eSchool News | Game-Based Learning Archives https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/game-based-learning/ Innovations in Educational Transformation Wed, 26 Apr 2023 18:06:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.eschoolnews.com/files/2021/02/cropped-esnicon-1-32x32.gif eSchool News | Game-Based Learning Archives https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/game-based-learning/ 32 32 102164216 MDM solutions and gamification make perfect interactive learning partners https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2023/05/10/mdm-solutions-gamification-interactive-learning/ Wed, 10 May 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=211249 In the era of mobile devices and tablets, interactivity has become the norm for schoolchildren. To facilitate effective teaching and learning, modern schools must equip every classroom with interactive touchscreens and utilize gamification techniques. As these modern education tools require management and security, integrating MDM solutions has become imperative for every organization.]]>

In the era of mobile devices and tablets, interactivity has become the norm for schoolchildren. To facilitate effective teaching and learning, modern schools must equip every classroom with interactive touchscreens and utilize gamification techniques. As these modern education tools require management and security, integrating MDM solutions has become imperative for every organization.

Understanding the Basics of Gamification in Education

Gamification means adding interactive gaming elements to processes such as learning. Everyone loves games, and competition motivates people to perform their best. So, by adding gamification elements during teaching sessions, schools can significantly increase their participation and engagement levels.

In addition, gamification can improve student skills such as active learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking. It also helps students enhance teamwork and collaboration.

Gamification helps students retain acquired knowledge. Gabe Zichermann, CEO of Dopamine, a gamification consulting agency, said people tend to remember their lessons better when taught via gamified methods. In fact, applying gamification to the learning process can increase knowledge retention by up to 40 percent.

Finally, gamification is more fun. Students will find it hard to resist participating when a leaderboard out front announces current individual scores. Or they might find it challenging to compete against fellow students to become the first to finish a task or answer a question correctly via touchscreen. In addition, it can be a rewarding experience to see the entire class cooperating to jointly solve a puzzle.

The Benefits of MDM Solutions for Gamified Learning in Schools

When using touchscreen devices in schools, it pays to have companion MDM solutions to manage, maintain, and secure them. After all, touchscreens represent a significant investment for school districts.

Like other school equipment, the better the care and upkeep, the longer these devices will serve the students. So, investing in a sound and reliable device manager is critical when deploying touchscreens to the entire school district.

Let’s look at the direct benefits of applying MDM solutions to gamified learning:

Better Software Management

With a cloud-based remote device manager, it’s easier to keep all software and system settings updated. Instead of spending money on support calls or field visits, system administrators and IT teams can remotely connect to individual devices to perform over-the-air (OTA) installations, updates, and fixes.

With all the tools and resources available via cloud connection, admins can conveniently schedule updates during after-school hours to minimize downtime. Moreover, ideal MDM solutions will update selected devices or the entire fleet.

Better Security

Combining the functions of a whiteboard, projector, and media player, school touchscreens are interesting pieces of equipment. This can inspire certain students to attempt to break into the touchscreens and modify records or simply vandalize them.

If you invest wisely in your MDM solutions, these issues should be no problem. A reliable device manager will deny connections by users without proper credentials and implement additional security measures. It will also disable or freeze devices after repeated attempts at access. And should thieves remove touchscreens from school premises, geolocation capabilities can locate the devices and disable functions remotely.

Better Access Control

Devices should also have restricted access outside class hours. MDM solutions that feature variable access levels can effectively limit what areas different users can view or modify. For instance, admins can access system settings and perform updates, fixes, and installations but can’t view modules or student data.

Conversely, instructors can view or edit modules and launch learning apps. They can also access and update student records.

Creating Effective Gamified Lesson Plans With MDM Solutions

School district system administrators can centrally manage individual device settings using MDM solutions and create the ideal learning environment.

Making sure each touchscreen device in each classroom remains optimized for the day’s activities means ensuring all system settings and software versions are current and up to date.

Here are some best practices to ensure your gamified lesson plans are more effective:

  • Even games get boring if they’re repetitive. So, gamified lessons should include some element of surprise to keep students interested.
  • Don’t gamify everything; instead, focus on lessons lacking engagement and motivation.
  • Make the rules clear and easy to follow. The simplest games often work best.
  • Utilize the four features of gamification—points, timers, badges, and leaderboards—to inspire competition and learning.

Best Interactive Tech Features for Gamification

Robust MDM solutions are just the start. To provide the best learning experience, school touchscreens should come equipped with these ideal modern features:

Multi-Touch Capabilities

Capacitive touchscreens allow multi-touch capabilities. This means the device can recognize simultaneous touches on the surface, which helps in lessons that require collaboration among multiple students. In addition, multi-touch is a must if instructors hold interactive competitions involving the fastest response times between individuals or teams.

Instant Feedback

Instant feedback reinforces learning by keeping students continuously engaged. When the student clicks the right button, and the touchscreen display confirms the right choice, they retain the lesson better. Conversely, pressing the wrong button and receiving instantaneous feedback reinforces the correct process.

Moreover, instant feedback lets students quickly learn the proper sequence of doing things. It also means teachers can provide additional guidance immediately after an action so students can make faster adjustments. This way, lessons are kept fresh. Students also learn to make adjustments during, and not after, the learning process.

Screen Recording

Teachers will need to look back at what happened during school hours to spot areas for improvement. Whether for individual students, the entire classroom, or their methodology, having the means to review the day’s proceedings is vital.

The ability to make screen recordings is an excellent feature to have. It helps teachers and school administrators assess their present methods and develop future improvements.

Gamification Works Best with MDM Solutions

Investing in the future is best when implementing modern solutions to today’s school programs. Interactive touchscreens allow students to actively learn, retain their knowledge, and collaborate with others.

