With so many schools closed and learners at home with care-takers, engagement has proven to be difficult for many classroom teachers. It can be even more difficult to engage at-home learners in some subjects that are reading intensive, especially history. Two strategies we can use to increase engagement are gamification and hands-on learning!

For our youngest learners, incorporating outdoor-learning, physical activity, and games can be a winning combination! Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game that combines the outdoors, physical activity, and Pokemon to engage users in the real world. Learners can hunt Pokemon while learning about the local history in your town, at parks near you, or while traveling! Reading plaques, studying statues, or exploring landmarks can be discussed while hunting their favorite Pokemon characters. Having your learners reflect upon the day in a video (Flipgrid), and place review (Google Maps), or a custom map (Google Maps) are all excellent ways to solidify the learning experience.

For older learners that like to game, Ingress may be a welcome addition to their catalog. Ingress is made by the same company that makes Pokemon Go and fuses augmented reality with real world, place-based gaming. Ingress is a story rich game that asks participants to secure “XM.” In order to do that, users must capture and connect “portals” that are located all across the world. The game encourages community and collaboration as networks are built across portals. The first portals were created by downloading the historical marker database (HMDB). Since then, users have been able to add historical and cultural landmarks by submitting requests to Niantic, the owner of the game. Watch a trailer here.

For learners that prefer more hands-on experiences, geocaching is a great way to incorporate learning and real life treasure hunting! Geocaching is a place-based, outdoor activity that involves hunting for hidden artifacts called “geocaches.” Geocaches are hidden all over the world and can vary in size, type, and difficulty to find. Creating and hiding geocaches can also be a fun way for learners to encourage and share their love of local landmarks with the world. Waymarking is similar to geocaching except that the product is a landmark instead of a hidden cache.

When we integrate gaming into the classroom (virtual or face-to-face!), we open doors for students to engage in active, authentic, and FUN learning experiences. We’d love to hear how you utilize these tools for game-based learning in your classroom. Tag us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!