Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century an... more Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamifica...
By Darcy E. Osheim Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-l... more By Darcy E. Osheim Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault's concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamification emerged from the findings and laid out a general definition of gamification. It must consist of high-choice, lowrisk engagements in a clearly structured environment. v Games Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally do not function like a game. The word can be traced back as early as 2004 ("Gamification," n.d.), but the concept goes back further. The boy scouts, sports, and the military uses forms gamification, in which a person can gain a "level" or rank when successfully completing enough tasks (Geuter, 2012). New and digital ranking takes shape in gamified apps like Foursquare, in which a "player" is able to earn points, badges, and "mayorships" of businesses, homes, and other points of interest by letting friends and companies know that they are "checked in." Facebook® , which is one of the largest continually used collection of gamified applications (Schell, 2010), has the Words with Friends application that maintains 7.3 million daily users (Ward, 2012). Applications like these improve mundane tasks, by making them not only more likely to get done, but also enjoyable while being simple, pervasive, and easy to use. Apps like Chorewars and EpicWin help encourage people to finish daily and tedious chores (Lee & Hammer, 2011). Players experience internal motivation when completing tasks because the tasks are low-risk. Games are low-risk because players are not just doing, they are having fun. Games are play (Huizinga, 2006; Wright, 2007), and play is primeval education technology (Wright, 2012). Play differs across cultures, but collectively culture is inundated by play, because "play and culture are actually interwoven" (Huizinga, 2006, p. 100). Even animals play as a way to teach offspring survival techniques. Play allows humans and other creatures to master skills, concepts, and conflict resolution without
Emerging Research and Trends in Gamification, 2016
Students need the classroom in order to educate in a way in which they can relate, and grow bored... more Students need the classroom in order to educate in a way in which they can relate, and grow bored when that does not happen. Gamification employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game, and many instructors and administrators at the university level are eager to use gamification to encourage students to learn. However, gamification is not a generic fix to the problems found in the classroom. Instructors should gain insight on how successful games work, and gamify specific classroom functions to retain the deep learning required for subject mastery. The author employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. A general definition emerged: Gamification must consist of high-choice, low-risk engagements in a clearly structured environment.
Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century an... more Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamification emerged from the findings and laid out a general definition of gamification. It must consist of high-choice, low-risk engagements in a clearly structured environment.
Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century an... more Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamifica...
By Darcy E. Osheim Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-l... more By Darcy E. Osheim Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault's concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamification emerged from the findings and laid out a general definition of gamification. It must consist of high-choice, lowrisk engagements in a clearly structured environment. v Games Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally do not function like a game. The word can be traced back as early as 2004 ("Gamification," n.d.), but the concept goes back further. The boy scouts, sports, and the military uses forms gamification, in which a person can gain a "level" or rank when successfully completing enough tasks (Geuter, 2012). New and digital ranking takes shape in gamified apps like Foursquare, in which a "player" is able to earn points, badges, and "mayorships" of businesses, homes, and other points of interest by letting friends and companies know that they are "checked in." Facebook® , which is one of the largest continually used collection of gamified applications (Schell, 2010), has the Words with Friends application that maintains 7.3 million daily users (Ward, 2012). Applications like these improve mundane tasks, by making them not only more likely to get done, but also enjoyable while being simple, pervasive, and easy to use. Apps like Chorewars and EpicWin help encourage people to finish daily and tedious chores (Lee & Hammer, 2011). Players experience internal motivation when completing tasks because the tasks are low-risk. Games are low-risk because players are not just doing, they are having fun. Games are play (Huizinga, 2006; Wright, 2007), and play is primeval education technology (Wright, 2012). Play differs across cultures, but collectively culture is inundated by play, because "play and culture are actually interwoven" (Huizinga, 2006, p. 100). Even animals play as a way to teach offspring survival techniques. Play allows humans and other creatures to master skills, concepts, and conflict resolution without
Emerging Research and Trends in Gamification, 2016
Students need the classroom in order to educate in a way in which they can relate, and grow bored... more Students need the classroom in order to educate in a way in which they can relate, and grow bored when that does not happen. Gamification employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game, and many instructors and administrators at the university level are eager to use gamification to encourage students to learn. However, gamification is not a generic fix to the problems found in the classroom. Instructors should gain insight on how successful games work, and gamify specific classroom functions to retain the deep learning required for subject mastery. The author employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. A general definition emerged: Gamification must consist of high-choice, low-risk engagements in a clearly structured environment.
Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century an... more Instructors find a gap between what they experienced in school in the mid-to-late 20th century and the experiences of students entering college in 2012/13. In the United States, the influx of almost universal access to technology has marked this generation in a way the previous generations must work to understand, and gamification is a strategy used in areas like marketing to gain participation from this age group. Gamification is a strategy that employs game mechanics, techniques, and theory in areas that traditionally are not set up to function like a game. The purpose of this study was to define gamification in the context of a college classroom. Using Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, this study employs the method of heterotopian rhetorical criticism and the methodology of autoethnography to analyze World of Warcraft and re-imagine experiences in the game through critical communication pedagogy to enact change in the traditional college classroom. Three fundamentals of gamification emerged from the findings and laid out a general definition of gamification. It must consist of high-choice, low-risk engagements in a clearly structured environment.
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