However, school administrations should also invest in MDM solutions to protect their investment and increase their ROI. A device manager ensures your devices remain updated, well-maintained, and secure throughout their lifespans.

Related:
How to use Minecraft Education in your classroom
Is it time to fire up gaming consoles in classrooms?

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How to use Minecraft Education in your classroom https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2023/01/25/how-to-use-minecraft-education-in-your-classroom/ Wed, 25 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=209672 It’s easier than you think to begin using Minecraft Education in your classroom. During an FETC 2023 session, technology specialist Kristen Brooks from the Cherokee County School District offered an overview of how she engages her students with Minecraft Education.]]>

It’s easier than you think to begin using Minecraft Education in your classroom. During an FETC 2023 session, technology specialist Kristen Brooks from the Cherokee County School District offered an overview of how she engages her students with Minecraft Education.

“When kids use Minecraft in the classroom, they’re so engrossed in what they’re doing that they forget they’re actually learning,” Brooks said. “Students excel in their learning when they’re encouraged to create projects in a style or format they prefer.”

Here are some of her tips to get started and sustain enthusiasm for Minecraft Education:

You do not have to know how to use Minecraft Education to use Minecraft Education in your classroom.

“What if I told you that you don’t need to have the fear factor? When I first started teaching Minecraft to my students, I had no clue what I was doing. The main thing is that you are not required to be the smartest person in your classroom,” Brooks said. The quicker educators accept that, the quicker they become comfortable.

“It’s OK to say, ‘We are ALL learning in this classroom at the same time,’” Brooks added.

Set clear expectations for building in Minecraft Education—with students and parents.

It’s not a game–it’s an instructional tool, must be used with intention, and should be aligned to standards. Brooks goes through learning standards to find something that will lend itself well to building in Minecraft.

Let parents know that students are not playing Minecraft. They are building in Minecraft Education to demonstrate skills and knowledge, Brooks said. Using this terminology is important and helps frame a mentality focused on learning rather than playing.

Start small, with teachers and kids.

The district identified small groups of teachers and invited them to pilot Minecraft Education. It was introduced to principals and administrators with clear expectations: This is not a game, but an instructional tool that must be aligned to standards. It also brought in an outside professional development trainer to help teachers become comfortable with Minecraft Education.

Younger students might need help with the basics at first. Create signs or posters with login information, and have more experienced Minecraft users, or students in older grades, come in to help younger students.

If teachers still feel nervous, they can create a Minecraft Student Ambassadors Program (MSA). This after-school club usually draws in older students who learn more about Minecraft Education so they can help in their classrooms or with younger students.

Educators also have access to specific support areas in Minecraft Education. Once in Minecraft, tap on Play at the top of the screen, and go into View Library to access tutorials for learners of all ages. Topics include science, math, computer science, equity and inclusion, art, esports, and more.

Understand that Minecraft Education can be used across all content areas.

Brooks offered scenarios where Minecraft Education elevates student engagement and brings a lesson to life:

When it comes to literacy, students can create book covers and design book settings. Older students could recreate houses, villages, or other structures that figure prominently in assigned readings. Building structures or settings can also bring social studies lessons to life.

App Smash with Flip. Students read a book, write a book talk script, create the setting in Minecraft, and record themselves walking through the setting while reading the book talk. Students upload their recording into Flip to share with their class.

App Smash with Green Screen: Create a story setting in Minecraft Education, and then create a silent screen recording while walking through setting. Students write a book talk script and use a green screen app to record their book talk.

“I love teaching my kids to create more than they consume, and I love teaching them with tools that will help engage them with learning,” Brooks said.

Related:
How Minecraft and agriculture lead to an esports competition
Are you teaching with Minecraft and Roblox? You should be

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Is it time to fire up gaming consoles in classrooms? https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2022/08/15/gaming-consoles-in-classrooms/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=207358 Digital learning has become a significant part of education as a result of the pandemic and schools are continually observing new, innovative ways to engage and motivate students online.]]>

Digital learning has become a significant part of education as a result of the pandemic, and schools are continually finding innovative ways to engage and motivate students online. So, with Ofcom revealing six in ten children played games online in 2021, what might the use of video gaming in the classroom look like to engage students with a model they’re already invested in?

Historically, gaming has been associated with recreational activities rather than as a medium used to boost the diversity of learning techniques, despite it being an actual benefit to a child’s literacy, empathy and imagination.

The question is: Does gaming have a viable role to play right now, as digital learning continues to claw its way to the forefront of education, or is it simply an unwelcome distraction?

The impact

From toddler to teenager, the rich and vivid environments of video games can clearly command the attention of children at all ages. However, it’s important to assess the extent to which video game technology can impact childhood education. One thing that is clear is that students enjoy this approach to learning.

Very few games on the commercial market typically have pure educational value, although evidence suggests that important skills may be built or even reinforced by video games. According to commissioned research, 77% (UK) and 81% (US) of parents viewed gaming as having a positive impact on their children’s learning. In addition, in the next five years, 55% (UK) and 60% (US) of parents expect VR and social gaming to be the technology that will shape learning in the future. 

This research shows that video games are expected to have a substantial impact and an increased role in how children will learn in the years to come. However, the practical implications of this, such as a lack of a wireless connection at home or issues surrounding cost, are varied.

From a parent’s perspective, over-exposure to gaming and excessive screen time has been an ongoing concern for many. Likewise, many schools have been slow to introduce play-based learning into traditional classroom-based lesson structures due to fears that it could distract and damage concentration. 

