Game On!
The Gamification of Adult Learning
Click to watch how Paul Anderson used game elements to improve learning
in his AP Biology course: Classroom Game Design: TEDxBozeman
What is Gamification?
Gamification is the application of game mechanics
and psychology to drive desired behaviors in nongame settings.
Source: (Trees, 2013).
What are common game elements?
Rewards
• Badges
• Privileges
Self-expression
• Avatars
• Choice
Status
• Titles
Competition
• Leaderboard
Achievement
• Levels
• Points/grades
Emotion
What is a badge?
A badge is a visual validation of achievement that indicates
a person’s knowledge, skill, or accomplishment. Think of
badges as a way to recognize a person’s multifaceted
abilities. Badges allow students to provide a more
comprehensive developmental narrative to share with peers,
parents, teachers, and potential schools or employers.
Source: (,)
What are some achievements that can be
rewarded with badges?
• Performance
• Product
• Behavior
• Attendance
• Punctuality
• Respect
• participation
Why use badges?
• To signify successes, establish goals, and foster positive learning and working
habits
• Completing projects and performances
• Mastering concepts
• Rewarding behavior
•
•
•
•
•
Attendance
Punctuality
Leadership
Respect
Participation
How do I deliver badges?
• Identify learning goals and reward progress and completion.
• Identify behaviors and reward demonstration (e.g. artifact creation, skill
development, participation, goal achievement, reflection) and how you can
recognize multiple aspects of learning.
• Identify competencies.
Points
• Rewards
• Status (leaderboard)
• Achievement
• Competition
• digital games (1) are built on sound learning
• principles, (2) provide more engagement for the learner, (3) provide
personalized learning
• opportunities, (4) teach 21st
• century skills, and (5) provide an environment for authentic and
• relevant assessment.best
Leaderboards
• COmpetitit
What behaviors do gamers exhibit?
• Risk taking (freedom to
fail)
• Persistance
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills
What characteristics of gaming benefit learning?
• Enables individual pacing (personalized learning)
• Fosters collaboration
• Fosters “just in time learning” earning
• Fosters active construction of learning
What learning tools are embedded in games?
• Structure
• Goals
• Feedback
• Path to progress
(Trees. 2009, p. 16)
What does the research say?
• Navigation, military training and health care games and simulations
have been widely used with a certain degree of success
• Gameplay constitutes a particularly effective way of organizing
learning activities
• Gameplay is regarded as an important arena for the development and
formation of thinking, identities, values and norms
Sources: (Gee, 2003); (Rystedt, 2002); (Cole, 1996; Piaget, 1951; Rogoff, 1990)
What are the barriers to adoption?
• Schools slow to adopt new innovations
• Research around play patterns and learning was limited
• Designing good games was difficult
• Parent and educator attitudes toward games
• Lack of PD for teachers to integrate gaming
• Skills that games develop are not assessed in standardized tests
• Lack of evidence to support use
(MLGF p20)
Resources
GamificationCorp.
Jane McGonigal, TedTalk: Gaming can make a better world
Seth Priesbatch, TedTalk: The game layer on top of the world
Mozilla Open Source Badges
References
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamifcation.”
Proceedings of the
15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media
Environments (MindTrek ’11). New York, NY.
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward: Obstacles, opportunities, and openness. The
Education Arcade: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.educationarcade.org/
Trees, L. (2013). Gamification in knowledge management: How it works and
what your organization should know. Houston, TX: APQC white paper.