Children increasingly have mobile phones. Although it is their parents who provide them with access to technology in order to be able to establish contact with them on a daily basis, it is the children who make use of the phone, even using it during school hours. Data from 2017 confirmed that half of the students look at their mobile phones in the classroom while the class is in session, which is a problem for both teachers and students.
And for big problems, big solutions. With the aim of making lessons more fun, different computer experts have developed mobile applications with a clear objective: to get young people to use their mobile phones to learn how to use their computers. smartphones to learn... while playing. The well-known term for this new trend is gamification, the aim of which is to train students through games and problem solving, always making use of playful thinking.
What are its advantages?
Gamification is based on a very basic principle that games are fun, motivate participants and reinforce both skills and knowledge. Gamification processes work according to Fogg's behavioural model, whereby the convergence of motivation, skill and the presence of a trigger, users are more or less willing to play.
The games in the classroom also encourage competition and offer a certain inter-group "status" as there is a ranking through which they can compare and challenge each other to do their best in the next challenges. It is also worth mentioning the development of pupils' self-confidence during these tests and the development of collaboration and empathy skills.
Due to the success of this mechanic, different applications have been developed with which teachers can forget about monitoring who is using their mobile phone during class and getting distracted.
What are the most popular apps?
One of the most successful of these isKahoot! and its figures prove it: more than 10 million downloads in Spain and almost 70 million users worldwide last year. How it works is really simple. Teachers create a quiz according to what has been taught that day in the classroom, or use one that has already been created in the application; they share the pin of the test with the students, who will open it from their devices (which will act as a button) and... let's play! All that is needed in the classroom is a projector or digital whiteboard, where the questions will be displayed. If the students answer correctly, they will score points and climb up the ranking of the participants.
The operation of Quizziz is very similar to Kahoot! and you can check the results of each user individually, to make sure that the knowledge has been assimilated correctly.Plickers is another of the applications that have entered the classroom, although, in reality, it is somewhat different. After launching the different questions, the teacher must wait for the students, in real time, to respond by scanning paper cards with the camera of the device the children are using.
Has Google seized the opportunity?
The search engine did not want to miss out on the integration of new technologies in the classroom either. To this end, it has developedGoogle Classroomwhich goes one step further and aims to help both teachers and students. With the Google Classroom app, you can keep a shared calendar of exams and assignments with students in digital format; send extra material to prepare for lessons; and inform students when they are ill or unable to attend class.
IMMUNE's commitment
The penetration of new technologies in society has brought about a change, even at the educational level. Gamification arises precisely as a response to this change, making students more motivated when acquiring new knowledge. IMMUNE Coding Institute, the first programming institute in Spain, has included this trend in its innovative method of education, based on cooperation between students and a model of work and study based on practice. Do you want to know more? Find out all about IMMUNE on our website Join coding!
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