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Are you teaching with Minecraft and Roblox? You should be https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2022/06/28/are-you-teaching-with-minecraft-and-roblox-you-should-be/ Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=206866 Millions of students use Roblox and Minecraft to create characters and build entire worlds. As educators search for ways to boost student engagement as they inject real-world relevance into their lessons, finding creative reasons to use these platforms in the classroom becomes their goal. Should you start teaching with Minecraft and Roblox?]]>

Millions of students use Roblox and Minecraft to create characters and build entire worlds. As educators search for ways to boost student engagement as they inject real-world relevance into their lessons, finding creative reasons to use these platforms in the classroom becomes their goal. Should you start teaching with Minecraft and Roblox?

“Why Minecraft? Why Roblox? Your students are already on these platforms and they absolutely love them. That doesn’t necessarily make for a great teaching tool right off the bat, but the engagement is there,” said Matthew Kreutter, a product manager for Connected Camps, during an ISTE Live22 session.

A Connected Camps team led session attendees through some brief examples of how they can begin teaching with Minecraft and Roblox with simple coding and building activities.

Meeting students where they are, and teaching them content via a platform they already use, creates direct positive outcomes in building interest in that content. What’s more, Minecraft and Roblox take core ideas from popular games and learning tools and make the possibilities infinite.

“This idea that interest-driven learning directly influences longevity of engagement drives our belief in the power of Minecraft and Roblox as teaching tools,” Kreutter said.

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How teachers use Wordle–and other games–for next-level engagement https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2022/06/06/how-teachers-use-wordle-for-next-level-engagement/ Mon, 06 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=206338 "Did you get the Wordle today?" What initially began as something Josh Wardle created to serve as a personal daily game has become a household name, with users sharing their Wordle progress on social platforms and urging friends to start playing. And now, teachers are using Wordle, along with other games with viral status, to boost student engagement.]]>

“Did you get the Wordle today?” What initially began as something Josh Wardle created to serve as a personal daily game has become a household name, with users sharing their Wordle progress on social platforms and urging friends to start playing. And now, teachers are using Wordle, along with other games with viral status, to boost student engagement.

The popular game tasks users with guessing–in six guesses–a five-letter word. When users guess a word, a green square indicates they have guessed a correct letter in its correct spot. A yellow square indicates that the letter is in the word, but the user has put it in the wrong spot. And a gray square indicates that the letter is not in the word.

In a January tweet, teacher Samantha Morra shared how teachers can create their own custom Wordle words of any length–a great way to add longer and more challenging vocabulary or other relevant words and concepts to a lesson.

College professor Michael Spencer explored the way game design and user experience can encourage good teaching practice–namely, that making mistakes is OK, and that students learn as much from their mistakes as they can their successes.

Some educators have suggested using Wordle with younger students to teach them how to navigate and develop keyboarding skills.

Wordle has also invoked passionate debates and lengthy social media discussions among statistics enthusiasts, who argue over the best “first word” to use. Different strategies often enter these conversations–is it better to use all your guesses to guess the correct word, or should you use one (or more) guesses to eliminate letters, purposely not using any letters you know to be in the correct word?

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5 ways to engage your students with Minecraft https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2022/06/01/5-ways-to-engage-your-students-with-minecraft/ Wed, 01 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=206187 As an educator for over 27 years and a Digital Learning Specialist (social studies) for the past 7 years in Atlanta Public Schools, I have supported educators across my district and beyond as they purposefully integrate technology in the classroom to promote engagement and 21st century skill development.]]>

As an educator for over 27 years and a Digital Learning Specialist (social studies) for the past 7 years in Atlanta Public Schools, I have supported educators across my district and beyond as they purposefully integrate technology in the classroom to promote engagement and 21st century skill development.

While there are many tools and resources available to educators to support their efforts to create dynamic digital learning environments, one of the newest and most engaging is Minecraft Education Edition (M:EE). Popular among students (and teachers!), M:EE is a game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment.

Here are five ways that I have helped my district’s teachers use M:EE into classroom instruction that you can use in your teaching practice. Best of all, you don’t even need to be a Minecraft expert to get started!

  1. Minecraft can be used to support instruction in any subject area from ELA (English Language Arts), math, science, and social studies to art and SEL and so much more. M:EE has numerous lessons that are readily available to help you extend student learning and to make it more engaging and hands on in a game-based environment. As a former social studies teacher, one lesson series I am extremely excited about is the “Good Trouble Lessons,” which introduces students to Congressman John Lewis, who then escorts students through this world to meet activist such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Malala, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela, all of whom have gotten into “Good Trouble” standing up for the rights of others. M:EE helps educators bring historical figures and events to life in an engaging way for students. To explore more lessons such as this one or others go to lessons for Minecraft Education Edition.
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How Minecraft leads to engaging play and strong learning https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2021/08/19/how-minecraft-leads-to-engaging-play-and-strong-learning/ Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=202487 Of all the tools available to educators today, Minecraft is fast becoming one of the most useful. It may seem strange that we say that about a video game, but it is the case. Put aside the popularity of Minecraft, which has sold over 200 million copies, and you find a game that is immensely engaging with today’s youth.]]>

Of all the tools available to educators today, Minecraft is fast becoming one of the most useful. It may seem strange that we say that about a video game, but it is the case. Put aside the popularity of Minecraft, which has sold over 200 million copies, and you find a game that is immensely engaging with today’s youth.

That singular nugget, engagement with youth, has allowed it to become a tool that helps educators teach students things like leadership, organization, physics, agriculture, and more.

One of the reasons why Minecraft and its various versions work so well as educational tools is because it isn’t an artificial game-based education tool. Too often students recognize when game-based educational tools just have a veneer of games layered over the top of educational tools. They see through this right away and therefore don’t become as engaged.

