AP World History teacher Karen Solberg sent a Roblox AP World history review game to her students via a Remind message April 26, as Roblox-reviews garner AP teacher attention nation-wide. Roblox user “runnygurl” who made, “Ap World Studygame” April 17, has already accumulated just over 300,000 visits.

“It’s just another way to engage the students in doing something to prepare for the test,” Solberg said. “Kids aren’t going to open their notebooks up, so if they’re willing to do this why not? It doesn’t matter what they do to review, there are so many different ways (to review) now, as long as they can engage in the content.”

Roblox, released Sept. 1, 2006 by David Baszcuki, is a gaming platform host to over 380 million monthly users. The platform is host to over 40 million user-made experiences, offering not only gaming experiences, but coding and development to its majority youth playerbase.

Runnygirl, real name Salma Qadan (who requested her school remain anonymous) began developing review games in search of engaging study methods. She started developing last summer with simple horror games, but never got far. When AP exam season came and reviews began, she transferred that experience into her first review game: “AP Gov Review.”

“I make a lot of study guides for people in my classes already,” Qadan said in an interview over Roblox voice chat. “Then, I was like, ‘Maybe a game would be more helpful, because it’s more engaging and I’ll get people to want to study more.’ I think that was my lightbulb moment, but I did not expect this many people to play them at all.”

Qadan’s game took off after she posted a TikTok of her AP government game, reaching more than 400,000 views. Fueled by the publicity, she created two more from comment recommendations: AP Psychology and AP World History.

Qadan’s AP Government game took three consecutive days and, consequently, her productivity. 

“(Since developing) I think mentally, I’m definitely just not as focused (in class),” Qadan said. “Like, in math, I usually spend about an hour a day doing homework, but I just haven’t been, and I think that’s why I need a break. But honestly, it’s helped me out extra in my AP Gov class, learning more info.”

Student-use

Sophomore Logan Smith claimed to have played the AP World History review for two hours straight after receiving Solberg’s message, arguing it to be more fun than any other review.

“Kids get bored when reading from textbooks or watching a presentation,” Smith said. “So I feel like this was way more engaging, for me at least. I’m scared of not passing the AP test, so I just kept going over the units, (which) kind of eased those nerves.”

Qadan intended for her games to be between her and her friends, reaching audiences across the nation was shocking.

“(This is) the last thing I would ever expect to happen to me,” Qadan said. “I’m super happy about it though, because I really like the fact that I’m helping a lot of people, and hopefully, have a lot of positive effects on other (student’s scores).”

With free reign for players to develop any game, educational experiences like Qadan’s emerge, and Roblox CEO David Baszucki welcomes them. In November of 2021, he announced a $10 million fund to create the Education Department of Roblox.

“Roblox Education will support and amplify the teaching and learning already happening with Roblox Studio and on Roblox,” Head of Education at Roblox Rebecca Kantar wrote Nov. 15, 2021. “Every day, students learn to code, problem solve with friends, and experience faraway places, not just hear about them. We want everyone to have access to those opportunities. Our goal is to support 100 million students learning on our platform by 2030.”

Gamification of Learning

Researchers from Electronic (basel) performed a 2023 study on the effects of gamification: the application of game elements to other activities. Researchers used Roblox studio learning scenarios, one with gamification and one without, to analyze the effects of the elements of gamification: challenge, reward, feedback, social interaction, and use of points, badges and leaderboards.

Results showed all elements increased learning motivation, especially the reward system. After completing a task, they received points that could be redeemed for rewards, motivating students to collect all. In contrast, the non-gamified set showed less motivation and excitement.

A separate study by researchers with the “Sustainability” publication showed that increased motivation boosted academic performance. Researchers introduced a gamified learning course to Chilean high school geometry course and recorded their performance. After 10 months, student knowledge increased by 23%.

“Teachers must take into account students’ motivation, make use of suitable teaching techniques, and incorporate technology and gamification, as much as possible,” the authors with Sustainability wrote. “By adopting a comprehensive approach to education and acknowledging students’ motivations, educators can enable learners to acquire the essential competencies and knowledge required to face the demands of an ever-evolving world.”

Solberg agrees that, specifically, video games should be embraced in curriculum to account for modern pastimes.

“Chances (also) are that, the reason the kids aren’t studying for their tests, is because they’re probably playing Fortnite or playing Roblox or playing something,” Solberg said “So might as well meet them in the middle.”

Gamification is already seen in classrooms through district approved websites such as, Quizizz, Kahoot and Blooket but Conroe ISD Coordinator of Instructional Technology Mindy Harding doubts Roblox will ever be accepted. However, Harding mentioned the district has looked into Minecraft as a future resource.

“I do see some benefits of gamification around common games,” Harding wrote in an email. “Especially since students enjoy them and have a knowledge of how the games work, but it all comes down to making sure the games are safe. There are guidelines we have to follow through our Software Review process, and what we have discovered is that just because a vendor creates an “Education” version of a game, it does not always meet the guidelines of the Software Review process.”

Nonetheless, Qadan intends to continue to play part in the gamification of studying. For now though she is stepping back from developing while preparing for her own exams, but said that she will continue to refine her current games.

“I hope that I can get attention as a developer,” Qadan said. “But more importantly I definitely hope that a lot of people will do way better on their exam and feel better about studying. I don’t think playing this game will get you five, but I really hope that I was able to help a little.”