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Is it a Crime? The Non-Definition of Gamification
Abstract
Under Review for Springer SN / ICCS2020 Conference:
Gamification is regularly defined as the use of game elements in non-gaming contexts (Deterding et al., 2011). However, discussions in the context of the pedagogical value of gamification suggest controversies on various levels. While on the one hand the potential is seen in the design of joyful learning environments (Hung, 2017), critics point out the pedagogical dangers (Buck, 2017) or the problems related to optimizing working life (Woodcock & Johnson, 2018). It becomes apparent that the assumptions guiding action on the subject matter of gamification in educational contexts differ, which leads to different derivations for pedagogical practice-but also allows for different perspectives on initially controversial positions. Being aware of these assumptions is the claim of a reflexive pedagogy. With regard to the pedagogical use of gamifying elements and their empirical investigation, there are three main anchor points to consider from a reflexive stance: (a) the high context specificity of the teaching undertaken and (b) the (non-)visibility of the design elements and (c) the (non-)acceptance of the gamified elements by the students. We start by providing a (2) discussion of the definitional discourse on what is understood as gamification leading to our argument for a non-definition of gamification. We describe the (3) potential of this non-definition gamification and (4) exemplify its use in a gamified concept of teaching police recruits professional reflexivity. The concept features the narrative of a potential crime that has been undertaken and that students decide for themselves if they want to engage with it.
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Staller, M. S., & Körner, S. (2021). Game on! - Spielen in der polizeilichen Lehre. Lehre. Lernen. Digital, 2(1), 13–22.
Dervorliegende Beitrag fokussiert auf die Möglichkeiten der Gamifizierung in der polizeilichen Hochschullehre. Ausgehend von empirischen Befunden zu Gamifizierung werden Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen Lehrkräften und Game Designer*innen dargestellt und mögliche Synergien identifiziert. Unsere Überlegungen synthetisieren wir in ein Gamifizierungsframework, welches als Planungs-und Reflexionsmodell Lehrkräften bei einem möglichen Einsatz gamifizierter Lehre unterstützen kann.
We report a design case in the context of self-defense training, that was designed by participants of a coach development course for violence prevention coaches for emergency services. The game was designed to foster skill development with regards to the defense against knife attacks in the context of self-defense. Following pedagogical principles of representative learning design, this game gives an idea of how self-defense skills could be developed in a game-like and student-centered environment.
The use of constraints to foster creativity has been studied in different domains, but has been generally ignored in sports training and the learning process of movement-based practices. Based on recent research, this paper aims to explain how constraints can release degrees of freedom in motor behavior during improvisation and collaborative emergence-based practices. It also aims to explain how the specificity of motor creativity is conditioned by the time scale where actions emerge compared with other domains. Using a complex dynamical systems approach, we discuss how constraints form boundaries around the exploration of certain action possibilities, while allowing the emergence of other exploration possibilities. These actions emerge from the nonlinear interaction between the intrinsic dynamics of the creator and environmental constraints. Moreover, self-interaction and co-adaptive loops, as well as the interaction of all constraints acting on the system at different time scales, allow the emergence of creative behaviour. Some examples of how constraints manipulation modify the exploratory behavior (variety of responses and their rate of change) and enable novel affordances to be acted upon of dancers, soccer players and children playing freely are discussed.
Die Ausbildung künftiger Polizeibeamt*innen hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren sowohl hinsichtlich ihres institutionellen Rahmens als auch der Ausbildungsinhalte massiv verändert. Zugleich sind mit diesen Ausbildungseinrichtungen neue Institutionen der Polizeiforschung entstanden. Der Beitrag befasst sich mit den Folgen dieses noch andauernden Reformprozesses für eine sich als kritisch verstehende Polizeiforschung und zieht in dieser Hinsicht eine ernüchternde Bilanz: Das Primat der Praxis, die hierarchischen Traditionen der Polizei und die beruflichen Interessen der Beamtenanwärter*innen bieten einer kritischen Polizeiforschung nur wenig Chancen, Einfluss auf die Realität der Polizeiarbeit zu nehmen. Bedenklich ist zudem, dass Polizeiforschung kaum noch an Einrichtungen stattfindet, die nicht polizeilichen Interessen unterworfen sind. Für den Bereich der Forschung stellt sich daher die Aufgabe, eine unabhängige Forschung über (anstatt für) die Polizei zu ermöglichen.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework based on an understanding of the principles of popular mobile-enabled games, indicating how organisations in the tourism sector could meet the needs of Millennials and Generation Z through engaging with the existing gamified location-based practice of geocaching as an information and communication technology enabled gamified enhancement to the destination experience.