Educating in Minecraft is the opposite of that. By simply adopting an already-popular game and using it as a tool to impart knowledge, students are more engaged and learn more. 

Here’s an example. This spring, NASEF (the nonprofit North America Scholastic Esports Federation), collaborated with the U.S. Department of State for an event called Farmcraft. Students were challenged to grow crops under certain circumstances and competed with each other to see who could grow the most. Minecraft already has agricultural elements to it, and NASEF maximized those with some customizations, which made Farmcraft a seamless educational tool. While not everything carried over from the fantasy world of Minecraft to real-world equivalents of farming, many of the real-world decisions farmers have to make were ported over to the game in this mod.

Throughout the challenge, students learned how to manage farming, including crop selection (organic or genetically engineered crops), fertilization, pest control, water, soil quality, and budgeting. They applied critical thinking to analyze and solve problems.

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Learning through gaming https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2020/12/21/learning-through-gaming/ Mon, 21 Dec 2020 10:01:43 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=199535 When students are so deeply engaged in a task that they can’t wait to dive in — and at the same time, they’re learning fundamental skills that are critical for their success — it’s a magical combination. That’s what a lucky group of 20 students at Horace Mann UCLA Community School are about to experience as they take part in an innovative afterschool program. The students will practice and reflect on 21st century skills such as problem solving, communication, and teamwork as they compete against each other in the popular online video game League of Legends. A partnership between UCLA and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Mann is a public school serving students in grades 6-12. As director of the UCLA Community Schools Initiative, Dr. Christine Shen serves as a liaison between the school and the university. Her typical day consists of interacting with others and solving problems, and so she knows firsthand the value of these skills. “When students move on to college or a career, there’s nothing they’re going to be doing by themselves,” she says. “There are very few careers where they won’t have to work with other people at some point.” But getting kids to work well together isn’t always easy. “Our students come from home environments that might not be very nurturing,” Shen says, noting that Mann is a very high-poverty school. Many of its students have experienced trauma, and skills such as communicating and controlling their emotions can be challenging for them. So when Shen heard about WeThink, a service in which students learn and practice those skills within a context that matters to them — competitive gaming, or esports — she immediately saw the program’s potential: “It seemed like something that was perfect for our needs.” Especially now, when students are still learning remotely because of the pandemic — and K-12 leaders are searching for ways to connect them. “Students are feeling isolated, and they miss their friends,” Shen says. “We were looking for outlets to engage them outside of academics.” How it works Esports is a perfect vehicle for learning important 21st century skills, because many of the attributes that students will need in the workforce correlate with success in gaming, says Dane Berman, director of business development for WeThink. “These are everyday life skills that students are already using, but they don’t understand how to get better at them,” he says. “That’s where we can help.” WeThink’s 12-week program focuses on developing 15 discrete skills that are grouped into five different categories: leadership, teamwork, communication, problem solving, and character. For instance, the skills students will be learning under “character” include grit, or the ability to persist in the face of difficult challenges; ownership, or taking responsibility for one’s actions or contributions to a particular outcome; and self-control. The program begins with a discussion of each of these skills, what it means, and how it applies within gaming and the world at large. Then, students break into teams to play matches. Immediately after each match is over, the students are asked to rate themselves and their teammates on how well they applied these various skills within the game. This self-reflection process is very powerful, and it has a big effect on how students approach the game the next time they play. “It’s fascinating to see how quickly their behavior changes from one game to the next as they consciously try to apply certain skills,” says WeThink CEO Katrina Salazar.]]>

When students are so deeply engaged in a task that they can’t wait to dive in — and at the same time, they’re learning fundamental skills that are critical for their success — it’s a magical combination.

That’s what a lucky group of 20 students at Horace Mann UCLA Community School are about to experience as they take part in an innovative afterschool program. The students will practice and reflect on 21st century skills such as problem solving, communication, and teamwork as they compete against each other in the popular online video game League of Legends.

A partnership between UCLA and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Mann is a public school serving students in grades 6-12. As director of the UCLA Community Schools Initiative, Dr. Christine Shen serves as a liaison between the school and the university. Her typical day consists of interacting with others and solving problems, and so she knows firsthand the value of these skills.

“When students move on to college or a career, there’s nothing they’re going to be doing by themselves,” she says. “There are very few careers where they won’t have to work with other people at some point.”

But getting kids to work well together isn’t always easy. “Our students come from home environments that might not be very nurturing,” Shen says, noting that Mann is a very high-poverty school. Many of its students have experienced trauma, and skills such as communicating and controlling their emotions can be challenging for them.

