Games Based Learning MOOC

Hi,
We are exploring the use of gamification in corporate learning. It's fairly easy to create badges and quests and awards for accomplishing various learning activities and use leader boards and other reporting tools, but does this gamify the learning, or is it just eye candy that replaces a learning management system? By adding a structure to support game mechanics, will we reach our goals of having more participants participate in learning activities?

From what I've been learning in the MOOC, it seems like we really need to that have a story, identifable characters, and goals that are meaningful to the participants. What do you think? What else do we need to include to make this into something more than just a repackaging of existing learning elements? Is anyone else already doing this for either corporate learning or education?

Have a freakingly great day,
Jennifer

Shortly after I wrote this, I found this new blog post from Kapp that discusses this question.

http://www.uleduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2012/10/does-gamification-have-advantages-over-traditionally-designed-instruction/

hank you for that link, I have also put some links that would be of interest in the "are badges grades..." above.

#6880832 JZapper wrote:

Shortly after I wrote this, I found this new blog post from Kapp that discusses this question.

http://www.uleduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2012/10/does-gamification-have-advantages-over-traditionally-designed-instruction/

Hi Jennifer!

You really put your finger on something that has bothered me, too. As I read through the Multiplayer Classroom, I have conflicting reactions.

For one thing, I don't care if you call a series of assignments a quest chain or a series of assignments, if there's nothing else driving the student to go through the quest chain than getting the grade (XP, level, whatever) at the end...what's the point? Is that enough motivation? Or is it just grinding that students will figure out in no time is the same as their other classes?

I think this is the point where we, as educators and trainers, start to figure out how we use these tools to make our classroom information into "Big G" gamified education. That is a tall order.

In order to make this post manageable, I will take just a little nibble from the article you posted and point out something that I wildly agree will help in many classrooms: "Interactivity, challenges and continual feedback are what makes gamification so effective as a perspective for designing and delivering instruction." I especially agree with the part about continual feedback.

So, Jennifer and the rest of the MOOC, how do we implement that continual feedback without going nuts? What systems can we put in place? What do we have in our existing LMSs that give us this? Do we need to do it manually?

I have a feeling this is a post that I'll be coming back to a lot, so thank you for starting this thread, Jennifer!

#6880400 JZapper wrote:

Hi,
We are exploring the use of gamification in corporate learning. It's fairly easy to create badges and quests and awards for accomplishing various learning activities and use leader boards and other reporting tools, but does this gamify the learning, or is it just eye candy that replaces a learning management system? By adding a structure to support game mechanics, will we reach our goals of having more participants participate in learning activities?

From what I've been learning in the MOOC, it seems like we really need to that have a story, identifable characters, and goals that are meaningful to the participants. What do you think? What else do we need to include to make this into something more than just a repackaging of existing learning elements? Is anyone else already doing this for either corporate learning or education?

Have a freakingly great day,
Jennifer

I thought Scott Nicholson's live feed, now a YouTube video, tonight (Thursday) went quite a long way in answering our question as to how do you keep repetitive tries, how do you keep them interested in playing. Meaningful Gamification Video

#6882114 Leedale wrote:

He answered a lot of questions we are asking here, it is well-worth the hour to listen to what he has to say, and I think I will look at again in the morning with fresh eyes and ears . Hmmm can your ears be "fresh?"

Hi Jennifer!

You really put your finger on something that has bothered me, too. As I read through the Multiplayer Classroom, I have conflicting reactions.

For one thing, I don't care if you call a series of assignments a quest chain or a series of assignments, if there's nothing else driving the student to go through the quest chain than getting the grade (XP, level, whatever) at the end...what's the point? Is that enough motivation? Or is it just grinding that students will figure out in no time is the same as their other classes?

I think this is the point where we, as educators and trainers, start to figure out how we use these tools to make our classroom information into "Big G" gamified education. That is a tall order.

In order to make this post manageable, I will take just a little nibble from the article you posted and point out something that I wildly agree will help in many classrooms: "Interactivity, challenges and continual feedback are what makes gamification so effective as a perspective for designing and delivering instruction." I especially agree with the part about continual feedback.

So, Jennifer and the rest of the MOOC, how do we implement that continual feedback without going nuts? What systems can we put in place? What do we have in our existing LMSs that give us this? Do we need to do it manually?

I have a feeling this is a post that I'll be coming back to a lot, so thank you for starting this thread, Jennifer!

#6880400 JZapper wrote:

Hi,
We are exploring the use of gamification in corporate learning. It's fairly easy to create badges and quests and awards for accomplishing various learning activities and use leader boards and other reporting tools, but does this gamify the learning, or is it just eye candy that replaces a learning management system? By adding a structure to support game mechanics, will we reach our goals of having more participants participate in learning activities?

