In my last blog post, I talked about game-based learning and how to bring it to classrooms at scale. This time I wanted to differentiate gamification and game-based learning, and focus a little more deeply on why they are valuable in education.

During the Inspire Greatness Conference 2018 in Sydney this past September, I had the privilege of chairing the Executive Round Table held in the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery at Abbotsleigh School for Girls. 

One of my roles as district digital resource teacher is to facilitate a cohort of secondary teacher leaders who support 1:1 digital implementation (DI) at their schools I
know that most of these blogs focus on how students use technology, but I want to share how these same tools can have an impact on teachers. When teachers engage with digital tools in meaningful ways, they are better able to implement them in their instruction in ways that matter to their students.

Thank you to our special guest blogger Michelle Flicek, first grade teacher in Green Bay, Wisconsin and SMART Exemplary Educator.  

In Part I of this post, I talked about the lessons we learned as we brought gamified learning to classrooms at scale, providing support for teachers and making it easier for them to use games in class. This time I’ll cover the other half of what we learned in doing this: the many interesting and fun ways to engage learners.

Research is discovering the impacts of game-based learning on learner outcomes, and finding correlating benefits. Teachers who have employed games in some capacity in their classrooms have seen how engaged and excited the learners are. The love of learning emerges. And of course, one of the core attributes of their learners – Generation Z, who are all digital natives – is that gaming is core.

From America to Australia and everywhere in between, the value and importance of game-based learning is only growing. Discovering unique ways to engage students with their learning, including through the use of gamification, has been shown to have a positive impact on learning outcomes.

SMART Technologies advances its vision of inspiring greatness in students and teachers around the world to achieve better learning outcomes.

Have you ever had a great meal at a restaurant, but the service was so horrible that your entire experience was poor? This simple example illustrates the importance of end to end user experiences. It is not enough to create an excellent product; companies must strive for excellence everywhere users interact with them.