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8 reasons game-based learning is growing https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2020/07/27/8-reasons-game-based-learning-is-growing/ Mon, 27 Jul 2020 09:55:04 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=197602 Revenue for game-based learning and education is projected to reach more than $24 billion by 2024, according to a new market forecast. Metaari’s 2019-2024 Global Game-based Learning Market study, released by Serious Play Conference, notes that growth in AI game-based learning also is expected to skyrocket, analysts say. The report notes that game-based learning is defined as a knowledge transfer method using "game play" involving some form of competition (against oneself or others) and a reward/penalty system that essentially functions as an assessment method to quantify mastery. Related content: 4 essential game-based learning questions Game-based learning, though, is quite different from gamification. In gamification, game-like features such as badges and points are tacked onto traditional education content. Gamified courses are not games, but legacy products with gaming artifacts. Advances in game-based learning and AI “AI is a relatively new type of learning game that has just come on the market in the last three years,” says Sam S. Adkins, CEO and chief researcher at Metaari. “...The global growth rate for AI-based learning games is a robust 34.6 percent. That suggests AI revenues will climb to just over $800 million by 2024. The growth rate in the U.S. for AI products is dramatically higher--a breathtaking 56.5 percent." The five-year compound annual growth rate for educational games is directly correlated to the ongoing innovations integrated into next-generation educational games, including advances in psychometrics, neuroscience, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and AI. "Rapid advances in AI technology are profoundly impacting the global game-based learning market," according to the report. "Extraordinary products are now flooding the market. AI has fundamentally altered the competitive landscape of the serious games industry." These AI innovations coincide with the innovative advances in AR, VR, and location-based mixed reality. The innovations are also rooted in advances in child development, psychometrics, neuroscience, behavioral science, cognitive learning, and educational psychology. New findings from these disciplines are now incorporated into cutting-edge learning games for children with special needs. Advances in technology and science advances also are having a dramatic impact on the game-based learning industry. There are eight primary drivers, each one impacting the rest, that are impacting the global educational game market. These catalysts include: 1. AI alters the competitive landscape 2. Mixed reality learning games in high demand across the planet 3. Historic levels of private investment flowing to game-based learning companies across the planet 4. Large scale global distribution agreements between serious game developers and global distributors 5. Intense mergers and acquisitions activity as large companies acquire game-based learning firms validating the market 6. The booming global consumer demand for mobile serious games 7. The rapid uptake of game-based learning in the corporate segments across the globe 8. The availability of inexpensive easy-to-use rapid development tools and the proliferation of online marketplaces selling premade digital 3D models, VR environments, and pre-trained AI models There are also secondary catalysts spurring game-based learning's rapid growth, such as the global rollouts of very fast 5G networks and the impending implementation of the Internet of Things. There are also potential secondary catalysts like blockchain that could impact the industry in the next five years. Demand for game-based learning in K-12 Demand for game-based learning at the K-12 is being driven by data showing that games in preschool can accelerate the transfer of both developmental abilities and basic academic skills. Games also have been proven to be quite effective at teaching young children social and emotion skills.]]>

Revenue for game-based learning and education is projected to reach more than $24 billion by 2024, according to a new market forecast.

Metaari’s 2019-2024 Global Game-based Learning Market study, released by Serious Play Conference, notes that growth in AI game-based learning also is expected to skyrocket, analysts say. The report notes that game-based learning is defined as a knowledge transfer method using “game play” involving some form of competition (against oneself or others) and a reward/penalty system that essentially functions as an assessment method to quantify mastery.

Related content: 4 essential game-based learning questions

Game-based learning, though, is quite different from gamification. In gamification, game-like features such as badges and points are tacked onto traditional education content. Gamified courses are not games, but legacy products with gaming artifacts.

Advances in game-based learning and AI

“AI is a relatively new type of learning game that has just come on the market in the last three years,” says Sam S. Adkins, CEO and chief researcher at Metaari. “…The global growth rate for AI-based learning games is a robust 34.6 percent. That suggests AI revenues will climb to just over $800 million by 2024. The growth rate in the U.S. for AI products is dramatically higher–a breathtaking 56.5 percent.”

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Could Minecraft disrupt traditional instruction? https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2019/12/05/could-minecraft-disrupt-traditional-instruction/ Thu, 05 Dec 2019 10:00:57 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=195853 Minecraft, which hit its 10-year anniversary this year, is currently the second best-selling video game ever—only beat out by Tetris. The game is what’s called a “sandbox,” where players move around freely and use pixelated “blocks” to build whatever they want, from functioning virtual computers to a replica of the entire country of Denmark. Over 100 million people play the game, and estimates suggest that kids under 15 are the biggest demographic. As with many trends that become massively popular among kids, K–12 educators can’t help but take notice of the game. And yet, Minecraft generally hasn’t gone the way of Tamagotchis and other fads that get banned from school. Instead, ideas abound for integrating Minecraft into the classroom. Related content: 5 ways to use Minecraft in the classroom Disruptive Innovation Theory explains how rudimentary products and services take root at the margins of a market, and improve over time to compete in the mainstream market by enabling greater access, affordability, and flexibility. In light of Minecraft’s migration from outside school walls to inside classrooms, could Minecraft disrupt traditional instruction? The answer hinges not only on the game itself, but on how and why educators leverage it to shift instruction. At the classroom margins: not your standard edtech tool When Minecraft took off as a popular game in 2011, it racked up players, and also began to gain a reputation as a space where kids were learning together. Parenting experts lauded Minecraft’s subtle ways of helping kids learn about resource management, patience, perseverance, and teamwork. Informal learning communities launched Minecraft summer camps or library-sponsored competitions. Minecraft was emerging as a learning platform that was never designed to compete with edtech—in many ways because its first priority was to appeal to players’ own interests, not to teach them something predetermined by the creators. By the standards of our formal education system, Minecraft was far from a high-performing learning tool. It fit none of the traditional hallmarks of the education system. It contained no standardized content or assessments. It didn’t offer teachers useful data to inform instruction. Kids could roam free creating everything from random number generators to replicas of the Parthenon, rather than learning fixed content at a fixed pace. Because it featured none of these traditional elements of performance for an education tool, there was no reason to expect it would make its way into classrooms. The move to the education mainstream: hybrid innovation, or disruption? Of course, Minecraft has made its way into classrooms, despite never being designed as an edtech tool. From a disruption perspective, the critical question is: how? Is it enabling educators to disrupt conventional methods of teacher-led, “sit and get” instruction? Or is it being used in ways that reinforce those methods? In the business world, once disruptive innovations are perceived as competitive by incumbent companies, those companies frequently introduce hybrid innovations. A hybrid is a combination of both the new, disruptive technology and the old technology, and represents improvement along traditional metrics of performance (a sustaining innovation relative to the old technology). Hybrids don’t compete on cost or access like pure disruptive innovations because they build on the company’s existing business model. For example, the automobile industry has developed several hybrid cars along its way to transitioning from gasoline-fueled engines to engines with alternative power sources. The leading companies want to offer their customers the virtues of both, so they have developed a sustaining innovation—hybrid cars that use both gasoline and electricity. There are upsides to hybrid innovations. They can introduce important sustaining improvements on traditional metrics of performance, giving customers the ‘best of both worlds’. However, they can also lead traditional systems to cannibalize new technologies in ways that stymie their transformative potential. Indeed, as Minecraft moves from the margins into the mainstream classroom, it can easily become “school-ified.” Lesson plans abound for 50-minute class periods where students perform prescribed tasks in Minecraft. In one example currently showcased on the Minecraft Education website, a teacher created a model of the school in Minecraft and wrote math exercises on the boards in each virtual classroom. Engaging? Perhaps. Disrupting traditional instructional methods? Not quite.]]>

