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Reflecting on EDWIN...

This past week I had the oppertunity to complete a workshop on digital citizenship through the online educational platform EDWIN. During my time spent on this platform I discovered that EDWIN has great potential to be a great resource to use as an alternative teaching tool in the classroom. EDWIN is a great was to allow students to have agency over their learning and feel empowered, while still ensuring their learning is guided and relevant to the curriculum. During my workshop, I was guided through a variety of information sessions, videos, and quizzes that added to adnd solidified my knowledge about media literacy and critical thinking, safety and privacy, and rights and responsibilities when it comes to online accessibility and use. I came to realize that these topics are very relevant and important for students to learn more about, especially in the age of constantly developing technoligy! Additionally, I learned about what it means to have a 'digital footprint', and what a 'good digital footprint' entails. In learning more about this topic, I was reminded to be hyperaware of my actions and behaviours while online becuause the data associated with them is never really gone. As a teacher candidate, and soon to be teaching professional, it is extreamly important to keep my digital footprint clean so I am able to remain a reputable and trustworthy professional in the teaching community.

What is Gamification?

Gamification is much more thatn simply 'gamifying' or adding game-like elements into education. Although this is, in part, true, gamification of learning is a technique used to motivate students to be enthusiastic about education by using game elements and video game design in learning environments. The ultimate goal is to maximize enjoyment in educational settings so students are motivated to learn, and want to come back to learn more. Gamification can be seen as a modern way to motivate students in learning by using things that are popular in learners' culture like video games and the virtual world.

Why Would Teachers Want to Use This?

The answer to this question is pretty simple: becuase it motivates students to learn! As a product of using learners' culture to incorperate relevant aspects into education, students become motivated and interested in learning becuase content is delivered to them in a format they are passionate about. Below, I have listed two reasons why teachers should use gamification in their educational spaces and classrooms. Although there is a very long list of reasons as to why teachers should incorperate gamification, these are the two reasons that I believe to be the most beneficial and convincing...
1. Gamification increases learner engagement - whether you have students that are at risk, shy, or simply uninterested in education, gamification is an easy way to attempt to reach a larger variety of your students, making educational experiences better for everyone.
2. Gamification increases the absorption and retention of information - this is an extension of number one, as increasing learner engagement means that students are more likely to become involved and interested in lessons, making them more likely to absorb and retain more information.
Gamification is relatively easy to implement into any classroom by simply taking elements from games, such as point systems, rewards and prizes, or tasks to complete, and including them in your lessons! I look forward to having my own classroom and including gamification in my lessonplans to see how it impacts student engagement.

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