Design/methodology/approach
As a primarily conceptual paper, the authors take an inductive qualitative approach to theory building based on the understanding of an existing practice (geocaching) that is undertaken among a community of practitioners (geocachers), which results in the presentation of a conceptual framework, which is the theory itself that the authors have constructed from the understanding of what is going on and which principles can then be applied across other tourism practices.
Findings
Findings indicate that through engaging with geocaching, smaller entrepreneurial businesses even in non-urban destinations that fall outside of the remit of smart city developments, and in tourism destinations on the less technologically enabled or resource-rich side of the digital divide, can reap the benefits associated with employing the principles and practices associated with smart tourism to meet the needs of this new generation of tourism consumers who seek richer digital and often gamified tourism experiences.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in the literature regarding the way many different types of tourism destinations could meet the needs of Millennials and Generation Z tourists.
‘Gamification’ is understood as the application of game systems – competition, rewards, quantifying player/user behaviour – into non-game domains, such as work, productivity and fitness. Such practices are deeply problematic as they represent the capture of ‘play’ in the pursuit of neoliberal rationalization and the managerial optimization of working life and labour. However, applying games and play to social life is also central to the Situationist International, as a form of resistance against the regularity and standardization of everyday behaviour. In this article, the authors distinguish between two types of gamification: first, ‘gamification-from-above’, involving the optimization and rationalizing of work practices by management; and second, ‘gamification-from-below’, a form of active resistance against control at work. Drawing on Autonomism and Situationism, the authors argue that it is possible to transform non-games into games as resistance, rather than transferring game elements out of playful contexts and into managerial ones. Since the original ‘gamification’ term is now lost, the authors develop the alternative conception as a practice that supports workers, rather than one used to adapt behaviour to capital. The article concludes with a renewed call for this ‘gamification-from-below’, which is an ideal form of resistance against gamification-from-above and its capture of play in pursuit of work.
Gamification is presented in the literature as a pedagogical innovation that may increase student engagement and enhance learning. This study explores students' perceptions of a gamified learning intervention deployed in a large undergraduate module and a small postgraduate module. Given the dearth of previous empirical work, an exploratory approach was used. Focus groups were carried out to develop a nuanced understanding of the students' perceptions of a gamified learning environment. Six themes emerged: impact on learning outcomes, motivation, the importance of the stakes, group dynamics, gender and the challenges gamified learning activities present. The paper contributes by evaluating students' perceptions of the effectiveness of gamification, providing guidelines for other practitioners deploying gamified learning interventions and identifying outstanding issues and questions that require further research.
Background
Engagement in online programs is difficult to maintain. Gamification is the recent trend that offers to increase engagement through the inclusion of game-like features like points and badges, in non-game contexts. This review will answer the following question, ‘Are gamification strategies effective in increasing engagement in online programs?’
Method
Eight databases (Web of Science, PsycINFO, Medline, INSPEC, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Business Source Complete and ACM Digital Library) were searched from 2010 to the 28th of October 2015 using a comprehensive search strategy. Eligibility criteria was based on the PICOS format, where “population” included adults, “intervention” involved an online program or smart phone application that included at least one gamification feature. “Comparator” was a control group, “outcomes” included engagement and “downstream” outcomes which occurred as a result of engagement; and “study design” included experimental studies from peer-reviewed sources. Effect sizes (Cohens d and 95% confidence intervals) were also calculated.
