From the Editor's Desk
When Learning Becomes a Game...
Play and learning are closely interconnected. From infancy, children learn through play, while the adults around them entertain them in a variety of ways. Symbolic play (pretending to...) is also very much a part of pre-school education. In fact, for toddlers, play is the natural response to their desire to adapt and understand the world around them. It is through play that they appropriate the world and concepts around them, and dare to test their limits (Nouyrigat, 2023).
Yet, as children grow, the playful aspect of learning is less and less present. It’s as if having fun can’t be tied in with school. Nevertheless, one trend is making its way back into the classroom. This trend towards gamification in classes takes advantage of game mechanisms, including video games in recent years, for educational purposes, and with students of all ages! Immediate feedback, a feeling of progress, a desire to surpass oneself, interaction with peers, objectives to be reached, accumulation of points or privileges, etc.: all of this is designed to stimulate learning, motivate, and engage students.
Classroom gaming can take many forms, from the simplest activity (a quiz game) to the most complex (turning your classroom into a role-playing game). Applications use the strategy of points and competition, whether with oneself or in a group, to ignite student interest. It is also possible to create class challenges, compile the number of positive behaviours observed, and so on.
However, “the full potential of
game-based learning will only
be realized once the critical role
of teachers in this relatively new
educational practice is properly
understood and leveraged” (see
p.14). Pedagogical intent must
therefore always be present. That’s
why, in this issue, we’ve chosen to
offer you a variety of testimonials
to inspire you and guide you in
your teaching practices.
Not everything has to become a
game, but integrating a few playful
elements can sometimes make all
the difference in the classroom!
Martine Rioux, Chief-Editor
@riomarti
Audrey Miller, Publisher
@millaudrey
December 2023 – Volume 3, issue 2
Writers
Adam K. Dubé, Alexandre Chenette,
Alexandra Coutlée, Marc-André Éthier,
Marie Christine Juteau, Gulsah Kacmaz,
Fanny Langin, David Lefrançois, Ludovic Lemay, Matt Miller, Thierry Warin, Run Wen
Publisher
Audrey Miller
Chief-Editor
Martine Rioux
Editorial Assistant
Karla Mora
Development Director
Stéphanie Dionne
Linguistic Revision
Nicole Arsenault, Tracey-Lee Batsford
Translation
Tracey-Lee Batsford, Alexandra Coutlée
Additional Proofreading
Nicole Arsenault, Tracey-Lee Batsford, Alexandra Coutlée, Audrey Miller, Karla Mora
Graphic Design
Marie-Michèle Bouchard-Roussin
Kate-Lyn Lapointe
(EMBLÈME Communication)
Printing
Numerix
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Legal Deposit 4th trimester 2023
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Library and Archives Canada
ISSN 2564-2510 (Print)
ISSN 2564-2529 (Online)
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