Social gaming giants Zynga weigh in on the gamification of Education

Zynga, the social gaming giant and creator of FarmVille, has recently invested in Grockit, an online service that applies social game mechanics to education.

Grockit assists teachers and tutors in preparing students for a variety of tests using collaborative exercises, social graphs, points and achievements.

The move has grabbed the attention of venture capitalists and educators alike, sparking discussion as to the future of education in this digital - and increasingly social - world.

But aren’t games just a distraction for children and teenagers, how can they possibly improve kids’ performance at school?!

After years developing learning solutions with games and gamification at their core, we’ve found that games can not only achieve learning outcomes but facilitate and accelerate them. Below we’ve outlined a couple of 3RD sense projects with games and game mechanics at their core, each designed with education in mind.

Primary and Secondary Students: Excel Test Zone

Excel Test Zone offers primary and secondary school students a rich learning environment to prepare for a range of Australian school tests. Teachers or parents ‘enrol’ their children for a specific course, comprised of a series of tests.

The site shares a number of gamification features with Grockit, including personalised profiles, point scoring and leader boards. Students can use the points they’ve won for successfully completing tests to purchase games in the Gymbrainium, which in turn motivates further progress.

Teachers and parents can track student progress via a login, picking up on their child’s strengths, weaknesses and academic performance relative to students across the state and country.

Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is a website for 3-7 year olds which teaches kids basic reading skills in as little as six weeks. The programme includes a variety of interactive, animated activities, each designed to achieve a particular outcome.

Kids receive Golden Eggs for completing each learning activity, which can then be spent on games. The more activities they do and the more Golden Eggs they earn, the more games they can play, making them a real motivation for the kids to keep reading.

Kids can personalise their whole experience by creating their own custom avatar and home, using Golden Eggs earned from activities to purchase household items and clothing.