The game is the reward

27th January 2012, 12:00am

Share

The game is the reward

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/game-reward

Tom Bennett has rather missed the point with his critique of game-based learning (“Lollipop learning ends on a sour note”, TESpro, 20 January). A “good” game is one that is cleverly designed to make players want to keep playing. Playing the game is the reward. Gold stars, points and power-ups are not ends in themselves. They are just devices used to keep players playing. To keep playing, you have to keep learning. You learn by willingly solving problems of increasing difficulty in ever-more-complex scenarios. Isn’t this just what we want pupils to do?

Dr Owen Barden, Course leader, Oldham Sixth Form College.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Nothing found
Recent
Most read
Most shared