We have enough theoretical knowledge from Chapter 1 and 2 for us to directly focus on mapping gamification aspects from an educator's point of view, harnessing gaming mechanics and educational techniques to build skills, knowledge, and confidence to allow students to achieve personal goals.
TopIntroduction
Gamification is changing the world in profound ways. Educators, having recognized the contributions that the use of gaming mechanics is having on the learner’s growth and well-being, are now thinking about how they can strengthen the learning process through creating innovative ways to challenge and support the learner. Through engaging the learner with rich media interaction and feedback to inspire the individual to gain a sense of engagement and accomplishment, Educators are spicing up the classroom activities to immerse the learner through adding engagement, enjoyment and motivational techniques so that learners can achieve great heights. The main drive of gamification is to influence the learners own goal and alter their own perception of education experience through the use of serious gaming mechanisms. This drive to improve the student perception would affect the learner’s abilities, behaviour and attitudes within the learning environment. Through self-confidence the learner would be able to build up new vocabulary and engagement within practical sessions either individually or in a community setting.
Prior research has shown that incorporating community based activities within gamification has led to higher success of outcomes relating to performance and integration. The educator can use gaming elements to systematically map concepts onto the academic subject matter to create a novel instructional approach that can offer problem-solving, collaboration, and communication through Scaffold learning. Gamification has remarkable motivational influences to utilize and encourage learners to engage in the learning environment through deploying intrinsic and extrinsic motivational techniques. Behnke (2015) indicates that through promoting student motivational techniques the level of student competency through mastering their abilities would support and provide a way in which individuals can reach their full potential on a course. The tutor can harness the gaming environment to allow students to experience mistakes while having the community for additional support to help build relationships, encourage knowledge and share solutions.
Gaming mechanics would provide the learner with specific inputs on how to interact with other individuals from different cultural backgrounds, religion and beliefs while gaining professionalism. As Slomka indicates students would be able to identify “commonalities and interrelationships among values and ethical obligations that transcend individual professional groups” (Slomka, 2014, P110). Learners could embrace these values and obligations while working in an educational community and use them to develop their own principles, competencies, language and perspectives. González and Mora (2014) builds upon the recommendations of Slomka (2014) and indicates that not only do communities build upon competences but also commitment and good behaviour. To take advantage of the learning environment, the educator as recommended by Corachán (2008), González and Mora (2014), Herro et al. (2017), Hu et al. (2017), Zolyomi and Schmalz (2017); Fichten et al. (2014) and Prandi et al. (2015), should focus on creating and mapping clear learning objectives; the experience of the learner must be organised in stages; interactive resources; and finally mapping them onto the curriculum within Higher Education (HE). HE practices must be able to adapt in future to accommodate the challenges associated with the demanding needs of the learner. The next section will focus on some of the innovative ways in which the educator is using Mapping within gamification to explore this avenue to support the learner within Higher Education through innovation techniques.