Gamification

Gamification

1. Gamification describes the process of applying game-related principles — particularly those relating to user experience and engagement — to non-game contexts such as education

2. elements

   • Narrative
   • Immediate feedback
   • Fun
   • “Scaffolded learning” with challenges that increase
   • Mastery (for example, in the form of levelling up)
   • Progress indicators
   • Social connection
   • Player control

3. benefits

   • Students feel ownership over their learning
   • More relaxed atmosphere in regard to failure, since learners can simply try again
   • More fun in the classroom
   • Learning becomes visible through progress indicators
   • Students may uncover intrinsic motivation for learning
   • Students can explore different identities through different avatars/characters
   • Students are often more comfortable in gaming environments

4. Healey (2013)

   • gamification techniques or ideas may be included in TBL or PBL approaches in English learning
   • Blissful Productivity
     • the idea that people like working hard and feeling productive. It’s not work for its own sake, but the sense of productivity that makes this powerful. Task-based learning often exemplifies this.
   • Discovery/Exploration
     • people like certain kinds of surprises. Some learners are especially motivated by discovery. Game theory calls these people “explorers”
   • Epic Meaning
     • the sense of accomplishing something big, like saving a world. Language teachers can approach this by having learners do projects that go outside the classroom and that have a large external audience
   • Quests/Challenges
     • overcoming obstacles, either alone or with a team. Project- and task- based learning can use this. It’s another way of visualizing progress
   • Virality
     • a game or task that works better with many people. Project-based learning is often characterized by teamwork