Gamifying learning is all the rage these days, especially when it comes to ed-tech platforms. But the effect that approach has on learning can range significantly, experts say.
Some products hook students with authentic, fun, highly interactive embedded games in which kids are also learning key skills.
Others simply have students answer math or reading questions to move around a digital game board or through a virtual landscape. They are not highly interactive or as fun as the others.
The technical term for that latter approach? “Chocolate covered broccoli,” noted Richard Culatta, the CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education and ASCD.
“I often roll my eyes at gamified learning,” Culatta said. “There are a lot of attempts to gamify education….