It was another amazing day at #ISTE13 yesterday with the opening ignite speeches and first keynote of the conference. There was a buzz in the air as everyone waited in the lines for the two sessions, anticipation and excitement growing stronger with each minute that passed. We were hoping to be inspired and invigorated, and we weren’t disappointed!
I was most inspired by Jane McGonigal’s opening keynote, Learning Is an Epic Win, which focused on gamification in education. (Watch her related TED Talk.) She was engaging and dynamic and gave some excellent points about why games matter in education.
Some of the main points she covered in her talk were:
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Gaming generates 10 positive emotional responses, which motivate students to continue to play.
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People playing games activate specific parts of the brain that are associated with euphoria and learning.
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Gamers typically fail 80% of the time but continue to play until they achieve their goal.
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In order for games to be a successful motivator, the student must be the one actively involved in the game, not passively watching.
The last point was her focus throughout the talk, even giving examples of games that she created, such as Evoke and Find the Future, where the learners are at the center of the games, in control and making decisions within the framework given.
As I was listening to these different points and watching the Twitter feed, I realized that what she was talking about was nothing more than good teaching. I work at an IB World school, and the tenets that McGonigal proposed are also the basis of our teaching framework. When students are involved in their learning, have the opportunity to make decisions and ask questions, and are encouraged to fail and try again, then great learning happens. For Jane McGonigal, it’s gaming that frames that learning experience, and for my school, it’s inquiry experiences. In other schools, it’s problem-based learning or STEM projects.
Whatever the framework may be, the message is clear. We as educators need to remember that there is an emotional component to learning that is deeply rooted in the fact that students want to be part of the learning process. When we loosen our control and invite the students to explore with us in whatever context, amazing things happen.
Did you make the same connection with the opening presentation? Do you feel that there is a context in your school that you can turn into a student-centered situation that will generate these emotional responses to learning?
Looking forward to your thoughts,
Jessica 
Photo Source: Axel Pfaender Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0