The Six Levels Of Gamification

“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.

The definitions of gamification and game-based learning are both used under the umbrella term of “E-Learning”, however, there are differences between the two. The term ‘gamification’ was first coined by Nick Pelling in 2002 (Marczewski, 2012) and is the idea of bringing game design elements, mechanics, aesthetics and frameworks to non-game situations such as education, in order to motivate or encourage a particular behaviour by increasing user engagement (Deterding et al., 2011). On the other hand, game-based learning refers to using games in order to meet learning outcomes (Isaacs, 2015). According to a report on the current state of online gaming by Spilgames, more than 1.2 billion people play games worldwide (Takahashi, 2013) and by incorporating the persuasive elements of games through gamification into the mundane tasks of everyday life where repetition may be prevalent, such as education; motivation and interest may be aroused.

This shows the wide verity of this game which adds more to the reason why this game is magnificent. You might ask how this information applies to his thesis: “Why video games matter?” All of this information provides logical facts that interest gamers around the world. The game provides a traditional narrative that allows for an experience framed in terms of wandering and lonesomeness, a purpose that is needed.

Our lives have become busier and therefore there is less time for complex gaming. Casual game use is on the rise as such games are simple and can be played quickly (“The Rise and Rise of Casual Gaming,” 2008). Jesse Schell (2010) observes games are becoming an extension of our real life, for example, fitness trackers and Wii fit, ‘brain exercising’ apps to ward off dementia, good driver apps that are provided by car insurance companies, point systems for shopping rewards and weight watchers. We can even compete with others in these games using leader boards. In the future there may be reward systems for brushing your teeth or using public transport (Schell,

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.

In the competitive game-based learning situation, students sat in their own seats, at their own desks and played games against the computer (not other students). In the end of the two gaming sessions, each of the students “own” score were compared against other students in the class.

students’ learning motivation (Proulx etc.). Many modern day U.S. schools use digital game-based learning. This approach, “integrat[es] appropriate learning strategies into a game [to]

students’ learning motivation (Proulx etc.). Many modern day U.S. schools use digital game-based learning. This approach, “integrat[es] appropriate

Video games plays an important role in the cognition process in many of this generation children. This statement is the main point of this TedTalk arguement led by Gabe Zichermann in the presentation called “Video Games: How Games Make Kids Smarter”. Gabe Zichermann is the world’s leading expert in the topic of gamification; he is also a public speaker, author and entrepreneur, and the founder and editor-in-chief of a magazine called “Gamification.co”. Gabe Zichermann discusses that generation G (the current generation) obtain, learn and process information differently compared to any other generation. The term “gamification” is the application of gaming mechanisms in non-game circumstances and is the process of engaging the current generations

According to the text “Gamification of learning”, If teachers could make a classroom involving games. For learning it could help students understand learning more. Also, this idea would also make learning energetic and easier to pay attention in class. Next, this could encourage students to want to learn more. This also has a chance to bring fun and joy into the classroom.

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

The ability to fix prior mistakes encourages students to take the risks effective learners regularly engage in. As learners grow in security and confidence, they participate in healthy competition, whether against some performance standard, imaginary opponent, or even other classmates. If well designed, this competition can bring out the best in students. Although the gamification principles discussed here only scratch the surface, the overarching theme contains the concept of process over product. Much of education focuses exclusively on the final outcome, resulting in high stakes assessments and activities. Gamification encourages

According to the article, "There are three psychological needs the games satisfy." The first is competency, which is why most gamified businesses use rewards. The second is the need of being able to choose, or autonomy. This is normally satisfied by choosing what path earns you points. The final need is the need to be recognized by your peers, which is why the games have you compete against other people. When all three of these are fulfilled by gamification, the game is very successful. In conclusion, the author of "Your Life: The Game" thinks gamification has personal advantages.

I just realized that we are using gamification in this class. We are using different techniques in this class like watching movies, videos, read articles, etc. and at the same time we are learning. Yellowdig is an example of gamification. The leader board show us the people who is more active and have more comments in the class. This encourage all of us to be more motivated and active on the webpage. Our reward will be our grade.

This is a wonderful point, if of course the instructor chooses to incorporate actual video games into the class at all. I don’t believe the author of this article fully understood the concept of gamification. It seems to me that she believes everyone will be sitting around playing video games all day. When, in reality, it’s simply borrowing game mechanics of achievement, progress, collaboration, competition, chance, and success to bring into classroom scenarios. A gamified classroom may never see an actual video game used in class at all! I believe it would be up to the instructor to choose whether or not to incorporate games into their curriculum. From this article I see a problem that needs to be addressed. The problem is misinformation regarding what gamification actually entails. A clear line should be drawn between educational learning with games versus personal playing. To be frank, I wouldn’t support gamification at all if it constantly had me playing video games to finish homework assignments. I wouldn’t enjoy games to the fullest, or at least I wouldn’t find enjoyment playing them outside of school because it’ll feel like work. Yet, on the occasion a homework assignment to play a game would be