Browsing by Subject "Seppo-peli"

Goals. Previous research has shown that games and gamification have potential in education. Games and gamification are also mentioned In Finnish Core Curriculum (2014), but still games have not become mainstream in Finnish schools. It can be difficult for teachers to find learning games that are suitable for their students, and because of that, it is suggested that teachers could act as game designers. In recent years, it has become possible to design games without programming skills by using digital platforms. There are only few studies focusing on teachers designing games on digital platforms. The target of this study is to understand how teachers experience gamification on a digital platform. In this study, teachers use Seppo platform to design learning games for their students. The study aims to find out what kind of Seppo games teachers create, and how they experience designing and implementing Seppo games. Method. 14 basic education teachers participated in the study. The data consisted of semi-structured theme interviews and games made by the teachers. The data was analyzed using data-oriented content analysis. Results and conclusion. Results showed that Seppo is an easy-to-use teaching tool that can be used for many purposes in basic education. Most of the games were linked to different school subjects and, in addition, many games focused on practicing transversal competences. Gamification was an important goal for a few teachers, but many of the teachers considered Seppo as a functional way of studying or an e-learning platform more than a game. In many cases, Seppo games changed practices of teaching and made studying more versatile, for instance, by extending learning environment outside the classroom. Teachers felt that designing Seppo games was technically easy. However, teachers may need support in content design, since some of the teachers considered difficult to combine gamefulness and learning goals in meaningful ways. Teachers experienced that students mostly achieved the learning goals by playing Seppo games. According to the teachers, almost all their students participated in Seppo games actively and liked playing the game. In conclusion, Seppo games made by teachers have potential to support learning that is based on curriculum.