Gamification of Education: Effects on Children’s Health Nowadays, technology facilitates everything we do. For example, think about navigating across the country a few decades ago. Could you picture that? Some of us remember those days struggling with paper maps in our vehicles, but nowadays a simple map application on a smartphone makes it a lot easier —what appeared like a cumbersome task years ago, now it is as easy as playing a game. Well, technology and gaming have moved into our classrooms too and they are there to stay. Gershenfeld (2014) describes gamification as “applying the principles of game design to solve real-world challenges” (p. 55). There is no doubt that applying technology and the principles of video gaming for educational
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Some aspects of addiction displayed by children with gaming problems are common in other type of addictions—salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse (Bass, 2015, p. 17). These characteristics are in par with other type of addictions like drug and alcohol abuse. In addition, children that are exposed to other behavioral problems in their environment have a higher risk of developing screen addiction. As a result of these commonalities, Bass (2015) adds that the American Psychiatric Association recognized the seriousness of the problem in recent years and included Internet Gaming Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (p. 17). This action ensures that research is prioritized and considerations are taken before decisions like increasing the use of video games in the classroom become policy. Bass (2015) goes on to explain some aspects of gaming addiction as the belief that gaming is an essential activity in their life, the reports of a feeling of escape from reality, the need for more and more time gaming, mood swings when they cannot play, interpersonal conflicts, and impact on regularly scheduled activities due to gaming (p. 17). Simply stated, if any child or adolescent neglects personal responsibilities in favor of gaming, he or she might have a
Some aspects of addiction displayed by children with gaming problems are common in other type of addictions—salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse (Bass, 2015, p. 17). These characteristics are in par with other type of addictions like drug and alcohol abuse. In addition, children that are exposed to other behavioral problems in their environment have a higher risk of developing screen addiction. As a result of these commonalities, Bass (2015) adds that the American Psychiatric Association recognized the seriousness of the problem in recent years and included Internet Gaming Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (p. 17). This action ensures that research is prioritized and considerations are taken before decisions like increasing the use of video games in the classroom become policy. Bass (2015) goes on to explain some aspects of gaming addiction as the belief that gaming is an essential activity in their life, the reports of a feeling of escape from reality, the need for more and more time gaming, mood swings when they cannot play, interpersonal conflicts, and impact on regularly scheduled activities due to gaming (p. 17). Simply stated, if any child or adolescent neglects personal responsibilities in favor of gaming, he or she might have a