Results
1017 studies were identified from database searches following the removal of duplicates, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. The studies involved a total of 10,499 participants, and were commonly undertaken in tertiary education contexts. Engagement metrics included time spent (n = 5), volume of contributions (n = 11) and occasions visited to the software (n = 4); as well as downstream behaviours such as performance (n = 4) and healthy behaviours (n = 1). Effect sizes typically ranged from medium to large in direct engagement and downstream behaviours, with 12 out of 15 studies finding positive significant effects in favour of gamification.
Conclusion
Gamification is effective in increasing engagement in online programs. Key recommendations for future research into gamification are provided. In particular, rigorous study designs are required to fully examine gamification’s effects and determine how to best achieve sustained engagement.
Punkte, Abzeichen, Bestenlisten – und schon fällt der Begriff der Gamifizierung. Die fortschreitende Digitalisierung vereinfacht den Einsatz sogenannter Spielelemente in der akademischen Bildung erheblich. Dabei bietet der Trend der Humifizierung neben Punkten, Abzeichen und Ranglisten viele niedrigschwellige und technisch wenig aufwendige Möglichkeiten der Lernmotivationssteigerung. Gamifizierung – verstanden als Designstrategie – kann helfen, motivations- und partizipationsförderliche Lernumgebungen an Hochschulen zu kreieren, in denen Studierende berufliche Kompetenzen individuell oder gemeinsam aufbauen können. Dafür muss die Gamifizierung pädagogischen Prinzipien folgen. Der vorliegende Beitrag thematisiert dies und setzt sich mit der Idee der Gamifizierung, den wesentlichen Merkmalen von Spielen und deren Potenzialen für das Lernen und Lehren in der Hochschule auseinander. Zur Verdeutlichung dessen werden hochschulische Entwicklungstendenzen wie die Anregung der Studienmotivation, vertiefendes Lernen und Senkung der Abbrecherzahlen fokussiert. Abschließend werden praktische Umsetzungsbeispiele und deren Effekte für das Lernen in der Hochschule aufgezeigt.
Gamification is gaining momentum as an educational innovation to motivate and to engage students in their learning process. Nevertheless students' beliefs towards educational methodologies can affect both their motivation and attitude towards a given educational methodology. This study main goal is to explore key drivers of students' attitude towards the use of gamification as an educational methodology to develop their competencies. Using Keller's ARCS model (1987) a research model is developed and tested via Partial Least Squares (PLS) on a sample of 128 undergraduate students enrolled in a private Higher Education institution in Spain. Main results suggest that perceived attention, perceived relevance, and perceived confidence influence in a direct and positive way students' attitude towards the use of online educational video games to develop their competencies. Both attention and confidence also affects students' perceived relevance of online educational video games as a suitable means to develop their competencies. Managerial for citations: Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society Je-LKS
The main aim of gamification, i.e. the implementation of game design elements in real-world contexts for non-gaming purposes, is to foster human motivation and performance in regard to a given activity. Previous research, although not entirely conclusive, generally supports the hypothesis underlying this aim. However, previous studies have often treated gamification as a generic construct, neglecting the fact that there are many different game design elements which can result in very diverse applications. Based on a self-determination theory framework, we present the results of a randomized controlled study that used an online simulation environment. We deliberately varied different configurations of game design elements, and analysed them in regard to their effect on the fulfilment of basic psychological needs. Our results show that badges, leaderboards, and performance graphs positively affect competence need satisfaction, as well as perceived task meaningfulness, while avatars, meaningful stories, and teammates affect experiences of social relatedness. Perceived decision freedom, however, could not be affected as intended. We interpret these findings as general support for our main hypothesis that gamification is not effective per se, but that specific game design elements have specific psychological effects. Consequences for further research, in particular the importance of treatment checks, are discussed.
During recent years, gamification has become a popular method of enriching information technologies. Popular business analysts have made promising predictions about penetration of gamification, however, it has also been estimated that most gamifica-tion efforts will fail due to poor understanding of how gamification should be designed and implemented. Therefore, in this paper we seek to advance the understanding of best practices related to the gamifica-tion design process. We approach this research problem via a design science research approach; firstly, by synthesizing the current body of literature on gamification design methods and interviewing 25 gamification experts. Secondly, we develop a method for gamification design, based on the gathered knowledge. Finally, we conduct an evaluation of the method via interviews of 10 gamification experts. The results indicate that the developed method is comprehensive , complete and provides practical utility. We deliver a comprehensive overview of gamification guidelines and shed novel insights into the overall nature of the gamification development and design discourse.
