Pokémon Go is the New Craze! But Is It for Educators?
It seems like everyone is either talking or writing about Pokémon Go. You also may have heard about the game on the
news or read one of the many stories describing the erratic and sometimes irresponsible game playing behavior by kids
and adults alike.
This newly released game has taken some people “to the edge”. While deeply engaged in the game, players have fallen
into ditches, run into water fountains, been hit by a car, and fallen of a cliff. The game makes them behave as if they
have been possessed by a force they cannot control. You may be wondering what the fuss about Pokémon Go is all
about.
One simple explanation for the fuss; nostalgic millennials who once dreamed of capturing real-life Pokémon have finally
gotten their wish. It is an old time favorite and their thirst for the game is fueling the world wide success of Pokémon
Go.
“Most ’90s kids who kept up with the original Pokémon console
games and TV shows share the same old-fashioned dream:
sprawling on the couch with their games and cards thinking, ‘Man,
wouldn’t it be great if we could catch Pokémon in real life?’”
(Ghabour, 2016)
Released in the 1990s and celebrating almost 20 years since its
introduction in the United States, Pocket Monsters: Red &
Green was the first version of the role playing game. Each player
navigated throughout the fictional region of Kanto in a quest to
master the act of Pokémon battling. The goal of the game was to
become the champion of the Pokémon League by defeating the
eight Gym Leaders and then the top four Pokémon trainers in the land, the Elite Four.
In July 16, 2016, Niantic released “Pokémon Go” to the public in the United States and
most of the world. It is a new mobile phone application that uses your GPS location and
augmented reality to trigger the appearance of Pokémon characters around you by
superimposing digital creatures onto your physical world. This game represents a new
breakthrough for augmented reality (AR), introducing the technology to the general public
while elevating the game playing to a higher level. Players walk around collecting Poké balls
and catching creatures as they go (Poké balls are used to save Pokémon). Surprisingly, since
the app launched, kids and adults between the ages of 12 and 34 are stepping outside of
their comfortable, air-conditioned homes into the summer heat to play the game and make
social connections.
Is Pokémon Go useful in an Educational Setting?
Faculty and College Administrators are debating both sides
of the merits of Pokémon’s usefulness in Higher Education.
Lori Gracey, Executive Director of Texas Computer
Education Association, recently enthused, “In my perfect
world, learning at school would look like Pokémon GO. It
would be active, it would allow people of all ages to come
together to solve problems, it would be engaging, it would
be fun, and people would feel good about what they learn
and accomplish,” (Gracey, 2016).
However, there are anti-Pokémon Go pundits who have
contributed a voice to the Pokémon Go in Higher Education
debate. David Jakes, educator, designer and founder of
David Jake’s Designs, called the recent surge of interest in
Pokémon Go tantamount to “educational Ping-Pong”, and
goes on to discuss the many higher educational technology
trends that have entered and left the edTech space, many
of them dismal failures that once held great promise
(second life comes to mind). Jakes argues that the energy
spent trying to find the “hot new thing that will change the
future of learning,” would be better spent focusing efforts
on improving instruction, increasing student engagement,
and challenging students (Jakes, 2016).
Vocabulary
Pokémon Go: an augmented reality, GPSbased, mobile device game which uses realworld locations to gather virtual items
Pokémon: the characters in the game you
seek to capture and use for other purposes
Poké Ball: the item you need to capture
Pokémon
PokéStop: Place you locate in the game and
visit to gather Pokéballs
Pokédex: An incomplete encyclopedia given to
you in the game that is populated with details
of the Pokémon as you capture them
Gym: a specific place in the game where you
can have your Pokémon battle for control
Journal: a time-based list of your activity in the
game
Innovative Uses for Pokémon Go in Higher Education
College Faculty and Administrators are a creative group by nature, and they have already come up with uses for
Pokémon Go in college classrooms since the game has appeared in Mobile App stores:
Virtual Reality Images to promote College Landmarks: Many of the game’s PokéStops have 360 panoramic images.
