Educational technology has come a long way in the last ten years. We’ve gone from simple programs like Google Docs to interactive learning games like Kahoot and Gimkit.

I use these, but I’m of mixed feelings on the topic.

On the one hand, they do get students engaged. When you’re using learning to earn snowballs to pelt your classmates (see below), you’re going to forget to some degree that you’re learning/practicing.

On the other hand, gamifying learning seems to run the opposite risk: kids are more interested in the game and less interested in the learning, and they’re willing to take risks (i.e., click somewhat randomly) to speed the process. And also, does everything have to be a game?

Still, it got some kids who are usually less than enthusiastic about school to engage to some degree for a few minutes. That’s a win.