Game on!!!

04 May Game on!!!

I’m quite biased when discussing this issue: games in the classroom may be the BEST, o one of the most useful techniques to engage and motivate students, especially when tacking particularly tricky contents. I loved when my teachers used ‘classics’ such as The Hangman or other traditional games in our sessions, many years ago.

Fortunately for modern students, technology has allowed for today’s games to grow in complexity and therefore multiply the fun factor.

Several traits come together when using games inside the classroom. Maybe the most relevant one is related to the activation of transversal skills and the fact that group games keenly foster co-operation between the students. The teacher gains a high-degree of respect and relevance in the session, as he/she serves as the ‘Master’ of the game, who sets the rules, ‘bends’ them in case there are problems in the execution, keeps instructions simple and straightforward, and becomes a sort of ‘know-it-all’ figure to which students may turn when having doubts or questions about the activity.

We saw several examples of games websites and apps throughout the Master’s degree: Funbrain.com, ACBya.com, Gamequarium…

All of them are extremely interesting for any teacher who wants an active response from students during sessions. There’s also another option, more time-consuming but (in my experience) more effective: quizzes in sites such as Kahoot that positively reinforces those students who are brighter and quicker in time-attack activities, where mistakes are easily corrected and the use of visual and aural cues help knowledge to become deeply rooted in the student.