We often hear teachers; parents and students say that learning should be fun and not monotonous. It should be experiential and not just pen, paper and scorecard. There have been many researches done and are still going on to understand the best ways of learning for learners be it children or adults. There have been many curriculums and approaches designed to enhance the quality of education. Gamification is one such evolved ways of learning through games. We all know that games play a significant role in the lives of both children and adults. We all love playing games and it’s one of the best stress buster for us. But how many of us have considered the fact that playing games are the first way in which a child explores skills like creating, problem solving etc.? Games are of far more importance than being just childish waste of time. With this thought in mind, the concept of Gamification has been introduced. The term was coined by Nick Pelling in 2002. Since then it has been one of the most sought after approach. According to Kapp, Gamification is “using game based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action promote learning, and solve problems.

Gamification uses elements of game. In Gamification, points and badges are given instead of grades, levels of achievements rather than scorecards and performance is personalized for each student. The concept of Gamification got widely recognized in late 2010. Since then there has been massive growth in the Gamification industry. As per a research and data collected, it was valued at $6.8 Billion in 2018 and is expected to reach more than $32 Billion by 2025. In 2009, the New York based Institute of Play established two fully gamified high schools under the gaming principles.

Gamification promotes learning in many ways. It promotes collaboration among learners, it builds self-confidence, challenges and improves the problem solving skills and at the same time is enjoyable. There are many websites and apps that make use of Gamification in learning. For example Class Dojo, Kahoot!, Edmodo, Tiny cards, Coursera, Memrize etc. Gamification has now become the most popular learning trend in the digital world today. As educators and learners we must research more on this and incorporate it in positive and balanced ways to achieve better learning outcomes and make learning fun.

Reference links: https://raccoongang.com/blog/gamification-education-and-its-examples/

https://yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/top-10-education-gamification-examples/

https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/educational-technologies/all/gamification-and-game-based-learning