These past weeks we have been revising the concepts of both gamification and game-based learning. While gamification involves a narrative and is more immersive, game-based learning is the use of games with an educational purpose.
Game-based learning is nothing new and revolutionary. A part of education includes the use of games to teach and learn new concepts. But video games are something much newer. The game industry developed in the 70s and the 80s, and as well as recreational video games many educational video games have been released. Examples of this last category include Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, The Oregon Trail Series or Big Brain Academy.
But are video games good for implementing them in education? This is a very controversial issue that many researchers have debated and still debate nowadays. On the one hand, some think that video games used in a good way are a nice tool to entertain and to teach. On the other hand, it is also criticised the use of them in school, as there are lots of violent video games that parents think are not appropriate for their children.
As I see it, video games are tools that can contain both knowledge and strategies that can be helpful for the new generations. From them, we can learn to correct our mistakes to move on, to deal with failure, to be aware of our surroundings... Although the use of video games is difficult to implement within a class, I think they can be a positive experience if we use them correctly.
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