Educators have been using PokéStops to provide information about their college campuses to students. University of
Wisconsin at Madison had a lure module (which attracts more Pokémon) placed in their library. Here’s a tweet about it:
https://twitter.com/college_library/status/752503499766673408
Digital Storytelling: When students see a Pokémon, they can turn on the camera on their mobile devices to capture the
scene as it as unfolding. After the images are saved to the camera roll, they can be used in classroom projects like digital
storytelling.
Data Literacy: The game offers a journaling component, which captures information about when events occur such as
visiting a PokéStop or collecting Poké balls. By collecting and analyzing the data, students can be introduced to data
literacy skills such as an analyzing data, or preparing charts and graphs.
GPS Mapping: Students can feed the GPS coordinates of their finds while playing the game to a site like
http://www.gps-coordinates.net/. These can be plotted into Google Maps to teach students about GPS coordinates and
Map reading skills.
Sketchnoting: Sketchnoting is a skill that teaches students how to take visual notes while a speaker is talking. If you are
interested in employing this tactic with your students for their note taking in the upcoming semester, consider a brief
exercise in Pokémon Go or a similar app to get students familiar with this new approach to recording information in a
fun, low stakes environment. For more details about sketchnoting, visit this site:
http://www.schrockguide.net/sketchnoting.html.
*Ideas adapted from the Discovery Education Article: (Schrock, 2016).
Uses of Pokémon Go to increase interest in college services and programs
When talking to students, many of them did not see a direct application for Pokémon Go in their classroom learning, but
all of them agreed that they could be used by various offices to drive traffic to the college and increase interest in
college services and programs.
Helix Education published an article titled 5 Ways Pokémon Go Can Drive Enrollment Growth for Colleges and
Universities. In this article it was suggested that Pokémon Go could be used in the five following ways to drive university
growth:
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

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Incorporating Pokémon Go Into Campus Tours/Orientations
Inviting College Students + Alumni to a Pokémon Go meet-up
Incorporating Pokémon Go into Social Media Posts
Creating a Campus Pokémon Go Contest
*Ideas from the Helix Education Article http://www.helixeducation.com/blog/5-ways-Pokémon-go-can-driveenrollment-growth-for-colleges-and-universities/ (Olsen, 2016).
eCampusNews recently published an article detailing ways that three colleges have used some of the ideas mentioned
above to promote campus engagement: http://www.ecampusnews.com/featured/featured-on-ecampusnews/colleges-pokemon-go/ (eSchoolMedia, 2016).
Two ELITE Instructional Designers Discuss possible educational uses for Pokémon Go
ELITE Instructional Designers Gloria Barron and Michele Knight were assigned to investigate possible educational uses
for Pokémon Go by ELITE’s Vice President Michael Mills. During their discussion, Gloria and Michele discussed various
ideas referenced in the articles above as possible jumping off places for faculty to explore using Pokémon Go in the
classroom, if the idea of using the game was appealing. However, during their conversation two things became
apparent; first, not all students or faculty are interested in Pokémon Go, second, even people with an interest in
Pokémon go might want to keep their gaming and classroom activities separate. So during their discussion, Gloria and
Michele started to focus on broad, general applications where faculty could capture some of the enthusiasm that their
students might feel for Pokémon Go without needing to be heavily invested in the game.
Faculty interested in tapping into student interest in the game can use these ideas armed with just the general overview
provided during this article.
Look for generalized ways to talk about the game as part of a course:

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Faculty involved in Computer Applications or Computer Science might be interested in getting their students to
see how Pokémon Go was created. Students can investigate the way that the game was put together, both from
a programming aspect and a virtual reality aspect. Students can research the history of Virtual reality games,
make connections to the current Pokémon Go game, and discuss ways that they would make the game better,
backed by research in the discipline of their field. While she is not currently using Pokémon Go in her courses,
MC Computer Gaming and Simulation Programming Coordinator Deborah Solomon had her students make a
location-based mobile game in her TECH 190 course a few years ago. Professors could use student interest in
the Pokémon Go phenomenon to get their students interested in pursuing the design of a similar game.
Students involved in Marketing or Business fields could focus on getting their students to think about what is
unique and compelling about the Pokémon Go game, and how the game works in terms of driving people to play


and persist in the game. These students can be encouraged to think about why people are attracted to the
game, and define this attraction using the research and discipline of their field.