Minecraft, which hit its 10-year anniversary this year, is currently the second best-selling video game ever—only beat out by Tetris. The game is what’s called a “sandbox,” where players move around freely and use pixelated “blocks” to build whatever they want, from functioning virtual computers to a replica of the entire country of Denmark. Over 100 million people play the game, and estimates suggest that kids under 15 are the biggest demographic.

As with many trends that become massively popular among kids, K–12 educators can’t help but take notice of the game. And yet, Minecraft generally hasn’t gone the way of Tamagotchis and other fads that get banned from school. Instead, ideas abound for integrating Minecraft into the classroom.

Related content: 5 ways to use Minecraft in the classroom

Disruptive Innovation Theory explains how rudimentary products and services take root at the margins of a market, and improve over time to compete in the mainstream market by enabling greater access, affordability, and flexibility. In light of Minecraft’s migration from outside school walls to inside classrooms, could Minecraft disrupt traditional instruction? The answer hinges not only on the game itself, but on how and why educators leverage it to shift instruction.

At the classroom margins: not your standard edtech tool

When Minecraft took off as a popular game in 2011, it racked up players, and also began to gain a reputation as a space where kids were learning together. Parenting experts lauded Minecraft’s subtle ways of helping kids learn about resource management, patience, perseverance, and teamwork. Informal learning communities launched Minecraft summer camps or library-sponsored competitions. Minecraft was emerging as a learning platform that was never designed to compete with edtech—in many ways because its first priority was to appeal to players’ own interests, not to teach them something predetermined by the creators.

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5 ways you can use Minecraft in the classroom https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2019/08/28/5-ways-you-can-use-minecraft-in-the-classroom/ Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:00:28 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=194991 By now, pretty much everyone knows what Minecraft is. If you're just joining us, however, here's a summary: Minecraft is a "sandbox" game offering open-ended possibilities for building and creation. Educators love it because it can be used across all subject areas, meaning Minecraft in the classroom is no longer a foreign concept. All it takes is a Google or Pinterest search to find some pretty cool ways to incorporate Minecraft in the classroom. You can search Twitter for hashtags such as #MinecraftEDU to see what other educators are doing, you can explore blogs or learning communities, or you can seek out likeminded educators at edtech conferences. Whatever you do, don't miss the chance to incorporate Minecraft in the classroom. English teachers can task their students with replicating villages or structures that play in integral role in a novel. History teachers can ask students to create historically-accurate representations of certain time periods. Foreign language teachers can ask students to rely on their vocabulary as they build and label objects within the game. These are rudimentary examples of Minecraft's classroom potential, to be sure, but you get the idea. 5 examples of using Minecraft in the classroom Here are some examples, straight from educators, of how using Minecraft in the classroom can boost engagement and student achievement. 1. Minecraft can inspire students who struggle with creative writing. As one educator observes, Minecraft helped students come up with more ideas for a classroom assignment asking them to write a story about a castle and then build that castle in the game. Students also were more engaged during the process. 2. Minecraft allows for a version of electricity, and users can create circuits, design logic, and create arrays, delays and repeaters. They can transpose computational thinking to build things that work, or build things and use their new vocabulary to explain in their Minecraft world what those things are and how they work. Many teachers are using Minecraft for electrical design and visual design. 3. Surprisingly, Minecraft can help students build SEL skills. Almost all teachers in a survey (97.7 percent) said problem solving is the top SEL skill their students learn from in-school and extracurricular Minecraft participation. 4. Computer science and coding skills are in high demand in today’s workforce, but qualified workers are hard to come by. Students can use their love of Minecraft to learn how to code and build strong programming skills. ]]>

By now, pretty much everyone knows what Minecraft is. If you’re just joining us, however, here’s a summary: Minecraft is a “sandbox” game offering open-ended possibilities for building and creation. Educators love it because it can be used across all subject areas, meaning Minecraft in the classroom is no longer a foreign concept.

All it takes is a Google or Pinterest search to find some pretty cool ways to incorporate Minecraft in the classroom.

You can search Twitter for hashtags such as #MinecraftEDU to see what other educators are doing, you can explore blogs or learning communities, or you can seek out likeminded educators at edtech conferences.

Whatever you do, don’t miss the chance to incorporate Minecraft in the classroom. English teachers can task their students with replicating villages or structures that play in integral role in a novel. History teachers can ask students to create historically-accurate representations of certain time periods. Foreign language teachers can ask students to rely on their vocabulary as they build and label objects within the game.

