Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2014 | Page 53

Problems and Possibilities of Gamifying Learning: A Conceptual Review
Promises
However, that is not to say that gamification
cannot also hold promises.
Games are fun and gamification,
when employed judiciously and with the elements
of good gaming can also be fun. As
Koster (2004) points out, fun is and should
be another word for learning. Good learning
situations and environments are hard,
but also fun and rewarding.
McGonigal (2011) sees the promise
of gamified engagement in what she calls Alternate
Reality Games (ARGs). McGonigal
sees these experiences as having the ability
to connect the world and solve some of the
world's most complex problems. Indeed,
gamification, when used properly can do
this. An ARG uses an interactive narrative
in a real world setting and delivers it in such
a manner to improve the life of the individuals
who play the game and it inspires them
to continue with the changes that they have
made long after the game has ended. An
ARG always has real world implications and
can change people's lives for the better. In
her second TED Talk, McGonigal described
an ARG that she designed at a point in her
life when she was suffering from recovery
from a head trauma. The ARG that she created
was called SuperBetter. In this ARG,
Jane McGonigal created a game that allows
individuals who had been diagnosed with
severe and debilitating injuries, diseases, or
health issues a game that allowed them to
remain curious, optimistic, and motivated
even in the most dire of circumstances.
One of the most important concepts
and promises that can be seen in using gamification
is the power to engage and motivate
people, and the power that gamified
experiences have in tapping into collective
intelligence. When social innovations occur
because of the reliance on cooperative and
collaborative efforts, like Foldit we see one of
the most powerful possibilities for this type
of learning experience. Foldit was a crowdsourced
game experience that drew over
46,000 players who within ten days solved
the mystery of how a key protein may help
cure HIV-- a mystery that had thwarted top
researchers and scientists. No matter how
that is looked at, that is a powerful message
for the promise of gamification.
Future in Education
As to the future of gamification in education
educators need to be wary
of using the most basic of game mechanics
(the points and the leaderboards)
and examine what makes truly successful
game experiences so very successful. They
must examine that which they want to gamify,
and realize that videogames, and games
in general, are in the simplest form an immersive
experience, and that experiences are
different for every person who encounters
them. Games need to be better understood,
and in line with what Zichermann (2011)
has posited, in the future, if gamification is
to be successful, both industry and education
will need to hire individuals who are
oversee the production of these experiences
to ensure that the experiences that they are
trying to promote are the actual best experiences
for students based on sound theory
and research in human psychology, both in
social awareness, cognition, and learning
theories.
Gamification is not easy and should
not be used as a bandage to fix an already
broken system or cover up and make a
problematic program attractive to users.
Education is messy, and games are messy.
As such, in order to tap into the most powerful
way of using gamification in learning
situations, like schools, we need to return
to the works of play theorists Johan Huizinga
(1950), Richard Caillois (2001), and
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