From what I've been learning in the MOOC, it seems like we really need to that have a story, identifable characters, and goals that are meaningful to the participants. What do you think? What else do we need to include to make this into something more than just a repackaging of existing learning elements? Is anyone else already doing this for either corporate learning or education?

Have a freakingly great day,
Jennifer

Okay, now this is a bit weird:
I know we want people to take games seriously, but --!

"Navy Seals punished for video game secrets breach"
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/navy-seals-punished-for-video-game-secrets-breach-20121112-29719.html

We've talked about gamification of work -- is this a case of "workification" in games?

I wonder if the top brass can legitimately complain, while deliberately blurring the line between media and military:
* "embedded" reporting
* recruitment games such as "America's Army" http://www.americasarmy.com/
* editorial control exercised over TV and movies, in return for access to military equipment and personnel
* exploiting military operations for partisan political ends?

Improving online market research through gamification http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2012/aug/15/online-market-research-gamification?INTCMP=SRCH

Here's an article from the Guardian about gamification for charities, with advice from a number of gamification swamis. Some suggestions are thought-provoking, some are as cheesy as K-pop dancers.
Gamification for Charities http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/mar/23/gamification-charity-advice?INTCMP=SRCH

Gamification for the Public Good
Governments using gamification
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already taken steps down the gamification route. In the past it used suggestion boxes ... But it found this did not help in evaluating, selecting and developing those proposals with the most potential into meaningful business cases for implementation...the department used Spigit's platform for enterprise ideas and innovation management in creating a marketplace for developing and trading proposals for change. The platform, which was dubbed 'Idea Street', was also tweaked to support a number of gaming techniques such as points, leader boards and a 'buzz index' in a bid to make it more engaging. http://www.governmentcomputing.com/features/2011/jun/27/gamification-principles-public-services-dwp?INTCMP=SRCH

My crazy schedule delays me from timely participation, yet I am enjoying these posts and musings.

Selecting game-related motivators that matter is a quest in the application of gamification in corporate learning. Often corporate learning is mandated, less invigorating and sometimes quite inane.

Humor, reputation, recognition, earning rewards that stimulate and invigorate the senses and group rewards are among the incentives that I find most useful. I like competition and often compete with myself to strive for better performance. Others prefer collaboration or group competition, building on the strengths of a diverse group.

Microsoft was famous for making a game out of their nightly build process, awarding it to the programmer who broke the build. For their products 10-15 years ago, they would award a hat, a stuffed animal and the programmer would stay late and work on integrating the newly developed software until it would compile.

While this is not corporate learning, it was a step they performed during the development of Windows 95 (as noted in the book Microsoft Secrets by Cusumano and Selby) in contrast to documenting requirements and producing software design documentation. In Julie Bick's books on management at Microsoft, she tells a story of a programmer who wrote a check for $100 and posted it on the board with a post-it that said "just in case..." Programmers paid $5.00 per defect if their code had errors during the nightly world compile.

I would love it if the mundane tasks we perform each day were tracked, accumulated street cred and resulted in something akin to character development in Dungeons and Dragons or Wow, where your skills are measurable and growing, your strengths shine and you can overcome defeat by applying diverse strategies and tactics.

Imagine if your work processes and training skills base were similar to wowhead.com's database? *laughs*

Happy Holidays! *waves*
Cyn / Lyr

It may require diversity in the game styles and incentives. Personal preferences play a role, and the "win" conditions need to matter.

While I participate in a variety of conferences and systems that use badges, their attraction has escaped me. This course appeals to the senses and makes it interesting, far more than any learning management system.

Power gamers strive for excellence and need a draw that stimulates them to strive for top performance. To win a seat in the Burning Crusade beta test in WoW, we had three competitions, and my favorite was to see how many level 25 characters you could make in less than 3 weeks. While this is trivial today, it was work in 2006. I made 14 characters, but a couple of them did not quite reach 25. Without a mount until level 40, hunters were the fastest class for movement and growth.

The other two competitions were to be the first to reach Level 55 or 60 and a Player vs Player competition. It was work to do it in 5 days and many of us raced like mad to shave time off of the process.

Imagine if learning was as appealing and if work (corporate or otherwise) was wickedly engaging and fun?

*waves*
Lyr

#6880400 JZapper wrote:

Hi,
We are exploring the use of gamification in corporate learning. It's fairly easy to create badges and quests and awards for accomplishing various learning activities and use leader boards and other reporting tools, but does this gamify the learning, or is it just eye candy that replaces a learning management system? By adding a structure to support game mechanics, will we reach our goals of having more participants participate in learning activities?

From what I've been learning in the MOOC, it seems like we really need to that have a story, identifable characters, and goals that are meaningful to the participants. What do you think? What else do we need to include to make this into something more than just a repackaging of existing learning elements? Is anyone else already doing this for either corporate learning or education?

Have a freakingly great day,
Jennifer