English faculty could use Pokémon Go in an optional activity to get students involved in a storytelling project
where they give the history of a Pokémon Go character that they have captured in the game.
Communications teachers could enlist interested students to give a talk as a Pokémon Professor. In Explore
Everything with Pokémon Go, Craig Smith, an Autism Pedagogist has explored Gardner’s Theory of Multiple
Intelligences and has actually mapped ways that learning activities using Pokémon Go can be mapped along
each of these Intelligences. One of the ways that Smith suggests using Pokémon Go for verbal-linguistics
Intelligence is to have students with an interest in Pokémon Go, play a role as a Pokémon Professor. A faculty
member could assign an interested student the role of Pokémon Professor and have students prepare a speech.
What do Montgomery College Faculty think of Pokémon Go?
Michele Knight was able to talk to a few Faculty involved in Gaming, Animation, Web or
Computer Science to get their thoughts and insights on Pokémon Go. MC Computer Gaming
and Simulation Programming Coordinator Deborah Solomon is currently using Pokémon Go in
her classes, and she had her students make a location-based mobile game in her TECH 190
course a few years ago. She is also playing Pokémon Go, along with many of her students and
colleagues. She says that she is not advancing very fast in the game “because I let my kids use
my phone to play it when we're out. So I only level up when I'm not with my kids!”
When asked whether Pokémon Go could be used in education, she responded:
“The actual gameplay is very limited - it is a fun game but doesn't involve a lot of skill. I think
it's great that it is encouraging people to get outside, socialize, and learn about local landmarks, but I don't think of it as
the next big educational game. It will be interesting to see how future features extend the game mechanics, but...this is
not a game where players [create] their own content or learn new skills like programming.
[For creating new content, or learning skills like programming] Minecraft and Hour of Code have greater educational
potential. Just because [the game is] popular doesn't mean that it will change the future of learning! Also, progress in
the game depends on having a mobile device with a decent data plan – [which is] not a great use of educational funding.
If it sounds like I'm negative about Pokémon Go… I'm not! I enjoy the game a lot and love how it motivates people to
walk in the community. I just don't see it as the next great thing in education. For my own gaming classes, I definitely
plan to discuss it as an example of location based gaming - especially since it was created in Unity and that's the
software we use in TECH 190 and 290.”
Although she is not convinced that Pokémon Go represents the future in Higher Education, Deb does find educational
value in a variety of mobile based games that are educational, such as games that are being used in museums and
national parks. She also mentioned fitness games such as Zombies Run that motivate health behaviors (this game
actually uses zombies that chase you as you jog). As ELITE instructional designer Gloria Barron pointed out, the true
value in Pokémon Go is that the game “has brought Augmented Reality technology mainstream…this is what makes me
think about the potential it unlocks for the future of education.”
The topic of video games in Education is very important to Dr. Antonio “Tango” Thomas,
Part Time Faculty member in the Computer Gaming & Simulation Program, and Director of
the Institute for Part-time Faculty Engagement and Support, as he completed his Doctoral
Studies conducting research on the impact of video games and student learning. Tango calls
himself an “Instructional Game Designer”.
Tango is not currently playing Pokémon Go because he lacks the space to load the game
onto his phone. However, before we sat down to meet, he viewed a play through of the
Pokémon Go game app. A play through is when a video game expert plays the game and
records a video of that game to the screen of their mobile device. Here is an example of a video game play through of
Pokémon Go by IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1WbWAWk7Uw (IGN, 2016). Watchinga play through similar
to this one gave Thomas familiarity with the game prior to our conversation.
When asked why Pokémon Go was the hot game of the summer, Tango introduced Michele to James Paul Gee, a
linguistics researcher who has several theories for learning with video games.
Gee said that one of the things that a player finds compelling about a video game is the concept of “performance leading
to competence,” the more a player plays a game the better they get at the game. This hooks the player into continually
playing the game. In Education, Gee theorized that the opposite occurs, competence leads to performance, or that a
student must read and master many concepts before they are allowed to perform. This reversal of the concept in
education is not nearly as compelling as the immediate feedback and required demonstration of competency that is
required by the videogame player to engage in a game.
