20+ Ways to AddGame-like Elements

to Your Learning Designs

Brett BixlerLead Instructional Designer

Penn State University

This presentation by Brett Bixler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

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Today

• Who am I?• Intro to the Educational Gaming

Commons• What is Gamification?• Types of Gamification• Elements of Gamification• Examples• Additional Resources and

Communities• Exercise• Open Discussion

Who am I?• Lead Instructional

Designer• At PSU since 1984• Working on bringing

best practices/uses of educational technology to Penn State

• Founded the Educational Gaming Commons

The Educational Gaming Commons• Goal

• Foster research, teaching, and learning around educational games, virtual worlds, and simulations.

• Staff• Brett Bixler – Founder and Evangelist• Chris Stubbs – Manager• Elizabeth Pyatt – Instructional Designer

• Web – http://gaming.psu.edu• Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/FBPSUEGC

The EGC (contd)

• Projects• Engagement Initiatives• One-on-one consultations• Virtual Worlds Research and

Development• Sponsoring presentations, guest

speakers, etc.

• EGC Lab• Innovative space at PSU containing PCs,

game consoles, and a variety of games, virtual worlds, and simulations

What can I do to make 

instruction more compelling?

What is it about this game

that appeals to you?

What is your favorite game? 

 Why?

Gamification <> Games!

Gamification??!?

 

What in the world is gamification and game-like elements?

What’s Going On Here?

Gamification Elements

• Gamification• The use of one or more "gamelike

elements" or dynamics in a non-game context to improve engagement or change behavior.

• Gamelike Elements• Pieces or mechanics that make up

games.

Gamification – Surface-level & Deep

• Change overt parts of course/instruction• Grades = Levels• Quiz = Minion• Test = Boss• Final = Big Boss• Assignments = Crafting• Teams = Guilds

Surface-level Changes

• Change your activities to include gamelike elements.

• Examples: Team challenges, restructuring content to optimal challenge.

Deep Changes

Gamification ElementsOver 25 Elements Exist

From http://gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics

AchievementsAppointmentsBehavioral MomentumBlissful ProductivityBonusesCascading Info. TheoryCombosCommunity CollaborationCountdownDiscoveryEpic MeaningFree Lunch

Infinite GameplayLevelsLoss AversionLotteryOwnershipPointsProgressionQuestsReward SchedulesStatusUrgent OptimismVirality

“Big” Gamification Elements  

• Scaffolding (cascading information theory & progressive implementation)

• Feedback• Levels• Achievements & rewards

• reward success• points & progress bars• status/ ranks/badges

• Uncertainty and Expectation• Flow

Scaffolding

• Match the level of task difficulty to the current ability of the student.

Cascading Information Theory

• Provide just enough support so the student can accomplish the task. Remove this “scaffolding” over time.

Progressive Implementation

A series of tasks, from simple to complex, that lead towards the ultimate goal.

Levels

• Levels are a system by which players are

rewarded for accumulating points.

• Often features or abilities are unlocked as

players progress to higher levels.

• Levelling is one of the highest components

of motivation for gamers.

Examples• Real world – Job promotions.• In a game – Earn enough points.• A good use – Use levels to show

competencies.

Feedback

• Timely informing the student of their

accomplishments/failures.

• Games do this all the time!

• The following all provide feedback.

Achievements

• A virtual or physical representation of

having accomplished something.

• Achievements can be easy, difficult,

surprising, funny, accomplished alone or as

a group.

• Achievements are a way to give players a

way to brag.

Badges

• An overt reward of achievement.

• Meant to be displayed for others to see. Examples

Real world – Scouts. In a game – Complete a task, earn a badge. A good use – Mozilla Badges.

Countdown

• The element in which players are only

given a certain amount of time to do

something.

• This will create an activity that increases

frenetically until time runs out or the goal is

met.

Examples Real world – Limited-time sales. In a game – Race to a goal. A good use – Mastery quizzes

that can taken as often as needed.

Points

• Points are a running numerical value given

for any single action or combination of

actions.

Progression

Where success is granularly displayed and measured through the process of completing itemized tasks. Progress bars!

Examples• Real world – Coffee cards. Buy 6, get one

free.• In a game - Progress bars and subtasks. As you level

up, you receive power and better equipment, etc. Progression is powerful.

• A good use - Drive traffic to local businesses via challenges that unlock rewards.

