The Problem
In Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, and Katie Salen's article, "Moving Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities, and Openness," the researchers provide numerous reasons why the gamification of education is still a novelty:
The Pitfalls
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Salen, K., Groff, J., & Roy, D. (2009). Moving Learning Games Forward. The Education Arcade. Retrieved from http://education.mit.edu/papers/MovingLearningGamesForward_EdArcade.pdf
- Limited Data: Because there has not been, to date, much reporting on game play data by groups outside of the videogame industry, the field has become locked into commercial industry data on demographics and genre.
- Limited Pedagogical Paradigms: Standard approaches to pedagogy in the classroom differ significantly from models present in games. Effective use of games and other new technologies is likely to be limited unless educational institutions are willing to consider significant changes in pedagogy and content, and rethink the role of teachers and other educational professionals (Federation of American Scientists 2006).
- Limited Research: In addition to the limited research into the form of games as learning environments there is an equal lack of work being done in the area of effective play patterns for learning. We don’t yet know enough about the range of play patterns available for certain kinds of learning.
- Limited Ambition: Funded projects are often not ambitious enough –-they are tested with small numbers of players and don’t scale. No scale means no impact.
In Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, and Katie Salen's article, "Moving Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities, and Openness," the researchers provide numerous reasons why the gamification of education is still a novelty:
- Curriculum Requirements: Historically, schools have been reluctant to give up textbooks or purchase educational technologies that are either not clearly linked to state standards, or that have not proven their efficacy. As a result, K-12 curriculum standards “lock down” the curriculum leaving no space for adoption.
- Attitudes: Some parents and educators have negative attitudes about video games, which are reinforced by a limited dialogue in the media around the relative merits of video games broadly. These attitudes take on a different flavor in the “chocolate broccoli” problem: Kids, particularly pre-teens, tweens, and teens shy away from games they are told are good for them, or labeled as educational.
- Logistics: Educators often find it difficult to integrate the play of game into the time structure of school day, which is often ruled by 45-minute classes. In some schools, access to computers is too limited for games to play a mainstream role in learning. For mobile games, the ban on mobile phones and other portable devices in schools is a large barrier to entry,
- Support for Teachers: Most teachers have little experience in integrating games into the classroom, and professional development programs most often do not include support in this area. Teachers lack the time, incentives, and support for this work.
- Assessment: While games may be especially good at teaching higher order skills, these skills are not typically assessed in standardized exams. New frameworks for assessment of these skills must be developed if games are to be leveraged within the performance-driven culture of most schools.
- Evidence: While this is changing, not enough studies have been done to date showing that learning games are effective. Without this evidence, the attitudes and barriers discussed above will be slow to change.
- Uses of Games: Examples of how games can be integrated into a range of curricular experiences is crucial; a limited set of these models exist currently.
- Limited View: People often have a limited view of the variety of games available, which narrows expectations around the viability of games to engage students.
- Social and Cultural structures: Existing social and cultural structures around education, school, learning, and play make the uptake of educational games challenging. These structures are incredibly difficult and slow to change, and pose perhaps the greatest challenge to the educational games space.
The Pitfalls
- The motivations might be superficial
- You're rewarding them too soon
- It feels like bribery
- They are finding ways to cheat
- Social elements are forced
- It's treated like an easy fix
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Salen, K., Groff, J., & Roy, D. (2009). Moving Learning Games Forward. The Education Arcade. Retrieved from http://education.mit.edu/papers/MovingLearningGamesForward_EdArcade.pdf