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4 benefits of using Minecraft in the classroom https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2019/08/08/4-benefits-of-using-minecraft-in-the-classroom/ Thu, 08 Aug 2019 10:00:22 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=194852 When I met Grade 5 teacher Mark, he came to me with an exciting idea: He wanted me to work with him to teach creative writing through Minecraft in the classroom. I signed him up as my dissertation student in my Master of Education course, and over the following year we got to work on our project. Minecraft is a sandbox computer game. It is a game that doesn’t have pre-set linear timelines, missions, or goals for players to follow. I like to think of Minecraft as a digital version of LEGOs. Players use base blocks to build imaginary worlds and characters. Related content: 7 ways Minecraft can make learning exciting again In fact, Minecraft is an incredibly versatile game where players can build whatever they like. One student might create a fortress, another might create a model of a fruit bowl. The control is in the hands of the learner. Did Minecraft in the classroom help our students’ writing tasks? To test whether Minecraft was helpful for the students’ creative writing, we conducted a simple action research study: Stage 1: The students write a story about castles. Stage 2: The students use Minecraft in the classroom to create visualizations of the castles that existed in their stories. Stage 3: The students write a new story about their castles, incorporating any new knowledge they developed through their gameplay. Stage 4: We conduct pre-tests and post-tests on the students’ written work. After playing Minecraft, we believed the students would be more intimate with their castle ideas and therefore more likely to develop descriptive and authoritative texts. In other words, when students develop vivid insights into their topic through gameplay, their subsequent vocabulary, text structure, and sentence structure may come more easily. So, Mark, myself, and a literacy expert at our university assessed the boys’ initial stories and their new stories on a 7-point scale on the metrics of vocabulary, text structure, and sentence structure. Our results showed that each student’s grade saw incremental growth--or, in the case of two students, their grade held steady. Overall, students’ scores on our 7-point scale grew an average of 0.66 points, or a 9 percent overall grade increase. These results, we hasten to say, would need to be replicated on a much larger scale for any claims to statistical relevance to be made. We also interviewed the students after the project to gather their insights into the benefits of the project. Below are four potential benefits identified by the students for using Minecraft for creative writing. Benefit 1: Minecraft in the classroom promotes engagement in lessons Computer games are an intrinsic motivator for many students. The students in the class were drawn to this activity and excited to participate. While the pre-test and post-test elements of our study were not designed to assess engagement levels, we did sit down with the students to get their take on the study. It was very clear from our discussions with the students that the students were highly motivated by the project. As one student succinctly put it: “Minecraft made it more interesting.”]]>

When I met Grade 5 teacher Mark, he came to me with an exciting idea: He wanted me to work with him to teach creative writing through Minecraft in the classroom. I signed him up as my dissertation student in my Master of Education course, and over the following year we got to work on our project.

Minecraft is a sandbox computer game. It is a game that doesn’t have pre-set linear timelines, missions, or goals for players to follow. I like to think of Minecraft as a digital version of LEGOs. Players use base blocks to build imaginary worlds and characters.

Related content: 7 ways Minecraft can make learning exciting again

In fact, Minecraft is an incredibly versatile game where players can build whatever they like. One student might create a fortress, another might create a model of a fruit bowl. The control is in the hands of the learner.

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I gamified my classroom and students are soaring https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2019/01/09/i-gamified-my-classroom-and-students-are-soaring/ Wed, 09 Jan 2019 07:00:49 +0000 https://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=192907 An average child today will have played 10,000 hours of video games before the age of 21. If playing games is part of our culture, even part of our identities, then it stands to reason that students can be highly motivated by game-based learning opportunities. So what if we make classrooms the game?]]>

An average child today will have played 10,000 hours of video games before the age of 21. If playing games is part of our culture, even part of our identities, then it stands to reason that students can be highly motivated by game-based learning opportunities. So what if we make classrooms the game?

Gamification means using game-design principles such as cooperation, competition, character development, and point scoring in a non-gaming context. In the classroom, it can be as straightforward as transforming learning activities into games or a more subtle application of game-design principles to learning tasks.

Gamifying your classroom can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it. Some teachers choose to create their own game for their classroom in order to customize features including backstory, characters, rules, and objectives. At the same time, there are many user-friendly apps that teachers use to simplify those features.

As a classroom teacher, I gamified my classroom because I needed an engaging way to deliver the online lessons I created for students during reading and math workshop. I was able to turn my online lessons into an adventure with a storyline, obstacles, and learning challenges. I had read research about the benefits of gamification, but I was still surprised to see such a remarkable transformation in my classroom. In just a few months I saw amazing benefits!

Social-emotional growth
I’ve spent that last few years implementing different vocabulary and integrating specific read-alouds to help my students develop a growth mindset. In particular, I wanted my students to develop grit and perseverance—a mindset that welcomes challenges and does not give up easily. When I gamified my classroom, I realized that the nature of gameplay promotes positive challenge and helps my students practice and apply a growth mindset.

One of the most amazing shifts I noticed was my students’ response to failure. Rather than feeling defeated when failing at a task in our game, my students have returned to the task with renewed determination, rising to the challenge with a positive attitude. In the past, a poor grade usually resulted in the negative feelings associated with failure. Within our game environment, however, students see mistakes as an opportunity to try again and do better. They are more willing to listen to and apply the feedback I give them because they are determined to master skills and level up.

