Analysis Of Gamification And Virtual World Concept Design

“All it took was once class period—Syllabus Day, at that—to convince me that the gamified classroom was an infinitely unique, innovative, and effective alternative to the traditional classroom” said Morgan Ebbs in his article on the “Benefits of Gaming in Academia”. When I saw the two words “Gaming” and “Academia” together I thought surly this must be a mistake or possibly a joke. I stood corrected. Morgan proved me wrong as the class “The Rhetoric of Gaming” proved Morgan wrong. I was utterly shocked when reading this article because It explained, what I thought to be the, impossible. The impossible was using the concept of entertainment as a tool for learning.

A video game course is a good method of introducing students to the virtual world. It enhances our educational experience and teaches us a lot of valuable skills. Even though many people may think it is a waste of time, video games could lead us to a great path and career in the future. Since technology is constantly improving, we need to start improving our knowledge of technology as

For several decades, video games have been cast aside as detractors of student learning in the classroom. According to the research done by Mifsud, Vella, and Camilleri (2013), there is yet still an abundance of research that needs to be conducted, in order to determine the usefulness of video game application in schools. This research synthesis collects data on several different viewpoints and uses of video games in regards to complementing student engagement and learning. The research of James Gee (2005), hypothesized that good video games use good learning principles, of which there are a several. These learning principles include identity, interaction, production, risk-taking, challenge and consolidation, and system thinking. The specific descriptions of each principle will be dissected throughout this synthesis.

During Jane McGonagall’s 2010 TED Talk video “Gaming can make a better world”, she states “the average young person today in a country with a strong gamer culture will have spent ten thousand hours gaming by age 21”. Such numbers alone should pique the interest of every educator in our country. Young people today spend the same amount of time learning at school as they spend gaming (TED Talk, 2010). Many people view video games as fun, exciting, and adventurous outlets where they can escape reality and be creative innovators. As educators, we want our classrooms to accomplish similar outcomes. We want learning to be fun, exciting, and adventurous. We want our learners to be creative, critical-thinking innovators who strive to change the world. This brief dissertation will evaluate the influences gamification can have on teaching and learning, the science behind learner motivation and its connection with gamification, analyze how gamifying supports differentiated ways to teach and learn, and discuss how technologies and gamification are being used to enhance teaching and learning.

Ke, F. (2008). Alternative goal structures for computer game-based learning. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 3(4), 429-445.

He shows how video games enhance creativity, community, problem-solving skills, and self-expression. By engaging players in simulated worlds, video games expand their minds and their imagination. Rather than using the linear approach, players learn to play a video game and master the various levels through a creative problem-solving approach based on the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment and analysis. Video games entertain and educate on a level beyond any other medium by allowing the player to be actively engaged and interact with various aspects of the game environment. Through amplifying the power of human imagination rather than denigrate society, video games benefit and enhance

The New York Times Sunday Magazine published an article “Just One More Game …: Angry birds, Farmville, and Other Hyperaddictive Stupid Games” written by Sam Anderson, a critic and prolific journalist, which shows a real fear from gamifying our society. As an illustration, he uses Nintendo’s game Tetris to relate a paradigm shift that which creates an infinite loop of competition, creating the “gaming addiction.” In addition, he draws a close relationship between simple games, convenience, user-friendliness and instant gratification and, then points out, corporations take advantage of this gaming addiction by inconspicuously trying to control free will by gamification. The author explicitly asserts his fear of gamification but, ultimately, shows evidence of how it could potentially make users more conscious of their cognition. I agree with the author on his viewpoint but disagree at the same time. For instance, gamification does have the power to increase cognition and promote personal growth in areas such as health and education. However, gamification must

Do video games help students in the classroom? This is a question that I have been pondering about because I am part of a group of about 150 million Americans that play video games. Alicia Ault, an author of a video gaming and learning article wrote that the “biggest converts to video games are educators, who are using them to teach such subjects as history, geography, science and math and to hone students ' critical-thinking abilities” (Ault). According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, half of the experts surveyed predicted that gamification, or the use of games by educators and companies to turn work into a game, would become a major factor in education, health care and the workplace by 2020 (Pew Research Center). I believe that this gamification going on throughout schools could help student learn.

Gamification, over the last decade, has been a topic of increased interest in the education community. Many articles have been written about the application of game-based learning mechanisms and strategies as they apply to K-12 education, and higher education alike, but empirical studies on the application of these strategies makes up a much smaller set of existing research. The articles Digital Game-Based learning: Impact of Instructions and Feedback on Motivation and Learning Effectiveness and Designing Game-Like Activities to Engage Adult Learners in Higher Education focus on the application of game-based learning principles and examine their effectiveness on deep learning, motivation, engagement and building community.

As we all know that "Video Game" or "Virtual Sport" is one kind of art. Earlier this form of art was used to only entertain people and it was a tool of entertainment and also for passing the leisure time. However, now-a-days, many video games are not just a tool of entertainment, but also a tool to reform a society. The mentioned games earlier in this paper are some of them. The video game developers of these games didn't make these games for money alone, but also with a view to change the whole society and create a better place to live all the individuals equally. These games convey a very important message to the students, parents and teachers. It focuses on the very important issues of our society. In some of the high schools, colleges of Netherlands and Switzerland, The course instructors of History courses instructs their students to play Assassin's Creed games rather than only focuses on class notes to understand and visualize the historical events very deeply. Same theory goes to the Psychology Department of educational institutes as well. They suggested to play the games like The Walking Dead, Life Is Strange to improve the style of thinking and positive decision making.

Game based learning vs. gamification, what’s the difference? Game based learning is utilized in classrooms to create a safe environment for learning new skills. Gamification is utilized as a part of this present reality as a motivational or engagement technique.

Video games can be used as instructional tools as well. They have positive elements and add value; they create a micro world of their own. The players act based on natural tendencies towards learning. Therefore, learning occurs while playing (Rosas et al., 2003).

Game design is seen as a key to designing innovative, emotionally engaging game experiences and is always designed with the player in mind (Fullerton, 2014). Game design innovation in particular includes unique play mechanics or thinking beyond existing genres of play, appealing to casual gamers, strong integration of story and gameplay, as well as generating new thoughts and discussions on how games actually impact us socially and culturally (Fullerton, 2014). As the game’s core mechanic is a big part of the experiential building blocks of player activity, it is vital for designers to integrate patterns of behavior within the game that will manifest itself as a player experience (Zimmerman, 2004).

Children’s engagement in and motivation by video games is commonly observed by parents and teachers. The Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation conducted a survey of 505 in-service United States teachers that use digital games in their K-8 classrooms (Takeuchi & Vaala, 2014). Regarding low performing students seventy percent of the teachers agreed that digital gaming improved motivation and engagement (Takeuchi & Vaala, 2014). The motivation and engagement of games exhibited in both adults and children has been employed by marketing firms to encourage consumers to engage in sustained use of products such as social networking sites, fitness bands, and consumer data collection apps. This method has been coined gamification. The Oxford English Dictionary defines gamification as “the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity,

Virtual worlds have solved many of the challenges faced by educational institutions. Today, hundreds of colleges, universities and other learning organizations are either augmenting their current traditional classroom curriculum with a virtual learning component or are holding classes and entire programs exclusively in immersive learning environments in Second Life. Second Life’s persistent virtual environments give students an opportunity to work together synchronously and then return, individually or as a team. The learning space is always equally available, for geographically dispersed groups as well as for those who meet regularly in the physical world. This is especially useful when students require more flexible schedules or need to work asynchronously on the same project.