Purpose

Educators have long undertaken the quest for finding ways to best present content to their pupils.  With the unmistakable shift in the present world culture, and with exponential increase in the use of modern technology, educators now have at their fingertips greater access to technology, and more forms and variations of technology, than ever before.  This is why gamification in education, or the use of gaming technologies for the purpose of strengthening student comprehension and retention of content, is so formidable in modern educational practices today.

The Oxford University Press (2015) defines gamification as "the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service."  Gamification has, in fact, made its presence known in education to a very high degree.

The employment of gaming and principles of gamification by educators mirrors the cultural practices of students and their families in most of the modern global society.  Such practices in classrooms and in homes have heightened interest in learning by most students.

Gaming and gamification work so well in education because games can be constructed and written to simulate that which must be taught in most content areas of learning, for the most part.  A quick search engine stroll with the phrase "best interactive games for education" will yield a plethora of valuable web addresses that lead to treasure troves of social bookmarking sites that will provide interactive and collaborative gaming online that can be adapted and applied to scores of educational content.

With the introduction of Minecraft, however, the ground in education shifted immeasurably.  While it might be helpful to provide lots of glowing text here to sing the praises of this amazing gaming tool in education, it would be much better, and, dare I say, more entertaining, to allow someone much more knowledgeable on the subject to have the floor for a bit.

Minecraft and Minecraftedu are perfect examples of how gaming and the principles of gamification can be used for problem solving, communication of information, and collaboration in the educational setting.

To implement gaming and the principles of gamification in the classroom, educators must remember three things to ensure success:

1. Be sure your technology works.  If your gear doesn't function, your class won't either.  Learners who have been told that they'll get a chance to play will hold you to it until it happens.  It is most unlikely that every gaming opportunity will go smoothly.  Be prepared for a visit from Mr. Murphy.
2. Gaming can't teach everything.  Certain aspects of a lesson or a concept cannot be taught with a gaming platform.  You will have to decide ahead of the presentation of a lesson which pieces those are.  You alone will need to make the determination as to the proportion of traditional teaching to gaming in your content area.
3. Every learner gets a turn to play.  This is critical, especially for educators of elementary school students.  If time doesn't permit for all learners to play on a given day, be sure to have a pre-arranged schedule for time allotment to include every last one of your learners.

Finally, take some time to peruse the following infographic to get a better understanding of the playing field of gaming and how it has its advocates and its naysayers in the classroom.