Learning with Gamification: How Game Theory Can Improve Student Learning

Why Gamification? “The default environment of school often results in undesirable outcomes such as disengagement, cheating, learned helplessness, and dropping out” Joey Lee and Jessica Hammer Columbia Teachers college

As a planet we spend 3 billion hours playing video games Over 5 million people play an average of 45 hours a week of games

WHAT IS GAMIFICATION? Learning…only fun?

What is Gamification? The application of game mechanics and game thinking to the process of learning in order to solve problems and engage users

What Gamification Is Not Adding points or badges to an assignment is not gamification. The application of specific principles is required to create a game environment

HOW DOES IT HELP THE STUDENTS Teaching is all about relating to experiences and tying that to course matter Gamification directly affects engagement and motivation Gamification indirectly leads to acquiring more knowledge and skills Recall increases with gaming The use of multiple stimuli creates a stronger memory

PROGRESSION See success visualized incrementally Levels Points Ramp up difficulty Unlock content Points Increase the running numerical value of the work

INVESTMENT Feel pride in the work Achievements Appointments Earn recognition for completing work Appointments Check in to receive new challenges Collaboration Work with others to accomplish goals

CASCADING INFORMATION THEORY Unlock information continuously Bonuses Receive unexpected rewards Countdown Work on challenges in limited time Synthesis Work on challenges that require multiple skills to solve

Questions to Ask Before You Begin What is the main reason for gamifying your assignment/project? How will it benefit the students? Will they enjoy the process or will they just enjoy the outcome?

STEPS TO GAMIFICATION Moving from idea to game in six steps

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME? Plan out what you want your learners to do What do your want your students to do (X) When do you want them to do X How will you get them to do X Game Theory Difficult, but not too difficult Every game is a role playing game It is up to the player to make that decision Lusory attitude

Huang and Soman define a five part process for applying gamification to the instructional environment. [Huang, Wendy Hsin-Yuan, and Dilip Soman. “Gamification Of Education.” 2013. p.5]

STEP 1 – PLAYER PROFILE Who are your players? Will this process be more useful to them than other methods of information presentation? What do they care about? Audience analysis is important to the final game, make sure you are developing for your class

STEP 2 – GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The final goal must be compelling in some way Skill mastery Achievement Personal growth These must tie to the course objective – create parallels Combine long and short-term goals

STEP 3 – SKILLS AND ACTIONS Preparatory skills What skills do your students need prior to beginning Success should be possible, but not necessarily guaranteed Achieved Skills What skills (singular and compound) will your students learn in the process Learning these skills should be assured

STEP 4 – CREATING THE GAME WORLD Competitive vs. Collaborative Time Pressure Scarcity Puzzles Levels Currency Social Pressure Component

STEP 5 – DESIRED OUTCOMES There must be a concrete outcome for the game This can be achieved or scheduled Both formative and summative feedback is important Rewards (tangible and intangible)

STEP 6 – TEST AND POLISH What is working? What isn’t? Does the game achieve the objectives you set? Does the game keep the students interested? Student feedback? Drawing board

GAMIFICATION EXAMPLES All learning is a game!

SOLO GAMING Don’t discount the use of solo gaming in coursework Even if class engagement isn’t present, the student can still be engaged Find skills and information development games in your discipline Be careful on hidden costs

REWARD FARMING Learning from students is a critical component to an engaged classroom Set tasks that repeat or are open-ended for all students to participate Offer pools of points or extra credit for their finds Aggregated or individual

ROLE PLAYING Set separate and distinct roles for students during projects, discussions, assignments Playing a role means thinking from other perspectives This can also lead to personal reflection activities Develops teamwork and shared learning

NITPICKER’S GAME Students play a game or are engaged with some other simulation/video The objective is to find errors in the content/game that is significant and accurate Create context assignments that build on the found issues

TREASURE HUNT Send the students on an exploration of topics or sites Search for information or clues that you place where the correct string will lead to something more Learn from the escape room phenomenon Webquest

TIMED PROBLEMS Post questions/problems that have a timed component Give bonuses of some type to those that complete the problem earliest or before a set time expires This also gets students used to logging in on a regular basis

DEMOCRATIC SOLUTIONS Use the power of crowdsourcing for solutions to issues/assignments Your students use the platform to convince others to come to their point of view There is a winner, but not in points

SIMULATIONS Most commonly associated with gamification Use of simulated environments whether digital or physical Whole world or situational Off-the-shelf software can be used for online Expensive to develop

EXISTENTIAL GAMING Personal growth shouldn’t be ignored when looking at gamification Games that look inward at traits, ideas, constructs, and personality can be even more powerful than other types of gaming Look at reactions to game situations for self-reflection

SOCIAL MEDIA WORLDS The use of a private social media group can create a good palate for a game world Facebook groups Instructor has total control of the constructed world within the group, but not the organic evolution of the world Make a simulated world with posts of information and articles

WRAPPING UP WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

INEFFECTIVE GAMIFICATION Leaderboards can be counter productive to gamification Competition is good, but it needs to be constructive Important issues and sensitive issues can be tricky to manage The risks of offending some or all of the students can be high in these situations

FIND GAMING RESOURCES www.merlot.org www.oercommons.org http://education.mit.edu/ projects/ http://www.onlinecolleges.net/ 50-great-sites-for-serious- educational-games/ https://credly.com/ https://openbadges.org/

QUESTIONS?