The Gamification of Learning

What on earth is "gamification?"  It has been bandied around all over the internet in forums to do with education, training and corporate culture.  I am going to tackle this topic here and provide an overview.  Then at a later date I will create a page with more detailed discussion on the topic - feel free to add any suggested sources to the comments area.

How many adults said to you when you were a child being coerced into doing something you don't want to do (ie eat up your  mashed potato or tidy your room!) - "lets make it a game?"  This is a very common ploy that humans use to avoid boredom or even depression.  If we make the leap to an education or training situation, the bulk of adults are undertaking education and training because they need to in order to better their situation, usually economically.  And it is also common practice to liven up the learning process with a few fun activities and games.  Gamification is really this, but it has gone one step further by taking elements of the science of the online gaming industry and applying it in education and training settings.

Here is a joke example that digital technology expert has created that turns life itself into a video game:





This is a depiction of a totally immersive game you might get in a virtual environment such as Second Life. It is not always possible to provide such an immersive experience in education and training but elements of gaming have been found to be good teaching practice.

 Applying gaming principles to learning

Using the principles employed in gaming educators and trainers have tapped into the secrets of
gaming design that keep people engaged even when they are not winning.Chris Riedel, in The Journal  cites Katie Salen from the Institute of Play, setting out 6 guiding principles of gameplay that can be applied to any learning environment:

1. Everyone can participate. Games, said Salen, create opportunities for collaboration and community, where everyone has the chance to participate and contribute to the outcome.
2. Challenge is constant. Games provide a context where participants are continually challenged and confronted with increasingly difficult problems as they progress.
3. Feedback is immediate and ongoing. Whether they are progressing through a level or stuck on a specific problem, games provide a continuous feedback loop that lets players know where they stand.
4. Learning happens by doing. According to Salen, we are more likely to learn by actually completing a task than simply reading about a concept or theory.
5. There are many opportunities to fail up. As players progress through a game, said Salen, there are many situations where they fail at a task multiple times in order to gain enough knowledge and skill to actually succeed. "Failure does not need to be a negative thing," she insisted. As educators, we should be asking ourselves, "How do we create opportunities in our curriculum for students to fail up?"
6. Solving problems builds expertise. Similar to failing up, the more problems students solve, said Salen, the more expertise they gain and, in turn, are able to share with their peers.

She says the goal is to make learning "Irresistible" and provides a link to a website called Playforce ,
an online community where teachers and parents share educational aspects of gaming.  Other resources for gaming in education mentioned are GameKit and SimCityedu.

Here is a great slide show on some of the things gaming can contribute to education and training:

10 Things We Know About Video Games for Learning from Karl Kapp

A great blog on learning games and gamification is one by Yu-Kai Chou.  He talks about multi-sensory learning, and how multiple intelligences are exercised in learning games.  His Gamification Framework, Octalysis is made up of 8 "arms" or elements that can be used to engage people, as in the diagram below which is from the above blog entry:

 

 

 The Quest to Slay the Dragon

One of the biggest lessons educators can take from "gamification" is the principle of "failing up" as opposed to just failing or failing down.  In our education system, too often a fail or a not-yet-competent spells the end of learning and also  often the end of obtaining qualifications and a job.  At the very least, it represents a huge and negative sruggle on the part of a learner to get through a course of training or study. However within a computer game, you never really fail in that way.  Everything you do is a quest, and along the way you are collecting trophies, reaching levels, and even if you are stuck at one level for quite a while, you never really feel as though you are failing.  It is more seen as a question of practicing until you achieve mastery.  Gamification of education involves tapping into this culture of mastery.  Rewards built in along the way in a quest for knowledge and skills, and there is no feeling of failing, only "failing up" by obtaining sufficient practice to go to the next level.

Badging for small achievements in education and training is now being tried by some practitioners.  It is possible to create certified badges of achievement of small steps along the way in a learning program, that can be added to the learner's resume or portfolio and used to promote their achievments for employment or promotion.  Credly is a website to which you can subcribe, where it is possible to create and issue badges.  It is also available as an iPhone app which can be used to both create and issue badges.

Please feel free to comment on any experience you have had in gaming and how you think it might work applied to education and training.