Alternate Reality Games can be used to reinforce classroom knowledge by encouraging collective learning practices and focusing on new media literacy skills. An Alternate Reality Game creates a game space from real-world locations by relying on information, both online and offline, to physically involve players in a game “space.” While the majority of large Alternate Reality Games, to date, have been used as part of marketing campaigns, an increasing number of faculty teaching topics in digital media, technologies, and game studies have begun to employ the alternate reality game in the classroom. We argue that the affordances of Alternate Reality Games are best integrated within a “play-revise-design” format. By appropriating this emerging format in classroom spaces, we hope to teach students concepts such as new media literacies, the values of “safe failure,” and social learning, while giving students the tools for interactive storytelling.
Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts to encourage a desired type of behavior. In recent years gamification systems have been applied in marketing as well as non-business contexts such as politics, health, or interactive systems and education.
Although gamification is a new concept, it is gaining momentum; technology industry research firm Gartner estimates that by 2015, some 50 % of large companies will use the techniques for at least one business process, and M2 Research estimates revenue from gamification software, consulting and marketing will reach 100 million in 2011.
The objective in this chapter is to form theoretical principles for gamification in practice. Based on the role of rewards and incentives on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, we offer a framework for building feedback mechanisms. The chapter is built upon three components: a model of motivation in games; an overview of incentives and rewards used in games and their role in creating motivation, while tying these rewards into the motivation model; classifying game achievements according to their characteristics (tangibility, exchangeability etc.). Finally some future research directions are presented.
Zusammenfassung
Gamification ist in den vergangenen Jahren zu einem vieldiskutierten Trendthema geworden, verspricht das Konzept doch höhere Produktivität bei gleichzeitig steigender Nutzerzufriedenheit. Anwendungsbeispiele finden sich im Unternehmenskontext, in der Wissensaufnahme oder in der persönlichen Verhaltensbeeinflussung. Die Einführung und die Nutzung von Gamification-Elementen stellen für Unternehmen Herausforderungen dar und erfordern ein systematisches und umsichtiges Vorgehen. So müssen frühzeitig konkrete Ziele definiert werden, die Akzeptanz und Nutzungsbereitschaft durch die Mitarbeiter dauerhaft sichergestellt und Fragen der technischen Integration gelöst werden. Gamification kann dann positive Effekte in verschiedenen Unternehmensbereichen entfalten. Hierzu gehört etwa die aktive Beteiligung in Enterprise Social Networks oder die Durchführung „lästiger“ Standardaufgaben, wie das Dokumentieren. Um Mehrwerte durch Gamification zu erzielen, ist es jedoch essentiell, die Präferenzen der Mitarbeiter vorab zu kennen, wichtige Akteure einzubinden und die Auswirkungen der spielerischen Ansätze laufend im Blick zu behalten.
Teamwork and team performance are increasingly important in business organizations. New types of teams are invented to increase effectiveness at work. Ideally a team works towards the optimal outcome, which is achieved when the individual goal of each team member effectively contributes to the collective team goal. However, in practice, individual concerns may lead to sub-optimal teamwork outcomes due to conflicts and group dynamics (e.g., because of hidden agendas). These individual concerns and the resulting behavior tend to be implicit, resulting in a chaotic process and sub-optimal outcomes. In order to deliver optimal outcomes the collaboration between team members needs to be improved. Structuring the process and aligning individual goals with collective goals through gamification may achieve this. In this chapter a framework for gamification of teamwork is introduced and illustrated by real-life cases from industry.
The author would like to acknowledge the work of Nick Pamment, Senior Lecturer, ICJS, University of Portsmouth in assisting with the police interviews in the early stages of this research.
