From Play to Pixels: Finding the Right Place for Digital Games in Education

During my junior year of college, I had a professor who was going to start a research project where he talked about Digital Games in education. He was just starting on the project at that time, and I had not thought twice about it until a few weeks ago, when I received an email from the University of Missouri reaching out to educators who had graduated from the education program at Mizzou to fill out a survey. I investigated this and realized that he was the organizer of this survey, which was going to help him in his research. When filling out this survey, I got to use that time to reflect on digital gaming in my own classroom. I had never been a personal fan of iPads in the classroom as a teacher since I was someone who had scheduled time for the computer lab in my elementary years. After using technology on a smaller scale than some of my other coworkers, I wanted to dig deeper into the research behind digital gaming. A journal article titled “Digital Game-Based Learning and Serious Games in Education” that sparked my interest, especially with the proposed law of having 70% of a student’s day be with paper and pencil instead of technology.

Sites like Waggle, Reflex, or Zern are categorized as “Serious Games.” This journal defines serious games as “a term which describes any game-based initiative which focuses more on primary purposes than just pure entertainment, and it mostly refers to the use of digital games in education and various industries.” (Anastasiadis et al., 2018), meaning that students who engage in these online games should have new skill development and gain logic in an interesting and pleasant way. Everyone knows that children need to play to learn. When I was in school, we would be use dramatic plays, board games, or even building blocks. In my classroom, you will still see that kind of play with STEM bins, hands-on math, and literacy games. As time changes, so does a child’s need. One thing that stays the same is that children need to play. The only difference is that the types of play have changed and grown. With students having access to technology at home, digital gaming is a staple. If you were to go into a classroom and ask every student what they were going to do over the weekend a major of them will say something along the lines of “I’m going to play (insert gaming device here) with (insert family member or friend)” So why wouldn’t we include digital games into our education world when we know the engagement levels are high.

“Education constitutes one of the main application fields in which the successful implementation of digital games can bring about a lot of innovative and positive changes as interactive online environments comprise a key feature to the new generation of students.” (Anastasiadis et al., 2018) The key word in this quote is “successful” to put a child in front of a tablet and tell them to play a game for 30 mins because a lesson was not prepared or a teacher does not want to teach math for the day is not successful. Teaching a full math lesson, having students try it on their own, and pulling small groups for children who need extra support, and then letting other students become more fluent on their subtraction and addition facts on a game are ways to successfully implement technology. Letting technology be the teacher will never be the answer to solve all problems and keep students occupied. Students can gain great benefits from digital gaming, such as enhanced decision-making and critical thinking skills, an improved collaboration and communication environment; a rewarding feeling of progression and achievement; and feedback-driven and student-centered learning.

In my classroom, most of the time, students are hands-on with games or activity, but I know that the world is changing into a digital one. Students are interested in who can beat their teacher in a Blooket game or who can get the most gems on Waggle. As I continue with my teaching, I am sure I will see many more changes in education when it comes to technology. Understanding the benefits of these games helps make guided decisions on what to use and when to use it. Waggle, Reflex, and Zern are all staples in my classroom, but when our “Fun Friday” rolls around and students get free choice to play, eight out of ten will always go towards the toys in my classroom rather than an iPad.