Video Game Seduction Secrets

Several things stood out to me with regard to the link between successful games and learning, and how the two can be combined for maximum effect. First is the idea of failure as a tool for learning, and mastery as a milestone. The "acquire, test, master" mechanic that is a key element of effective game tutorials is also a best practice of education. However, given the structure of a traditional classroom, most students are not given the time and space to engage in this form of learning. This is a huge aspect of gamification for me. It is virtually impossible for me to let students acquire and master new skills at their own individual pace, in spite of the knowledge that this would be the best way for students to maximize their learning. However, if I can effectively design lessons and apply the right technology to the situation, I should be able to provide this opportunity for all of my students. Gamification and questing are excellent examples of how this could be achieved. Time and technology are currently significant barriers to this goal. The other dichotomy that appeals to me is the combination of autonomy and story. When students are in control of their own learning, both in terms of pacing and the choice of pathways, then they are more likely to be engaged and more likely to succeed. The story of a curriculum is also something that I want to investigate more deeply as I consider ways to gamify my classroom. I can see this being a task that will take a considerable amount of effort to establish, but which could be extremely rewarding in the long run. One area in which this would be useful for me specifically, is in letting students make connections between their own interests and the content. I teach chemistry, which is a basic science related to many interests and career choices. However, the current curriculum does not offer much in the way of examples that are meaningful to students. I would love to work out a number of different pathways that build chemistry concepts into either real-world situations, or perhaps even fictional ones (if I had a nickel for every question I get about Breaking Bad..). The students would be able to work through the concepts at heir own pace, and make choices about the context in which they would need to demonstrate their mastery. For example, if a student might be interested in pursuing nursing or another health-related field, then the learning pathway would introduce them to chemistry concepts in the context of health and human physiology. If they were interested in computer science, then the curriculum would be adjusted to focus more on quantum mechanical concepts. in either case, the same basic frameworks would be applied, but the level of depth and specific extension topics would be adjusted to match the interests of the individual student, and the pacing would be based on the "acquire, test, master" model.