Unit 3: How Do I Gamify?

Unit Objectives

After completing this unit the participant will able to...

• Identify the five steps to gamified design.
• Create a gamified education plan complete with 3-5 gamified lessons.
  
  
  
  
  

Learner Activities

1. Read the three part gamified design series.
2. Review the Gamified Course Design Map.
3. Review the Gamified Lesson Grid.
4. Create 3-5 lessons and upload them to course wiki page.
5. Complete initial discussion board post and reply to at least one classmates.
6. Complete your gamertype course responsibilities.
7. Write a unit reflection post on your blog.
   
   

Introduction

So far we have explored the the reasons why gamifying is helpful for engaging learners and also what different types of gamified experiences look like and what goes into them. In this unit, we are going to practice creating our own gamified experiences. We are going to work through a process as detailed by Dr. Vincent Manrique who also runs a MOOC on gamification through iversity. Essentially, gamifying works under four important questions (not completely unlike the three question model I have been using for our course) which I will let you spend time exploring. For the purposes of our course, I have devised a five step process to work through gamifying your lessons. It is important to note that while I have provided an order to complete this in, you can technically start at any step in the process that makes the most sense to you: the greatest thing to keep in mind is that all five steps are cumulatively reinforcing to ever other part. It is for this reason that I have you starting with your narrative, as this story will run through ever facet of what you build and is also the easiest thing to lose sight of as you design lessons.

As we think about gamifying our own classrooms, check out this useful video:

Extra Credits: Gamifying Education

The Gamifying Process

1. Read epic win blog's three part gamified design series by Victor Manrique:

• Gamification Design Steps: An Introduction
• Gamification Design Steps: 4 critical questions
• Gamification Design Steps: Mechanics, aesthetics, and storytelling
  
  

2. Review the Gamified Course Design Map to start designing your unit and/or 3-5 lessons.

3. Every student needs to earn a specific amount of point per unit (6 points). Your gamertype will dictate which responsibilities you will have for each unit to earn your points and concern the discussion board for each unit but also the Gamifying Courses Wiki Page:
Killers Quizzes: Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3

Creating Your Gamified Lessons

1. Create your 3-5 lessons and use the Gamified Lesson Grid to keep track as your move through the Gamified Course Design Map.

2. Add pdfs of your designed lesson plans to the Gamifying Courses Wiki Page.

Discussion and Reflection

1a. Use the following rubric and discuss the following prompt in our Gamify Course Design Group Discussion Area: Reflect on your gamified lessons. What choices have you made so far and why? What is the hardest element to wrap your head around? What ways are you allowing learners to influence the course environment and how are they earning the ability to do so? What elements are you the most excited about? What narrative are you using and how does that complement your course subject?

1b. Complete Self Assessment of your discussion board activity using this template and then turn the information into a blog post.

2. Create a blog post for your reflections this week on your personal blog (as shared on the learner profile page).

Extended Resources

Bright, S. (2015). 5 Tips to Adding Gamification to Your Online Course.

Manrique, V. (2015). The 35 Gamification Mechanics toolkit.

Manrique, V. (2015). Gamification Player Types: Meet the players!.

Manrique, V. (2015). Why People Play: Games and Human Motivators.

Marquis, J. (2015). Quick Guide to Gamification.

Next Steps

Go Back to to Unit 2: What is Gamifying?

Back to Gamifying Course Design