From the course: Gamification of Learning

Why games?

From the course: Gamification of Learning

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Why games?

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Everyone at one point in their life or another has played some sort of game. Whether it's tag as a youngster on the playground, kicking a ball around with a group of friends trying to score a goal, playing a video game on your smartphone, or playing a board game. Games are part of every culture, and a shared human experience. What gamification allows us to do is take the elements from games and integrate them into instruction. This integration provides opportunities for rich engagement, motivated learners, and making learning not only tolerable but actually fun. Learners who are having fun and who are engaged in the learning process will have better retention and recall of content, than learners who are made to suffer through boring, static instruction. Besides my work as a professor, I'm also a passionate gamer and a researcher in the area of game-based learning and game thinking. I'm excited to explore with you the concepts of gamification of learning and instruction. In this course we're going to explore the various elements of games that are used in gamification. We'll look at some case studies of gamification, and discuss the science and theory behind how gamification can motivate and engage learners. Knowing the science and theories behind gamification will help you to understand the best methods of applying these concepts, in your own design of instruction. By using common game elements like story, feedback and mystery, you can create an engaging gamified learning event that will capture your learners' imagination and attention. And help them to retain and apply the lessons you're teaching. Join me in discovering the many facets of gamification, and learn how you can apply those ideas and concepts to your own classroom and e-learning modules. Play, learn, and have fun.

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