Switching Gears? - Motivation?• Defining it is an elusive process, as

difficult to do as grasping a slippery fish in a dark cave.

• Here’s the one I like:• “The term motivation in psychology is a

global concept for a variety of processes and effects whose common core is the realization that an organism selects a particular behavior because of expected consequences, and then implements it with some measure of energy, along a particular path.” (Heckhausen, 1991, p. 9).

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic - From outside you.Intrinsic - From inside you.

• There is a controversy over gamification and extrinsic motivation - some say it weakens intrinsic motivation.

• The fact is there just aren't enough facts to know this for sure.

Uncertainty

• When we can't quite predict something, we get really excited about it.

• Like driving down a winding vs. straight road.

Flow

• The ultimate motivational state, where

hours go by in minutes.

• Achieved by

balancing the

learner’s current

ability with the

difficulty of the

current challenge.

So How is Gamification Happening in Higher Ed?

right now?

Surface-level GamificationLee Sheldon’s Multiplayer Game Design Class• Class time is divided between

• fighting monsters (Quizzes, Exams etc.), • completing quests (Presentations of Games,

Research etc.)• crafting (Personal Game Premises, Game Analysis

Papers, Video Game Concept Document etc.).

• You gain XP by defeating monsters, completing quests and crafting.

XP for a Grade

Grading Procedure• Start as a Level One avatar. Level Twelve is

the max.Level XP* Letter GradeLevel Twelve 1860 ALevel Eleven 1800 A-Level Ten 1740 B+Level Nine 1660 BLevel Eight 1600 B-Level Seven 1540 C+Level Six 1460 CLevel Five 1400 C-Level Two-Four 1340 DLevel One 0 F

What Do YOU Think About This?

Is this good, bad, ugly?

What Did Students Think?

• Leveling should be evenly spaced out.

• Knowing point values per assignment is gold.

• Avatars are cool, but hard to integrate.

• Guilds make you feel you are part of something?http://gamingtheclassroom.wordpress.com/

t366-multiplayer-game-design-post-mortem/

What Did Students Think?

• Forcing attention to reading via in-class guild quizzes was a plus. One question determined at random via die roll.

• Guild competition during open book midterm was valued.

• Quests (individual presentations) seem to suffer the same drawbacks as traditional presentations.

http://gamingtheclassroom.wordpress.com/t366-multiplayer-game-design-post-mortem/

What Did Students Think?

• Overall - students were uniformly enthusiastic about the class as game approach. Many wished that other of their courses could be taught the same way; and thought the techniques could be used with just about any subject matter.

• Keep in mind this is a game design class!

http://gamingtheclassroom.wordpress.com/t366-multiplayer-game-design-post-mortem/

Marriage – The Game?

An Example of Deep Gamification…• Course on intro. to new social

technologies.• Do you just present the technologies,

or do you add game-like elements to it?

• Instructor makes teams. Five rounds of play. The team with the most points wins.• Google Docs & Forms• Second Life• NMC Horizon Report• Gaming• Emerging Technologies

An Example 2…

• Google Forms• 1-point level - Individuals can only take the

survey once – You MUST add your CODE to the last question and answer all the questions to earn all points. URL to the form.

• 5-point level – each individual can earn 5 points for their team by creating a Google form (survey) with at least 3 different question types and sending me the link to survey to complete it instructorEmail. Put your name CODE in the title of the survey.

An Example 3…

• Emerging Technologies • 25 points for each team member posting

Watch the video at URL . The speaker asks at one point in his talk, “If not now, when… if not me, then who???” Your posting should answer three questions to earn the points:• What does the speaker mean by this quote?• What does it make you think about in light of what you are

learning in this class?• What does it make you think about outside of this class

and why?

• Post your comment to the blog at URL Use your name CODE to earn points!!!

Some Gamification Providers

Some Gamification Info. Sites• Kapp Notes

• http://www.uleduneering.com/kappnotes/

• Gamify• http://gamify.org• http://gamification.org/wiki/

• Gamifying Education (new)

• http://www.gamifyingeducation.org/

• The Gamification Summit• http://www.gsummit.com/• June 19-21, 2012

Gamification Time!

Gamification Time!

• Form groups of 2-3 people.• Pick a subject and a lesson, or

use one of the provide examples.

• Brainstorm on three ways you would gamify this lesson.

• Don’t sweat the details!

Questions?Thoughts?

gaming@psu.edu

bxb11@psu.edu