Using Social Networks in the Classroom, Part 2

Using Social Networks in the Classroom, Part 2

I have a love-hate relationship with the book Reality Is Broken that I'm currently reading. On the one hand, the book takes everything that makes games so popular and tries to apply it to improving real-world problems. On the other hand, the target audience is the gaming industry, so all that's going to happen is that the video game companies will use the research to make more money.


But we can apply this research to make educational activities that run on social networks. Why? Because the game format is what students are used to. So, instead of forcing students to think differently, we might as well use game theory to create activities kids are actually interested in.


Here are five recommendations based on the research:

1. Use a compelling story for a backdrop or to tie the content matter together. The story should be engaging, capture the imagination, be epic. People love to have their curiosity piqued, their imaginations engaged, their minds challenged, and to feel that they are part of something bigger. For example, a tsunami hits our City. How can we use math to survive?
2. Use unnecessary obstacles. Instead of discouraging people, these types of challenges force us to be creative, which in turn makes us feel that what we are doing is "fun."
3. Use clearly defined and easy-to-understand rules and objectives. One of the most frustrating things is not knowing whether or not you are making progress (lack of feedback). Clear goals and rules allow us to quickly see whether or not we are on the right track.
4. Make failure fun. This one is counter-intuitive. In real life, we get depressed and unmotivated when we fail. What researchers discovered is that the strongest positive emotions are evoked when a gamer fails.¹ (That helps explain why some games are addictive.) Why? It's all about giving players the hope of succeeding—making them feel that success is right around the corner. That's really what we mean by "make failure fun."
5. Make it a social activity. Even the most introverted person longs for some type of social contact. The minimum social activity requires students to be in the same physical area as other people and nothing more. At the other extreme are activities that cannot be done alone (group work). In between are activities that require some type of face-to-face communication.

Let's apply these recommendations to math, for example. Why do some people love math and others end up hating it? In my case, (1) I found an intriguing story in the history of math—how a logician (whose name I can't remember now) tried and failed to turn math into a complex computer program. (2) Math is all about overcoming unnecessary obstacles. (3) The rules and objectives are all clearly defined. (4) Thanks to good teachers, I was always encouraged to persevere in math.


As educators, we already know that students frequently see math, science, etc. as "hard" (3). But we often take the other points for granted.

¹ Ravaja, Niklas, The Pscyhopysiology of Video Gaming: Phasic Emotional Responses to Game Events, Ghaning Views: World in Play. Digital Games Research Association, June 2005.