Life @ Otis : Faculty Life

Gaming Tools


  

 

"Gamification is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior. The rewards or the spirit of competition can spur students’ concentration and interest and lead to more effective learning. The use of gamification is wide-ranging in higher education, from extra-credit awards and in-class team competitions to complex multi-level schemes that can pervade a course."

See the Educause publication: 7 Things You Should Know About Gamification
Games and Learning: Teaching as Designing (Huffington Post)
 

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) weave together real-world artifacts with clues and puzzles hidden virtually any place, such as websites, libraries, museums, stores, signs, recorded telephone messages, movies, television programs, or printed materials. ARGs are not computer or video games, but electronic devices are frequently used to access clues. Players can meet and talk with characters in the narrative and use resources like postal mail, e-mail, the web, or the public library to find hints, clues, and various pieces of the puzzle. ARGs open doors into the future of students’ professional lives, where they will be expected to solve complex problems by taking necessary raw materials from multiple resources, thinking critically and analytically, and putting their individual skills, interests, and abilities at the disposal of a group dedicated to a common goal.

7 Things You Should Know About Alternate Reality Games
 

Achievements and Incentives (Game Layer)

It is a way of adding achievements and incentives to influence behavior.

Watch Seth Priebatsch's TEDxBoston 2010 talk on The Game Layer on Top of the World.


Digital Badges
We already have a game layer in education - it's called GRADES.

But grades are so insubstantial. A letter in a database. The only physical representation is a boring piece of paper. Easily forgotten, added to GPA calculations, there is no jazzy sense of ownership when you get a letter grade.

Wasn't it much more satisfying to get a GOLD STAR in elementary school? You had physical, visual proof of what you had accomplished.

Badges are the web equivalent of gold stars.

How else can we encourage students to participate in a blended class? What can you do to motivate them to participate and complete a class?

Make each module a "game level." Whenever a student "levels up" they get some reward.

Create a visual representation of the progression of a class. The submissions module can do this - students can quickly see whether they have completed an assignment.

More fun - create a progress bar with percentages. People want to reach 100%.