Jane McGonigal never fails to amaze me with the perspective that she has of gaming, not to mention the synthesis that she has performed between her area of expertise and the real world. The TED talk associated with this assignment is one of my favorites from the TED library, and I think it is because of the resonance of her message with me.
I've always felt that play and learning not only can be combined, but shouldn't have been separated in the first place. As was mentioned in a previous quest, the idea of tangential learning describes learning in the human context of play. Quite possibly, the difficulty in "educating" students in the traditional method here in the United States might be the result of removing creativity, authenticity, and play from the process. Play is an emotional activity, and research has shown that we learn best when we learn emotionally.
Throughout the process of learning through play, one effective way to ignite positive emotions is to acknowledge progress. The consequences of this can be seen in any sort of game, or gamified graduate course for that matter. It is undeniable that we generally respond well to acknowledgement of our effort, sacrifices, and achievement. Currently, the trend of collecting badges in the classroom is one that is widely spoken of and praised in educational circles on Twitter. More than a simple pat on the back or a high-five in passing, giving students the opportunity to earn badges for their work along with leveling up in some cases leverages the positive relationship between acknowledgement of progress, attitude, and learning.
As Jane points out in her TED talk, experiences such as earning badges and leveling up, along with other offerings of game play, transform the players (re: students) into virtuosos. Gamifying the classroom takes the students' focus off of whether or not a given concept will be on the test and instead fuels them with an urgent optimism to master subsequent quests.
Likewise, rather that discouraging teamwork and collaboration in the learning process with such practices as grading on a bell curve and independent work, using effective game principles in education naturally leads to the construction of a social fabric which unites all players with one another and their environment and established culture. Such a chemistry would preclude many classroom management issues by engaging students in collaborative social learning, leading to more time exploring and discovering the real world and less time feeling like school was taking time away from the real world.
While engaged in learning in the context of a really good game, students no longer feel as though they are jumping through hoops to matriculate to high school graduation. Instead, they are infused with a sense of blissful productivity leading to the development of their own epic meaning. When a phenomenon like this occurs, a parent's inquiry about what was learned at school that day no longer goes unanswered. Rather, it starts a conversation where students continue to process and synthesize new learning in ways that will help them to progress towards mastery of the game being played.
In 20 minutes, Jane McGonigal outlines the secret to success for meaningful learning to be actualized in any setting. While not all of us are hardcore gamers, there is no getting past the fact that we all like to play some sort of game. Whatever that game might be, the risks are worth it and the consequences are welcomed, all because we are focused on mastering game play. Shouldn't that be what learning throughout life is all about?
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