Videogamification of Learning

The costs of learning from a screen

Computers are everywhere in many schools. If you teleported a teacher from 15 years ago into schools today, it would probably be the first thing they notice. Walking down the halls, peering into classrooms, in many of those classrooms every student staring at a screen. Sometimes the teacher sitting at their desk, also staring at a screen.

We should wonder what students are actually doing on those computers. Are they learning? Are they playing Subway Surfers? Are they cutting and pasting random text off the internet into their presentation?

But even when students are doing what teachers want them to do, I see more and more bad habits that aren't helping students learn. I call this the "videogamification" of learning. It seems like these are habits students get from the time they spend playing video games and interacting with tablets and phones growing up, then transfer to the screens we put in front of them in school.

Race to the Finish

Any time I give students an assignment on a computer it's a race to get done as fast as possible. "Done" here doesn't mean getting things correct or thinking deeply about the math. It means getting to the end. If students can find a "cheat code" they'll use it. If they can blindly guess to get through something they'll do it. Playing a video game is about beating the level. There aren't points for doing it in style. Schoolwork becomes about getting on to the next thing, the faster the better.

Suction

It is so hard to tear student eyeballs away from screens. One reason is that they're playing Subway Surfers. But even when they aren't playing Subway Surfers it’s an issue. I have had students working on a set of problems on a Chromebook, I realize there's a common mistake, and I pause the class and ask them to tilt their screens down. Some kids who were making that mistake will tilt their screen down and appear to be paying attention. Then, as I begin to talk, they slyly tilt their screen back up and continue working on the assignment, incorrectly. There's this huge suction from the screen to student eyeballs. And I want to emphasize, this isn't just students wanting to play video games. That's an issue, sure, but students will ignore what's happening around them just to finish the assignment I've given. If the screen is on, it’s irresistible.

Case Study: Desmos

I love Desmos activities. If you're not familiar, they're online math lessons. The lessons are often interactive. They give students chances to try out ideas, see math in action, and solve a variety of problems. Desmos has a curriculum, a bunch of free activities, and a platform to create your own activities. And the activities aren't designed to be done by a group of students working silently in parallel. The interface includes an option to "pause" students so the teacher can facilitate a discussion, or to "pace" students and keep the class on the same page. I was an early adopter of Desmos activities, did some PD for them several years ago, and I've been using their free activities as a supplement to my curriculum. They’re great! They’re some of the best of edtech. But each year I use them a bit less.

Students like these activities. They see it as a nice change in the routine, and the activities often feel more accessible than something on paper. Desmos activities are thoughtfully designed and can lead to great mathematical thinking. But the race to the finish and suction issues I described above happen with Desmos as well. The activities ask students to explain their thinking, or try multiple problems, or experiment a bit before formalizing the math. Students often do the minimum and speed on to the next screen. When I pause the class to discuss something or compare different approaches, I see students sneaking glances at their screens. Their screens are paused, they can't do anything, and there's still this suction that they can't resist.

Online activities still have value, and I still use Desmos activities. But I have to be really thoughtful about focusing student thinking on the most essential math, and putting screens away before debriefing what they’ve done. Desmos is the best tool around, and it’s still a losing battle.

Not All Students, But Too Many

What I'm describing isn't true for every student. Some students work carefully and thoughtfully through online tasks. Some can tilt their screen down and participate in a discussion without distraction. But some can't. Those who can’t are the students who need that learning the most. And from what I'm observing, that number is growing. I think online tools can be a great asset to teachers, but I'm gradually moving away from them as the issues grow. I can fight to try and make online activities work for everyone, or I can recognize their limitations and cut my losses.

Also, to reiterate a point I made above: all of the issues I’m describing are issues when students are on-task. There is a whole separate issue where students are actually playing online games, or sending each other vulgar emails, or watching Youtube videos, or something else. Those are serious issues as well. My point is that online learning is a problem even when students are doing what I’ve asked them to do.

My Approach

Maybe I’m a hypocrite. I use a few different online tools with my students. I don't think they've lost all of their value. But I have some rules.

• The online tool should do something we can't do with paper and pencil. Some sort of interactivity I can't do offline, or the chance for students to check their and get feedback, or get me data I need to figure out what to do next.

• Online activities should be in short chunks. I aim for no more than 10 minutes at a time, though that can vary a bit depending on the tool.

• Any directions or framing need to happen before Chromebooks come out. Once Chromebooks are out, I assume students aren't listening.

• If I want to pause students to discuss something or address a common issue, Chromebooks must be closed. Tilting screens down doesn't work. This means those discussions often don't work very well — it takes a minute to get everyone to close their Chromebooks, and students have to log back in when they open Chromebooks again, so there's a big transaction cost. But that's the only way to get every student to listen.

My district chooses to provide Chromebooks for every student. If they tell me tomorrow that we're getting rid of Chromebooks, I would be fine with it. Life would go on, students would still learn math. Right now I have them, and there are a few good tools out there that I think add value. But every year I'm reconsidering how much to use those tools. Every year students spend a bit less time on Chromebooks and a bit more time working with paper and pencil.