Gamification: Hype or Useful Teacher Tool?

Deborah Healey

American English Institute/Dept. of Linguistics, University of Oregon

Kai Liu

Dept. of Linguistics, University of Oregon sites.google.com/site/gamificationforelteachers/

Agenda

Brief intro to gamification What is it? Game mechanics

Try it yourself – stations; classroom applications

Debrief

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Games vs. gamification

They’re not the same

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Classroom activities

We’ll talk about gamifying these later Responding to questions about a 10-minute

video clip Memorizing vocabulary for a weekly quiz Highlighting the transition words in a reading Doing a workbook exercise about the past

tense Doing a presentation about a favorite vacation Writing a compare/contrast paragraph.

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

What’s a game?

A system with rules, some sort of challenge, feedback of some sort, interaction, fun, and often with an emotional response.

(from many authors)

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Gamification??

Gamification is adding elements of games and gaming to regular activities that we may not normally think of as games.BusinessTrainingEducation

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Kapp, 2012: Elements

Game mechanics –points, levels, and badges (PBL), scoring, time constraints

Game thinking – competition, cooperation, exploration, storytelling

Aesthetics – a visually or otherwise interesting environment that creates a different “feel” to the activity (pp.9-11)

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Why do we care?

Demographics Digital natives

Engagement Extrinsic => intrinsic motivationIt’s our world

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Teachers use these

Cascading Information Theory – breaking up information into bits Curriculum in teaching

Achievements – where learners have accomplished something relative to others “Achievers” – I’m better than others

Community Collaboration – working together to solve a problem or do a task. Group work in teaching “Socializers”

Images from http://www.gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

More that we use now

Points – giving numerical value for actions Grades in teaching

Loss Aversion – avoiding punishment Grading, often

Behavioral Momentum – the tendency to keep doing something Fun Once, Fun Always – classroom routines

Images from http://www.gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

What we could add

Countdown– having only a certain amount of time to do something Homework, tests, activities

Levels – more points = more rewards Start at 0 and add points to grades

Quests – give activities a larger focus

Check this later: Penny Arcade videowww.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/gamifying-education

Images from http://www.gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

What we could add

Progression – gradual success, made visible Chart of reading speed, other

Ownership– control of something Publishing, learner choices

Images from http://www.gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Try it - stations

Explanation – see the handout

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Project/task-based learning

Blissful productivity – joy in work Discovery/Exploration

“Explorers” Epic meaning – doing something big

Projects outside the classroom, audience Quests/Challenges – overcoming

obstacles Virality – working with others

Images from http://www.gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Debrief

What did you do? What do you think?

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu

Q&A

Thanks!sites.google.com/site/gamificationforelteachers/

dhealey@uoregon.edu

http://www.deborahhealey.com

kliu4@uoregon.edu

© 2013 D. Healey, dhealey@uoregon.edu