With technology seeping into most every aspect of life, it is important to take a step back and evaluate what are the best, most appropriate applications in your professional and personal life. How much technology is too much? Does a game/program enhance how a particular topic is conveyed?  Can games induce excitement about certain content?

In September 2012, Edudemic, in partnership with Knewton, posted an article titled, The 100-Second Guide To Gamification In Education.  Gamification is becoming a growing trend in which games are introduced as a teaching tool to supplement the delivery of core curriculum.  Therefore, the question remains, if over 5 million people play games more 45 hours a week, what elements of gaming can be cultivated for education? As a follow-up to this article, this month Edudemic posted 25 Things Teachers Should Know About Gamification.

Here are three points made in the full article;

#11. Gamification is designed with the assumption that players aren’t initially interested. This means games are exciting and engaging enough to capture the attention of an uninterested student and carry them through to the end.

#16. One goal of Gamification in the school setting is to allow kids to be creators of their own knowledge, allowing the teacher to be an assistant to the child’s learning journey.

#18. Gamification models are being used in other educational settings as well, such as job trainings and seminars.