The 2014 NMC Horizon Report listed gamification as one of the important educational technology developments to closely watch in the next two to three years within higher education. You might be thinking, what in the world is gamification and what does it have to do with education? Great question!

Different definitions of gamification exist, but earlier this year, Gartner  provided a simple definition as, “the concept of applying game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals.” Gamification in education can take many forms including students participating in virtual simulations to adding simple game elements to a class to enhance teaching and learning.

Daniel McGarry, Educational Coordinator in the UTHSC College of Nursing, recently wrote a blog post sharing an example of how Brenda Hill, an instructor in the BSN/MSN department, incorporated gaming into her classroom through the use of an interactive tool called Kahoot. Check out Daniel’s blog post and watch the two short videos he included. You can see and hear in both video clips that the students are very much engaged in this activity!

You can read Daniel’s entire post at: http://dmgtech.co/2014/11/07/kahoot-a-simple-case-study-in-gamification/

Utilizing gaming strategies in higher education appears to be growing in popularity. Research is also beginning to show that gaming strategies help to foster engagement, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. What are your thoughts? Could incorporating gaming elements or strategies into your classes help to enhance teaching and learning?

Image obtained from: https://farm9.static.flickr.com/8347/8271121416_028d01ec37.jpg