Weekly Report & Reflection Week #5

I have decided to dedicate my blog post this week to our mathematics unit on Great Games.  I just finished the requirements for this assignment (posting on three games and commenting on two posts about games), so I thought it would be appropriate to write a few words on what I have taken from this experience.  In general, I found the unit to be quite rewarding.  Its intent is to help incorporate gamification (applying elements of game playing to activities) with educational teaching strategies.  I believe gamification can work as a valuable tool for Twenty-First Century instructors.  In my opinion, its greatest value is to provide students with educational material that is engaging, entertaining, and interactive.  The games that I experienced tended to be free to users and available online.  Some were simple and basic (for example, check out the game Puppy Chase), while others were complex and required a lot of investment (for example, check out the game Prodigy).  Significantly, the games cover a variety of subjects that relate to the specific requirements set out in  The Ontario Curriculum Mathematics Grade 1-8.  That is, there are games available for additional and subtraction, integers, fractions, multiplication, division, and so on.  Furthermore, it is possible to find games with various subject matter and levels of difficulty that would be appropriate for a wide range of age groups.

I think that incorporating gamification with mathematical educational is a wise instructional strategy.  Sadly, students often complain that learning mathematics is boring and disengaging.  However, I believe gamification can help to rectify these often hastily assumed opinions.  Gamification has the ability to get students interested in learning by challenging them in creative ways.  Furthermore, if the games offered to students are good enough it is likely they will invest a lot time in them.  It is often difficult to get students to invest a lot of time in to further developing their understanding of foundational knowledge.  Gamification may be a technique that can help to improve this problem.  Realistically, I do not think gamification is a kind of magic bullet for solving educational instruction, but I do think that when students enjoy what they are learning they desire to learn more. Therefore gamification can act as a great facilitator for increasing student interests while simultaneously improving their basic skills and knowledge.

clipartsheep.com (public domain)