This chapter builds upon the research carried out from the previous sections focusing on mapping, motivation, mastering skills, behavioural changes and socialisation. Through using these concepts, guidelines can be drawn up to assist the Educator to harness the flexibility of gamification when designing tasks, challenges, or assessment. The layout of this chapter starts off with guidelines focusing on designing course content and how to incorporate gamification into learning activities; followed on by a theoretical model that could be used to assist in the exploration of the domain topic through the use of technologies, pedagogy and engagement and finally the Summary.
TopGuidelines
When designing course content, it is important for the tutor to have clear well defined fixed goals that are relevant to the learner. These will assist the learner when tackling different challenges and assist them in completing the tasks as this will allow them to create a mental image of what is actually needed of them within the learning process (Kim and Lee, 2012). Landers (2014) and Kim and Lee (2012) recommends that one way of influencing the learner is to strengthen and build upon the instructional design and the outcomes, which, according to Bedwell et al. (2012), would create a purposeful alignment.
Bedwell et al. (2012) indicates that purposeful alignment would enable the tutor to set a series of attributes that would challenge the community based upon several key building blocks or “Taxonomy Alignment (TA)”. The TA would effectively allow the tutor to consider aspects of:Action Language
Assessment
Conflict/Management
Control
Environment
Game Fiction
Human Interaction
Immersion
Rules/Goals
Game Matrix. (Bedwell et al., 2012, p. 733)
while effectively placing the taxonomy directly into the learning environment for the learner to benefit from. Landers (2014) indicates that homing onto the categories that Bedwell et al. (2012) suggests, would enable the learner to embrace and fully identify targets set while gaining a harmonious balance within the educational setting. Kim and Lee (2012) indicates that by using puzzles and a series of stories to define the educational challenges would assist the learner in developing a balanced like environment that would make the learning more interesting. Tailoring a learning habitat that takes in everyone’s needs as Clark (2008) points out would be “massively, overwhelmingly, almost unimaginably” (Clark, 2008, p57) difficult to implement. However, the educator can use linguistic scaffoldings to create cognition enhancement for the learner in their own right and help provide the tools and props they need to discover and build through cumulative effect to press their minds to forge learning.
Landers and Landers (2015) builds upon the recommendations of Kim and Lee (2012) and suggests that the learning experience can be harnessed further by incorporating an ‘outside the classroom experience’ in which the learner could increase engagement and relationships through experimental approaches. Supporting the student with additional materials outside the classroom with experimental approaches would allow the learner to gain new skills and adopt behavioural skills required when targeting achievement and performance. Encompassing and supporting the growth developmental stage of the learner would enhance the experience while offering them empowerment and choice (Kim and Lee, 2012). As Kim and Lee (2012) point out, there are several other factors that need to be taken into consideration when trying to propose alignment and these are: ‘fantasy, challenges and curiosity’ which would allow the environment to focus on control. These mechanics would enable feedback, goals, connections, progression, quests, thrills and many more to be incorporated in to the environment making for an experience that offers, as Landers and Landers (2015) points out, primary motivational mechanisms.