The literature suggests that gamified learning interventions may increase student engagement and enhance learning. We empirically investigate this by exploring the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on the participation and performance of over 100 undergraduate students in an online gamified learning intervention. The paper makes a number of contributions. First, by synthesizing the literature the central concepts required for a learning intervention to be considered gamified are mapped and the development of an online gamified learning intervention is described. Second, the effect of gamification on learning outcomes is examined using a pre- and post-intervention survey. We find that gamified learning interventions have a positive impact on student learning. Third, our results show that while generally positive, the impact of gamified intervention*ns on student participation varies depending on whether the student is motivated intrinsically or extrinsically. These findings will be of practical interest to teaching and learning practitioners working in a range of educational contexts, and at all levels of education, who wish to increase student engagement and enhance learning.
During recent years “gamification” has gained significant attention among practitioners and game scholars. However, the current understanding of gamification has been solely based on the act of adding systemic game elements into services. In this paper, we propose a new definition for gamification, which emphases the experiential nature of games and gamification, instead of the systemic understanding. Furthermore, we tie this definition to theory from service marketing because majority of gamification implementations aim towards goals of marketing, which brings to the discussion the notion of how customer / user is always ultimately the creator of value. Since now, the main venue for academic discussion on gamification has mainly been the HCI community. We find it relevant both for industry practitioners as well as for academics to study how gamification can fit in the body of knowledge of existing service literature because the goals and the means of gamification and marketing have a significant overlap.
This paper reviews peer-reviewed empirical studies on gamification. We create a framework for examining the effects of gamification by drawing from the definitions of gamification and the discussion on motivational affordances. The literature review covers results, independent variables (examined motivational affordances), dependent variables (examined psychological/behavioral outcomes from gamification), the contexts of gamification, and types of studies performed on the gamified systems. The paper examines the state of current research on the topic and points out gaps in existing literature. The review indicates that gamification provides positive effects, however, the effects are greatly dependent on the context in which the gamification is being implemented, as well as on the users using it. The findings of the review provide insight for further studies as well as for the design of gamified systems.
The authors summarize 35 years of empirical research on goal-setting theory. They describe the core findings of the theory, the mechanisms by which goals operate, moderators of goal effects, the relation of goals and satisfaction, and the role of goals as mediators of incentives. The external validity and practical significance of goal-setting theory are explained, and new directions in goal-setting research are discussed. The relationships of goal setting to other theories are described as are the theory’s limitations.
Following the diffusion of HRM as the dominant legitimating managerial ideology, some employers have started to see the built working environment as a component in managing organizational culture and employee commitment. A good example is where the work space is designed to support a range of officially encouraged ‘fun’ activities at work. Drawing on recent research literature and from media reports of contemporary developments, this article explores the consequences of such developments for employees’ social identity formation and maintenance, with a particular focus on the office and customer service centre. The analysis suggests that management’s attempts to determine what is deemed fun may not only be resented by workers because it intrudes on their existing private identities but also because it seeks to reshape their values and expression.
This article has two broad objectives: (a) It reviews the theoretical and practical litera- ture on the use of games to facilitate social and emotional learning (SEL). (b) Based on this review, it argues that games are a powerful way of developing social and emotional learning in young people. In addition, we draw on our collective experience as educa- tional psychologists to identify effective practice when using games to teach SEL. The social and emotional skills needed to play successfully with others are those needed to succeed at work and in adult life. Prosocial skills involve regulating negative emotions, taking turns and sharing, support orientations to others that are fair, just, and respectful. The natural affiliation between children, play, and the desire to have fun with others makes games an ideal vehicle for teaching SEL. Circle Time games are used to support universal programs for teaching SEL to whole classes. Therapeutic board games pro- vide an effective intervention for young people who have been targeted for further guided practice in small group settings. Verbatim quotations from students and teachers demonstrate ways in which SEL has generalized to real-life situations. The role of facilitator is crucial to the success of this approach, both in modeling appropriate skills and making the learning connections for students. In this article, facilitation and debriefing are deconstructed and the value of collaborative, rather than competitive, aspects of games highlighted.