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In the marketplace: Gaming, digital citizenship, PD initiatives, and more https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2016/10/26/technology-gaming-digital-citizenship-pd-initiatives/ @eSN_Laura]]> Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:00:01 +0000 http://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=182315 Remaining a tech-savvy educator means keeping on top of the myriad changes and trends in education, how technology can support those trends, and how teaching and learning can best benefit from near-constant change. Below, we’ve gathered some of the latest and most relevant marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education. Teq, a Long Island-based educational technology and professional development (PD) company, has received approval from the New York State Department of Education to provide Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Teq Online PD offers educators unlimited access to over 200 live and archived professional development sessions focused on the effective integration of technology into instruction. There are certification tracks on Google, Microsoft, Apple, SMART, among other topics, like online assessment, STEM, ELA, Math, Social Studies, and PBL. All of these courses and certifications are now CTLE approved. Read more. By advancing the learning experience with hands-on, relatable and academically rigorous games, Triseum is transforming higher education as we know it. A new round of funding is enabling the company to make an even bigger difference in the way students learn. Triseum, which grew out of the LIVE Lab at Texas A&M University, has closed an additional $2 million in funding led by existing private investors, enabling the company to further build out its products, operations and team. Read more. Edmentum, a provider of web-based learning solutions, announces a brand-new K-6 math, reading, and ELA individualized learning program. This release builds upon Edmentum’s mission of being educators' most trusted partner in creating successful student outcomes everywhere learning occurs. Edmentum’s new solution pairs adaptive diagnostic assessments with individualized learning paths. The program is designed by educators for educators to provide targeted, assessment-driven instruction, reinforcement, and support in math, reading, and language arts. Read more. The Learning Assembly, a national network of education organizations that help educators rigorously implement and assess innovative tools to support teaching and learning, released the results of a national survey of K-12 public school parents designed to gauge their perceptions of technology use in school. According to the survey, parents see a growing role of technology in schools, with 66% of parents indicating that technology use has increased over the past few years. The survey also shows that while 93% of parents believe in the use of technology to tailor student learning, only 1 in 3 believe that schools are currently doing an excellent job using technology for this purpose. Read more. Common Sense released its newest report, Connection and Control: Case Studies of Media Use Among Lower-Income Minority Youth and Parents. The report showed striking differences in media use among varying demographics. Teens and tweens from lower-income families spend more time with media than those from higher-income families. And African-American teens use an average of over 11 hours of media a day, compared with almost nine hours among Latinos and eight and a half among whites. Read more. ]]>

Remaining a tech-savvy educator means keeping on top of the myriad changes and trends in education, how technology can support those trends, and how teaching and learning can best benefit from near-constant change.

Below, we’ve gathered some of the latest and most relevant marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

Teq, a Long Island-based educational technology and professional development (PD) company, has received approval from the New York State Department of Education to provide Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Teq Online PD offers educators unlimited access to over 200 live and archived professional development sessions focused on the effective integration of technology into instruction. There are certification tracks on Google, Microsoft, Apple, SMART, among other topics, like online assessment, STEM, ELA, Math, Social Studies, and PBL. All of these courses and certifications are now CTLE approved. Read more.

By advancing the learning experience with hands-on, relatable and academically rigorous games, Triseum is transforming higher education as we know it. A new round of funding is enabling the company to make an even bigger difference in the way students learn. Triseum, which grew out of the LIVE Lab at Texas A&M University, has closed an additional $2 million in funding led by existing private investors, enabling the company to further build out its products, operations and team. Read more.

Edmentum, a provider of web-based learning solutions, announces a brand-new K-6 math, reading, and ELA individualized learning program. This release builds upon Edmentum’s mission of being educators’ most trusted partner in creating successful student outcomes everywhere learning occurs. Edmentum’s new solution pairs adaptive diagnostic assessments with individualized learning paths. The program is designed by educators for educators to provide targeted, assessment-driven instruction, reinforcement, and support in math, reading, and language arts. Read more.

The Learning Assembly, a national network of education organizations that help educators rigorously implement and assess innovative tools to support teaching and learning, released the results of a national survey of K-12 public school parents designed to gauge their perceptions of technology use in school. According to the survey, parents see a growing role of technology in schools, with 66% of parents indicating that technology use has increased over the past few years. The survey also shows that while 93% of parents believe in the use of technology to tailor student learning, only 1 in 3 believe that schools are currently doing an excellent job using technology for this purpose. Read more.

Common Sense released its newest report, Connection and Control: Case Studies of Media Use Among Lower-Income Minority Youth and Parents. The report showed striking differences in media use among varying demographics. Teens and tweens from lower-income families spend more time with media than those from higher-income families. And African-American teens use an average of over 11 hours of media a day, compared with almost nine hours among Latinos and eight and a half among whites. Read more.

Study.com has launched a series of articles and teaching resources designed to address the learning challenges associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The 15 articles and 53 lessons have been released in conjunction with ADHD awareness month and include parent and teacher strategies to support learners in school and at home. Read more.

All middle schools in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have officially begun to incorporate digital citizenship education into the curriculum. The curriculum, which covers issues such as privacy, cyberbullying, internet safety and other digital dilemmas, is being offered thanks to a partnership with Common Sense Education and a generous grant from the Delaney Family Fund. The program will extend to students in all grade levels over the next three years. Read more.

With Build English Fast, neuroscience-designed software from Scientific Learning Corp., K-12 schools are taking advantage of research on how the brain learns and the latest technology to accelerate English language acquisition for English language learners (ELLs). Of course, students who are not familiar with English idioms, cultural references, and vocabulary may need extra support when learning the language. To help teachers provide targeted support, Scientific Learning has released the Build English Fast Offline Resources for English Learners. Read more.

Do K-12 educators have the power to shape their professional learning destinies? In a nationwide survey of more than 500 principals and teachers, the resounding answer is “not enough.” Episode 4 of the Performance Matters (formerly Truenorthlogic) Educator Viewpoints on Personalized Professional Learning Salon Series explores ways to increase relevance and choice in teacher professional learning. K-12 teachers, school leaders and district administrators are invited to discuss these issues in a free webinar on October 27 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Read more.

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