I watched Seth Priebatsch’s TED talk on “The Game Layer on Top of the World” and frowned in confusion for the entire 12 minutes. I was reminded of the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation when the whole crew of the Enterprise falls victim to a virtual game that lulls them into a gaming trance while alien forces plot to take control. Priebatsch proposes that everything in life is a kind of game, so we might as well design systems that encourage people to exhibit the kind of behaviors we want to see reflected in society. He outlined models of this “game layer” already at work in society, such as appointment game layers where “players” are rewarded for showing up at a specific time and place (e.g. Happy Hour). In status game layers, participants strive to make progress to a specific status, such as Paladin White Knight in World of Warcraft.
He applied this idea to education, saying that education is already a kind of game, but it is just one “that sucks.” He suggested that if “valedictorian” were called something more appealing like “Paladin White Knight,” students might be more excited about striving for it. While I think this is laughable, my husband (a software engineer and sometime gamer) watched this TED talk with me and saw other applications for this idea in education.
“As far as improving the quality of education, no, it won’t work,” said John, my husband. “But for increasing engagement, it could. Say you had a game layer for attending school football games, and each time you go, you get a token that can be redeemed for something else. That could change school culture.”
He has a point, but the implications about this practice still bother me personally, especially about the mindlessness that it assumes. I, for one, am highly skeptical about game structures in advertising and commerce, and I almost never “play.” I don’t like feeling manipulated, and I’d prefer to make up my own rules. I don’t want to rush to get the 6 p.m. drink special; I don’t want to pay 33% more for two sweaters when I only need one; I’ve never played Farmville, and I don’t think I’m missing out on anything. However, the psychology of the game must work for a certain segment of the population or else these games would not continue.
As an educator, I would need to see some actual data about how successful a game layer would be at inspiring students to read and annotate more, finish their calculus problems, or complete their service hours. Until then, I’m not playing.
Stephanie, I love your post! You brought up some very good points. I love technology and I use it every day; however, I do not get into the whole video game thing either. I never have and probably never will. But I know that many people do, especially young people. It is kind of ashamed that we have to use games to relate to or motivate our students. I am willing to try almost anything that will get my students motivated and help them to learn. I do wish, however, that we didn't need dog and pony shows or tricks or video games to motivate our students. I wish our students wanted to do well because they want to be successful. I wish that they wanted to do well because they wanted to work toward a bright future. I wish it didn't take games to motivate them or get them to do their work.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie, I enjoyed your post as well. I am not a gamer and also never played Farmville. I do use games in my classroom but at times feel that the song and dance routine that I have to do to hold my student's attention is exhausting. I always try to make learning fun, but why does everything today have to be in the form of a game. I like Gayle, wish students today would want to learn for intrinsic reasons and not have to depend on how fun the lesson is. Learning can be fun and meaningful just for the love of learning something new.
ReplyDeleteGayle and Michelle, like you, I use games even in my AP class, but they are more about students competing against each other than all students making progress through a game structure as described in Priebatsch’s talk. I also use them as a way to provide a kinesthetic learning experience and get my students out of their desks. No matter what, I think games will only get you so far.
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