Results from a review of laboratory and field studies on the effects of goal setting on performance show that in 90% of the studies, specific and challenging goals led to higher performance than easy goals, "do your best" goals, or no goals. Goals affect performance by directing attention, mobilizing effort, increasing persistence, and motivating strategy development. Goal setting is most likely to improve task performance when the goals are specific and sufficiently challenging, Ss have sufficient ability (and ability differences are controlled), feedback is provided to show progress in relation to the goal, rewards such as money are given for goal attainment, the experimenter or manager is supportive, and assigned goals are accepted by the individual. No reliable individual differences have emerged in goal-setting studies, probably because the goals were typically assigned rather than self-set. Need for achievement and self-esteem may be the most promising individual difference variables. (3½ p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Analyzed the issues raised by I. Kirsch (see record
1982-23701-001) regarding the role of self-percepts of coping efficacy in avoidance behavior. Evidence is reviewed that shows that people who perceive themselves as inefficacious in wielding control over potentially aversive events view such events anxiously, conjure up possible injurious consequences, and display phobic avoidance of them. Self-efficacy theory postulates an interactive, though asymmetric, relation between perceived self-efficacy and fear arousal, with self-judged efficacy exerting the greater effect. This enables people to perform activities at lower strengths of self-judged efficacy despite fear arousal and to take self-protective action without having to wait for fear arousal to prompt them to action. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recent years have seen a rapid proliferation of mass-market consumer software that takes inspiration from video games. Usually summarized as "gamification", this trend connects to a sizeable body of existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction and game studies, such as serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, or playful design. However, it is not clear how "gamification" relates to these, whether it denotes a novel phenomenon, and how to define it. Thus, in this paper we investigate "gamification" and the historical origins of the term in relation to precursors and similar concepts. It is suggested that "gamified" applications provide insight into novel, gameful phenomena complementary to playful phenomena. Based on our research, we propose a definition of "gamification" as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.
Addresses the centrality of the self-efficacy mechanism (SEM) in human agency. SEM precepts influence thought patterns, actions, and emotional arousal. In causal tests, the higher the level of induced self-efficacy, the higher the performance accomplishments and the lower the emotional arousal. The different lines of research reviewed show that the SEM may have wide explanatory power. Perceived self-efficacy helps to account for such diverse phenomena as changes in coping behavior produced by different modes of influence, level of physiological stress reactions, self-regulation of refractory behavior, resignation and despondency to failure experiences, self-debilitating effects of proxy control and illusory inefficaciousness, achievement strivings, growth of intrinsic interest, and career pursuits. The influential role of perceived collective efficacy in social change and the social conditions conducive to development of collective inefficacy are analyzed. (21/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1982 American Psychological Association.
This book offers a practical yet powerful way to understand the psychological appeal and strong motivation to play video games.
With video game sales in the billions and anxious concerns about their long-term effects growing louder, Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound brings something new to the discussion. It is the first truly balanced research-based analysis on the games and gamers, addressing both the positive and negative aspects of habitual playing by drawing on significant recent studies and established motivational theory.
Filled with examples from popular games and the real experiences of gamers themselves, Glued to Games gets to the heart of gaming's powerful psychological and emotional allure—the benefits as well as the dangers. It gives everyone from researchers to parents to gamers themselves a clearer understanding the psychology of gaming, while offering prescriptions for healthier, more enjoyable games and gaming experiences.
In an increasingly neoliberal Higher Education sector, there is increased pressure on institutions to enhance learner engagement and student satisfaction. Many academics believe that students expect their university learning experiences to be enjoyable, and discourses of game-based learning reflect this, with a dominant narrative highlighting the fun of educational games. Whether students expect learning to be fun or see a relationship between fun and games is under-explored. To address this, we investigated student perceptions of fun in Higher Education using a thematic network analysis based on data from 37 in-depth interviews with undergraduate students. Here, we highlight five themes that encapsulate what students perceive to be a fun learning experience: stimulating pedagogy; lecturer engagement; a safe learning space; shared experience; and a low-stress environment. These aspects are not unique to games, and we conclude by considering the relationship between educational games and fun, and alternative playful approaches.
