Educational environments are in a constant state of evolution, and similar to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, it’s an incredibly slow process—at least until Covid-19! With many learning environments moving away from in-person to virtual classrooms (even if just temporarily), it has shed some light on what some members of the educational community have always known—technology holds the key to moving education forward in new and innovative ways.

Some of these innovative advancements can be seen with AR, or augmented reality, such as Pokémon Go as discussed in the article Reality has always been augmented: Play and the promises of Pokémon GO. While this game has become popular with today’s youth and young adults, it’s not difficult to understand why since it leverages a basic psychological phenomenon: motivation. Pokémon Go follows Keller’s ARCS model for motivation through varied challenges and participation (Attention), reimagining their real life environments through the augmented layer (Relevance), matches appropriate skill difficulty (Confidence), and gives a sense of accomplishment when a the player captures a Pokémon (Satisfaction). Education considers motivation in curriculum development as well, so why would most people consider one fun and the other not?

Innovation, Integration, and Community

Pokémon Go works with the player’s environment (which creates the augmented reality) and even improves upon it, which means it doesn’t force the player to choose between them. According to the article Five Things Education Technology Could Learn from Pokémon GO, players can not only reexperience their world in a new way, they also form friendships and communities based on a love of playing a game. Players go out and explore their communities with fresh eyes, searching for the elusive Pokémon hiding in the wings with a newfound purpose to capture said Pokémon. This reinvigorates the user and helps them to simultaneously get lost in a whole new world (sort of, because, you know, it’s based on the actual world). In the same way, educators can use the context of the learner’s world to explore new ideas and theories without removing them completely. Students can learn about environmental studies within the confines of their community, or business markets specific to their region. While these are just examples and seem a bit restrictive at first, they can also serve as steppingstones to bridge the gap between the world the student knows and the world they don’t. By adding context and relevance, students can be drawn in initially then the lesson be expanded to encompass a more global view. Furthermore, students can form life-long affiliations with peers based on their experiences and interests, which only deepens the connection to the learning environment.

Matching Skill Level With An Eye Towards Growth

Pokémon Go maintains user participation because of its overall design—players have to work for privileges and some elements remain just out of reach until they have achieved their experience goals. When the degree of difficulty is just right for the individual, they will keep at it because they know success is within their reach. This is referred to as a growth mindset. According to the article Five Things Education Technology Could Learn from Pokémon GO, “a growth mindset, where an individual believes that they can improve their performance with strategic practice and hard work” is fostered throughout the game. Players can track their successes, and know that with more practice, they will achieve their objective. Then, once they’ve ‘leveled up’, players can advance to the next challenge—this is the benefit to games. I’m sure many people could probably think back to that one class that still gives them trepidations—one where no matter what you did, you felt like you couldn’t get ahead. For me, it was math. Even though I wasn’t ever a terrible math student, there were times I felt overwhelmed and intimidated. It certainly made me think twice before taking additional math classes! Like a conveyor belt, the class keeps moving forward even if not everyone is onboard. That’s the major difference though; games are based on individual achievement, not the group as a whole (or even term-based time restrictions).

Educators generally try to ensure students are appropriately challenged, but that gets difficult when the lesson cannot be tailored to the individual. Pokémon Go is tailored to the individual based on skills and experience gained, so the “fit” is always just right. If educators were to be able to create self-paced learning environments, they would be able to leverage much of Pokémon Go’s successful approach to getting and keeping player motivation and achievement. In my context, the corporate training world, I am able to create individualized plans based on the trainee’s achievements. The challenge is helping them to form the connection back to their own real world environment—I guess I’ll leave that one for the academics.

 

 

References

Williamson, Daniel. (2016, July 15). Five Things Education Technology Could Learn from Pokémon Go. Medium. https://medium.com/@new_edu/five-things-education-technology-could-learn-from-pok%C3%A9mon-go-819f4752b53f

Sicart, M. (2017). Reality has always been augmented: Play and the promises of Pokémon GO. Mobile Media & Communication, 5(1), 30–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157916677863

 

Video credits

Wells, Greg. (2010, October 17). “I Love Lucy Candy Factory Video wmv” [Video]. YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbNcQlzV-4

 

Image credits

http://s3.amazonaws.com/libapps/accounts/40130/images/arcs1.png