Student Post: Katie Fisher: Gamification

As the world changes, the way in which we educate our students changes as well. Ever since the COVID Pandemic, we have seen major shifts in the ways that we are teaching our students as well as the ways in which our students are learning. During the pandemic, educators and students relied heavily on the use of technology and the internet world. We saw educators mastering google classrooms, canvas, and beyond that mastering websites such as Epic and more to help their students learn what they needed to/were missing out on being secluded to our homes for learning rather than the school environment. We not only began to teach concepts and curriculum differently, but we changed the ways in which we were assessing students on their learning as well. It has been and continues to be interesting to be in the field of education in our day and age.

Watching the video on the idea that students can be assessed by using games sparked a bright lightbulb moment for me- as educators we are often looking at the variety of intelligences within our students and their abilities. The strategies in which students are able to use games as assessment tools were not only fun for each student but it engaged students to learn and cooperate together in order to produce a product. Whether that product was to look at cards and create a story as to how you were dealt those cards, or whether it was a physical representation of an object in motion- this application for assessment can be used in a multitude of ways, across a vast selection of subjects.

The goal of assessment remains the same: students demonstrate their knowledge. In creating a product that aligns with the curriculum and learning objectives/standards, students are able to show their knowledge by being active in their own learning. I think in a way, this kind of assessment reminds me of project-based learning. Project-based learning is something we have continuously seen being successful for students, and it requires them to be constantly accessing their current, past, and newly learned knowledge through the process.