The dynamics of engagement for 21st century students are different from those of students that were taught in the pre-Internet era. Today’s students are digital natives. Digitality is an essential part of their everyday life. As a result, the way they reason and think is influenced , to a large extent, by the use of digital technologies. They (students) tend to think “on multiple tracks at once, but have little patience with linear reasoning or delayed gratification”. (Prensky, 2001 cited in Carlton). They work on short bursts of attention and thrive in interactive student-responsive learning environments. To cater to the learning needs of these students and to their engagement in the learning process, you will have to integrate the thing they love the most: digitality. One way to do this is through the use of games (all sorts of games).
First appeared here