives that must be accomplished that can be accomplished by participating in specific learning activities or by engaging with instructional content. The first and most important step toward implementing active learning is for students to collaborate with one another in the classroom. On the other hand, games include a large amount of competition as one of its inherent components. The learning process ought to place more of an emphasis on the development of skills linked to cooperation, teamwork, and accountability for the overall performance of the group. This is in contrast to the current approach, which places more of an emphasis on student competition. For the most part, the concept of gamification does not have a direct connection to either knowledge or abilities. There exists a connection between the implementation of gamification and the motivation, behavior, and dedication of students, which can result in an increase in the amount of involvement.

Games integration of 21st Century

In order to develop a successful plan for gamification in e-learning, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing environment and software resources. The majority of the steps included in the plan are as follows:

1. The students’ propensity to engage with the content and participate in competitive learning activities are the major and deciding factors in the situation. It is the responsibility of the teachers to ascertain and keep in mind the skills that the participants require in order to achieve the goals. This includes determining whether or not the activities and tasks require the students to possess specialized knowledge. when things are extremely easy or difficult, because there is a possibility that this will have a negative influence and cause learners to lose motivation. What occurs when they are successful and the environment in which they are learning both have an impact on the degree to which students are willing to participate in training.

2) An explanation of the goals that are intended to be accomplished during the lessons. In order for the learning objectives to be effective, they must consist of clarity and precision. With the absence of the accomplishment of learning objectives, all activities, including those that involve gamification, will appear to be pointless in the context of education. In addition to the instructional materials and activities that are going to be utilized, the goals provide an overview of the ideal game mechanics and strategies that will be utilized to accomplish the learning process.

3. It is important for educational resources to be interactive, entertaining, and packed with components of multimedia development. In order to facilitate performances, the learning objectives ought to serve as a guide for the formulation of training exercises. It is also important that learning exercises be created in such a way that students have the opportunity to retake them if they do not succeed the first time they attempt them. It is absolutely necessary to establish the suitable conditions and opportunities in order to accomplish the desired result. The students’ abilities will increase as a result of repeated practice.