The ubiquitous presence of technology in classrooms has inspired a shift from traditional classroom lectures to integrated digital learning environments. These interactive learning environments present the opportunity to evolve the teaching process through the incorporation of game elements that have been shown to capture user attention, motivate towards goals, and promote competition, effective teamwork, and communication. Gamification and game-based learning systems aim to bring these benefits into the learning and teaching process. This paper presents a systematic literature review of game-based learning systems, frameworks that integrate game design elements, and various implementations of gamification in higher education. A systematic search of databases was conducted to select articles related to gamification in education for this review. The objective is to identify how gamified learning systems have been used and categorize its use in higher education. The findings of this literature review allow higher education institutions to employ and explore efficient gamified learning and teaching systems to improve student engagement, motivation, and performance.
Gamification has received increased attention in education in recent years, and is seen as a way to improve student engagement, motivation, attendance, and academic performance. While empirical studies on gamification in higher education are showing modest gains in some areas, this data can be difficult to interpret because of the many ways that gamification can be designed and implemented. Gamification is also controversial for appearing exploitative, seeming oversimplified, and having the tendency to rely on extrinsic motivation and learning analytics that may not translate to student learning. This paper provides a brief overview of gamification in higher education and looks at findings from recent empirical studies. It then examines its key criticisms as well as its potential contributions to improving instructional design in higher education. A practical example and a set of recommendations are provided to show how instructors new to gamification and interested in implementing it can adapt it for their courses.
This paper argues that most video game enjoyment can be understood in terms of the type of feedback used, the rules set out by the game and the social elements of the game - concepts that have been identified as critical to video games. Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as a lens for understanding the mechanism by which these traits might lead to enjoyment. Specifically, the argument is that feedback, rules, and social elements of games will fulfill the dimensions of SDT - competence autonomy, and relatedness. Then, the dimensions of SDT will predict enjoyment. Participants were presented with a game that emphasized feedback, rules, or social elements. Games that emphasized flexible rules led to feelings of competence while games that emphasized social elements led to feelings of relatedness. Competence and elatedness then led to feelings of enjoyment. In doing so, this study identifies key elements of video games while illuminating ways to understand video game enjoyment.
This article reviews the core process of critical thinking – hunting assumptions – and explains how this process differs according to the context of what is being taught and the different intellectual traditions that inform teachers’ own backgrounds. It outlines a basic protocol of critical thinking as a learning process that focuses on uncovering and checking assumptions, exploring alternative perspectives, and taking informed actions as a result. Three different categories of assumptions – paradigmatic, prescriptive, and causal – are defined, and the teaching methods and approaches that most help students to think critically are explored. The article examines in detail the fact that critical thinking is best experienced as a social learning process, and how important it is for teachers to model the process for students.
The description and analysis of the occupational world of the lower ranks has become a major theme of sociological research on the police (Chatterton, 1979; Holdaway, 1983; Manning, 1977; Policy Studies Institute 1983). Researchers have now begun to chart an ethnographic map of routine police work, mostly of patrol duties in the inner city, paying particular attention to officers’ perceptions of the area where they work, of the task of policing and of the population they serve. Some scholars have gone beyond a description and analysis of perceptions to document police actions — the strategies and tactics that officers routinely employ. This complex contouring of beliefs, values and attitudes and their associated actions, which officers regard as ‘commonsense’, is conceptualised as ‘the occupational culture’ of the lower police ranks.
This introductory article provides basic definitions, concepts and theories surrounding gamification that are used throughout the remainder of this book. It distinguishes gamification from other research areas, such as gameful design and serious games. It then goes on to introduce common game mechanics, achievement systems, game dynamics and aesthetics. The second part of the article focusses on underlying theories. It examines the influence of motivation theory, achievement goal theory and flow theory on gamification. The article also describes different player archetypes.