Another important element about the playability of videogames that Tango discussed with Michele is the idea of the
theory of flow, a psychology concept from Mihály Csikszentmihalyi (Flow (psychology), 2016). This theory posits that if a
game is too easy, the player will not persist and if the game is too difficult the player will not persist. Any professor can
also attest that this theory also applies in education. Once a video game player is in the zone they can spend hours
playing a game and think that they are only playing for a few minutes. The more that professors can tweak their
learning design so that the students are being challenged with the right level of learning at the right time, the more they
can capitalize on this concept whether or not they are actively immersed in incorporating the use of games in their
course design.
Pokémon Go is also an important example of an affinity group. This is another gaming in education concept introduced
by James Gee. Regarding the Affinity group concept introduced by Gee, Tango enthuses, “you become a part of these
groups, no one cares about your sex, your gender, your age, they care about [your] knowledge.” Anyone who has seen a
group of Pokémon Go players huddled around discussing game strategy can see that these players are a part of an
affinity group where the focus is simply on the game knowledge of the player, allowing bonds to form that may not
otherwise flourish. This is a powerful concept to try to incorporate into the educational setting.
During the conversation, Tango discussed a game that he used to play with students that he taught in a Gateway to
College program. Tango had a deck of Naruto Collectible Trading cards, which are ninja cards that can be used to battle
other players. To get his students engaged in his class, he put the students in five teams because he had twenty
students in the class, and he made sure that every person in his team had equally balanced strengths and weaknesses.
Next, he found one card in the deck which was the professor card. Tango used this card to pull himself into the battle
with his students. These cards were used during class for battles on the content of his course. When the professor card
was pulled, Tango used the opportunity to further challenge his students.
One of the ways that Tango suggests that instructors could use the Pokémon concept with their students is to divide
their students into similar teams based on the Pokémon characters and let students battle and answer questions based
on course content. This is a very practical way to harness some student enthusiasm for Pokémon while making sure that
the game reinforces a Professor’s instructional strategies.
A Montgomery College Student Alumni’s Take on Pokémon Go:
Antonio Reid, a graduate of the Montgomery College and University of Baltimore Gaming Programs had this to say about
why he plays Pokémon Go:
“Personally I really got into [playing Pokémon Go] because all of my co-workers were into it. It gave me a daily source of
conversation, [companionship], and on a few occasions group excursions to play together [with others] in specific areas.
Outside of that I enjoy the fact that my Mother has gotten into it and now we'll go on multiple hour walks a few times a
week. It's a great bonding and social experience that is a lot more accessible than Niantic's previous release.”
When asked whether he felt it could be used in the classroom, or for other college related activities he said:
“That would depend on how it's used. I'm a proponent that anything can be used as a lesson. Pokémon Go could
definitely be looked into and studied as the culmination and development of social gaming and Augmented Reality
gaming. It could also be studied from the perspective of how Augmented Reality experiences can fit into our daily
lives…mixing Game Design Methodology with encouraging healthier habits through progression, achievements, and
rewards. I've long been a fan of Augmented Reality games, and I love both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
experiences as games.
I think Pokémon Go stands as one of the first experiences that can be embraced on a larger than niche population, and
can probably be counted as one of the first landmark successes in the genre,”
What will be the future of Pokémon Go?
Some people feel that Pokémon Go is a summertime fad. While the game itself may not be popular in a few years,
according to Gloria Barron, “Pokémon Go has brought Augmented Reality technology mainstream and it alone has
unleashed a disruption and a potential change in the course of technology development and its use in education.”
Pokémon Go is not the first game to incorporate Augmented Reality technology, but it is the first game to catch on with
the general public. Michele states, “Communities of Educators are wise to watch AR technology developments, which
will certainly change the future of education. Monitoring these developments will give educators the ability to make
reasonable choices to best leverage the burgeoning field of AR technology to achieve their educational goals.”
As Gloria puts it succinctly “We look forward to what comes next.” ELITE will be watching what comes next, waiting to
support you in your educational goals as we brave this new frontier, together.
Bibliography
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Articles for Additional Information
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(Accessed: 2 August 2016).
Nunez, M. (2016) Pokémon go is secretly teaching Americans the metric system. Available at:
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