Gamification Resources - University of Waterloo



Gamification ResourcesHistory & LiteratureGamingThe literature examining the use of gaming for educational purposes details the inherent traits of good games:Games are a form of fun. That gives us enjoyment and pleasure. Games are form of play. That gives us intense and passionate involvement. Games have rules. That gives us structure. Games have goals. That gives us motivation. Games are interactive. That gives us doing. Games are adaptive. That gives us flow. Games have outcomes and feedback. That gives us learning. Games have win states. That gives us ego gratification. Games have conflict/competition/challenge/opposition. That gives us adrenaline. Games have problem solving. That sparks our creativity. Games have interaction. That gives us social groups. Games have representation and story. That gives us emotion. (Prensky, 2001)What is apparent is that many of these traits are what we would expect to find in a pedagogically-sound, traditional classroom, but a good game can facilitate this all by itself. There are three types of games that can be considered for educational purposes:Educational: found primarily in primary education, games such as these focus on computer-human interaction and introduce the student to drill-and-kill exercises which focus on repetition and memorization of knowledge (e.g. Mathblaster or Reader Rabbit); learning is emphasized over funSynthetic Immersive Environments: harnessing the power of mobile technology, these games are also educational in design, but immerse the learner in an augmented virtual world that the learner interacts with and learns from (e.g. ARIS); designed by an instructor, and learning is emphasized over funVernacular: The third type of game are those which are designed for commercial use, where entertainment is primary, yet a good game can implicitly focus on a certain topic and improve a learner’s cognitive skills (e.g. World of Warcraft for language learning); fun is emphasized over learningGamificationAdopting many of the characteristics that make games ideal educational technologies, Gamification superimposes these characteristics over already established mediums. By adapting means of competition and reward systems within an assignment or learning management system, ideally learners will be more motivated to participate due to these extrinsic motivators. Gamification examples in education:Badges to track assignment completion and reaching specific goals in the courseLeaderboards to allow students to compete with one another Providing experience points instead of gradesGiving all students 100% in your course, with only room to lose grades through not completing assignmentsTournaments between students with technologies such as Top HatRewards systems for students who complete extra assignments or go above and beyond in the classroom Be wary of the competition that Gamification can breed amongst students – students should always have the option of doing something else if they do not feel comfortable competing with one another.Current UsesDuolingo () – gamifying language learning by having students complete drill-and-kill grammar and vocabulary exercises while receiving experience points to gain levels and access more difficult exercisesMinecraft () – a vernacular game that has been adapted for learning environments by giving students a sandbox to build and construct their own virtual worldsSecond Life () – a virtual world where students can create their own avatar and embody a 3D space, which can in turn promote easier communication through text and reduce anxiety to speakCoursera () – a platform that provides free educational courses for anyone who is interested, but to promote interactivity and retention, badges and other reward systems are implemented for participantsBrainscape () – improved flashcards that promote retention of knowledge using what they call “confidence-based repetition”, designed to be more appealing and fun to use to also assist in retentionFuture UsesGoogle Glass () – with the functionality to create apps for use with Google Glass, new and exciting synthetic immersive environments can be created to allow students to walk through a city and learn about its historical importance, or read signs in another language, all through augmented realitySmart Watches – with many fitness tools already existing in wearable form, smart watches will allow pre-existing fitness games such as Zombies, Run! () to be a persistent element of one’s daily routine and gamify basic experiences such as fitness ................
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