Millions play Farmville, Scrabble, and countless other games, generating billions in sales each year. The careful and skillful construction of these games is built on decades of research into human motivation and psychology: A well-designed game goes right to the motivational heart of the human psyche. In For the Win, Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter argue persuasively that game-makers need not be the only ones benefiting from game design. Werbach and Hunter, lawyers and World of Warcraft players, created the world's first course on gamification at the Wharton School. In their book, they reveal how game thinking--addressing problems like a game designer--can motivate employees and customers and create engaging experiences that can transform your business. For the Win reveals how a wide range of companies are successfully using game thinking. It also offers an explanation of when gamifying makes the most sense and a 6-step framework for using games for marketing, productivity enhancement, innovation, employee motivation, customer engagement, and more.
Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are a kind of narrative game that use the real world as a platform to allow players and characters to interact via multimedia forms, enabling participants to alter a game’s progression. Boundaries between what is real and what is fictional are disguised,
as characters, controlled by game designers react to player input. Working collaboratively as digital detectives, players collate a fragmented narrative by deciphering codes and clues. Research found that the deliberate blurring of many defining game features creates a complex product. Moreover,
the number of ARG implosions (failures) is high. An empirical study, involving content analysis, examined players’ views on Unforum, the primary ARG discussion board. This analysis extracted evaluation criteria for judging ARGs, a selection of which are outlined in this article. These
criteria should help game creators, or puppetmasters (PMs) create and manage a quality ARG, thus producing greater numbers of successful games.
What could a sport coach or sport teacher within physical education learn from digital game design and the way digital games capture, sustain, and maintain children's attention? Would the physical education learning experience be different if physical educators designed and enacted sport teaching by attempting to accommodate the learning needs and preferences of the wrap around technology generation by giving deliberate attention to the design principles employed in digital game design? This article emerged from those two questions to highlight how, as games governed by rules of play, sport and digital game play have much in common and, therefore, sport teachers in physical education may enhance student engagement by incorporating learning principles used in digital game design.
Work is one important source of an individual's social identity, and workplace interaction is a crucial means of instantiating that identity. As one component of workplace discourse, humour can provide insights into the distinctive culture which develops in different workplaces. Using a community of practice framework, this paper explores the potential of humour analysis for identifying characteristics of workplace sub-cultures which develop within different organisations. In particular, patterns of variation in the frequency, type and style of humour used in meetings in four different organisations is examined. The dataset is taken from the larger corpus of the Victoria University of Wellington Language in the Workplace Project.
Can the workplace be redesigned to include avatars, three-dimensional environments, and a host of virtual rewards that form newly transparent reputations for you and your team? This grounded and thought-provoking book by Byron Reeves and Leighton Read argues that it is not only possible, it is inevitable. Massive multiplayer online games (MMOs) are a new cultural phenomenon at the intersection of electronic entertainment and social networking. Borrowing the key design principles from these games can address a host of classic challenges in the workplace including collaboration, innovation, leadership, and of course, boredom. No longer the sole domain of adolescent boys, today’s best complex social games capture countless of hours of attention from men and women across the age spectrum who are carrying out activities in these entertainment titles that look surprisingly like the same tasks being performed by enterprise information-workers. There is a lot to be learned from the context that makes this behavior engaging, for example: positioning tasks within compelling stories that matter to the player, providing the tools for internal marketplaces where economic behavior replaces command and control, and affordances that help solve the problem of “what do I get when we win” Reeves and Read show how to choose and implement the right elements for your business. Of course, the psychological power of game design can have both positive and negative consequences for the workplace. That’s why it’s important to put them into practice correctly from the beginning–and Reeves and Read explain how by showing which good design principles are powerful antidotes to the addictive and stress-inducing potential of games. Supported by specific case studies and years of research, Total Engagement completely changes the way you view both work and play.
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how generational differences moderate the relationship between workplace fun and individual workplace outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review and integrate the literatures on workplace fun and generational theory and empirically test the interaction effects of generation membership and workplace fun with job satisfaction, task performance, and OCB using a sample of 701 workers.
Findings
The findings suggest that not only do members of different generational cohorts respond differently to workplace fun, but cohort membership moderates the relationship between workplace fun and some individual workplace outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
Snowball sampling and cross‐sectional data limit the generalisability of the study's findings.
Practical implications
The authors provide managerial implications for promoting workplace fun.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the workplace fun conversation by addressing the overlooked question of “fun for whom?”.
