As an education model, game-based learning allows students to achieve the acquisitions identified in the education process by means of games. In this model, the students are active and guide the students. There are two main themes that are common in the development of educational games namely:
1 The desire to harness the motivational power of games in order to ‘making learning fun’. 2 A belief that ‘learning through doing’ in games such as simulations offers a powerful learning tool (Kirriemuir & Mcfarlane, 2004).
As a part of game based learning environments, digital educational games use digital technologies to motivate, engage and equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills in respective teaching domains. These interactive learning environments support the development of various significant skills such as strategic thinking, planning, communication, negotiation, decision-making and data-handling.
Source: https://educandy.com/
EDUCANDY
One of the most popular applications (https://educandy.com/ )for for creating interactive learning games, Educandy allows turning the classroom content into great learning activities. Teachers can download the Educandy Studio App and enter the relevant vocabulary and images or questions and aswers to create unique games. Once the activity is created, a code is generated for students to play the game on their own devices. It is also possible to embed the created games on desired websites. Students can also download Educandy Play App or go to the website to play. Interactive boards can be used to play the created games.
How to make Educandy Games:
- Download the Educandy Studio app It is free. Then generate a list of words, matching pairs, or quiz questions about your topic.
- Use one of the eight activity options for your content (Word search, noughts and crosses, crosswords, spell it, anagrams, match-up, multiple choice and memory). The content will be displayed in the selected template.
Source: https://educandy.com/
- When the activity is created you will get a unique code for this game. Share the code with your students. Students can play the game directly on the Educandy website or on the app they have downloaded (Educandy play app)
The research aimed to explore the use and effectiveness of Educandy in learning English and concluded that it was a motivating and fun educational game for students.
Saputri A. D., Putri A. R.i, Sabilla G. A., Triwulan T., Susilawat S. (2023). The Use of Educandy Medıa on Learnıng Englısh in The COVID 19 Pandemic Era.Candradimuka: Journal of Education, 1(1), 37-49. https://www.jurnal.prismasejahtera.com/index.php/candradimuka/article/view/27
The learning application is free, motivational and allows self learning as well. The application collects data but it is not shared with third parties and can be deleted on request. Educandy isn't designed for exploring larger concepts or refining analytical skills, but the games are entertaining to young students who need to practice basic facts or vocabulary.