How can we apply Gamification in Educational way?

Yewon Na
2016311559
The department of education at skku

Introduction: why I choose gamification in technology research

There are important things that should not change with changes in learning content

and tools. That is importance of motivation in learning situation. It is not easy for students to

remain highly absorbed in class, but motivation and engagement is important in student's

learning. In this situation, gamification can help solve the problem. gamification can add fun

to the classroom situation and enable students to become engagement. The aim of educational

gamification is to use elements of the game to make hard study fun like games.

I will explain what gamification is and why it is important to apply gamification to

education. I will then analyze what are the elements of the game and learn how to use them in

education around three elements of the game. Key point of the text is ‘how can we develop

gamification in educational way.’

What is gamification?

The word gamification is first used by Nick Pelling on his company's homepage.

gamification means using the elements and design techniques of games as a means of

motivating people to achieve goals. Examples of gamifications include: Collecting Starbucks

stamps and getting a diary, upgrading customers based on their performance at hotels,

airlines, and telecom companies, and providing them with loyalty cards. This means that the

company will be able to gamification the course of consumption and provide customers with
more diverse achievement targets and competitive opportunities. This strategy will motivate

customers to buy or service. by the way, this motivative strategy is also very important in

education. From now on, I will explain how can apply gamification in educational way.

Components of a game

Before we learn how gamification in education, we must first know the elements and

characteristics of the game. There is the discussion of the elements of the game is as follows.

Wittgenstein explained that games have elements in common such as play, rules, and

competition. Klabbers(1999) defined games as activities that involve skills, knowledge and

opportunities to solve problems and beat opponents under certain rules. Schell defines the

characteristics of the game as the following ten: Volunteerism, purpose, competition, rules,

victory, defeat, interactive, challenge delivery, intra-game value, engagement, closed

structure. Caillois (2001) defined games as having the following characteristics: fun, limited

time and space, uncertainty of consequences, unproductive activity, rules different from

everyday life, fictional stories. McGonial (2011) presented four characteristics of the game:

goals, rules, feedback and voluntary participation.1

In summary, games have the characteristics of goals, rules, feedback, and voluntary

participation. These factors make the game have characteristics such as fun, competition,

confrontation, and the provision of challenges. Using the elements of these games, there are

three main ways to gamification.

1
SangKyun Kim, ‘Education, enjoy like games: is there game in your class?’, Korea Game
Institute& Hongneung Science Publishing, 2014, p36
 Three ways to gamification categorized by components

The first is technical gamification, that mainly uses the five elements of a game. The

second is a component gamification that uses the mechanism component of a game. The third

is the gamification which uses game design method.

1) technical gamification

The visual and auditory stimuli used in the game act on the organization's

information system. This is how educational websites, educational software and apps

offer cute images such as games, which are the most basic forms of gaming.

2) component gamification

Component gamification is a way to incorporate some of the mechanics elements of

a game into the existing environment. Reeves & Read presents 10 factors that can be

applied to game: Avatar, three-dimensional environment, epic storytelling, feedback,

reputation/link/level, market and competition.

3) procedural gamification

Procedural gamification is a way to design new structures or work processes in an

organization according to these rules, five senses of content, and the design flow of social

contexts. A way to utilize the design process of a game in the task and structural design of

an organization.

How can develop Gamification in Educational way

The process of educational gamification is five stages of analysis, game element

design, game development, game operation, effectiveness analysis and improvement.

 1. Training target analysis

At the beginning of the design of professors, analysis of target analysis takes place. The

project manager, the professor's designer, the education subject field expert, and the student

representative of the education class make the selection of the Range of Educational

Gamification, Analysis of the students ' characteristics, Selecting the Range of Educational

Gamification.

2. Game element design

Project managers, teaching, story designers, and game designers participate. They

decide what to do with the motivation factors, design stories, dynamics, and mechanics.

3. Game development

Project managers, quality managers, programmers, graphic designers, sound technicians,

tool makers, and existing IT system managers will participate. In this phase, we develop

educational game programs, graphics, sound, make tools, test and modify them.

4. Game management

The actual educational situation is applied with educational gamification created with

project managers and existing IT system managers at the center.

5. Analyze and improve effects

During the effect analysis and improvement phase, project managers, subject area

experts, quality managers, and student representatives are involved. Watching the games in

operation and analyze how much learning performance has improved and whether it was

fun. Based on these results, improvement measures are derived.

Advantage of Educational Gamification
Gamification can have a positive effect on improving students ' motivation,

strengthening communication, reducing stress, and understanding theory. But gamification is

not necessarily good. Students may be tempted to score points or win by abusing the rules of

the game or may attend classes without understanding the purpose or rules of the game.

Therefore, gamification should be able to improve students ' intrinsic and external

motivations. And be careful about forgetting intrinsic motives and moving on external

motives, which called Over justification effect.

one final word, I want to say that Gamification is just one of the tools for good teaching.

What we pursue through gamification is a fun and very well educated. Gamification should

not simply entertain. As a future educator, it is important to use the attributes of the game to

gamification, create good lessons, as well as properly guiding children's inner motivations.