The gamification of test-prep. ‘Angry Cars’ and the difference between advergaming and gamification. The weak-points of the gamification movement. And an open sourced solution to gamification. All in this week’s gamification around the web.

Test-prep startup Grockit teams with charter network KIPP to gamify school

In an effort to gamify schools and make them more engaging, the charter-school network, KIPP, and Mark Pincus of Zynga backed startup, Grockit, are teaming up to build social gaming elements into test prep for a handful of California based charter schools. Grockit CEO Roy Gilbert says the partnership will also be releasing programs for high school courses. Take a look at Quest2Learn and iCivics for more on other projects that bring gamification to the classroom.

ATTIK Creates ‘Angry Cars’ Game For Scion IPad Campaign

ATTIK, the creative agency for Scion recently launched an interactive advertising campaign. The campaign only takes place on the iPad and within The Onion Tablet app. The add is pretty much a sub-par copy of Angry Birds with the Scion taking the place of our familiar feathered friends. Is this gamification? Gavin Dunaway, senior editor of Adotas thinks it is. Is conventional “advergaming” one element of gamification? Room for debate.

Gamification, Barely a Year Old, Could Implode & Take a New Industry Down With It

Xconomy Seattle covers Scott Dodson, COO of Bobber Interactive, a company that focuses on motivational psychology around finance. Dodson is giving a cautionary tale on the weakening elements of gamification next week at the Login Conference with the talk, Gamification Will Eat Itself: How Gamification Can Evolve, And Why It Must. To sum it up, “using the psychology of motivation as a backdrop Dodson argues that three elements are crucial for real success: Participation has to be voluntary, the game has to fit well within a specific setting, and it has to be intrinsically motivating.” Dodson gives a call of action to gamers and game designers: “Gamification needs you, so that it’s not just run by marketers.”

Homebuyers to compete in real estate SCVNGR hunt

Prudential Georgia Realty, HomeFinder.com, and SCVNGR are teaming up to bring a rather hitherto unforeseen element of the game layer: the gamification of real estate. Tomorrow, Saturday May 14th, 500 prospective home owners will be competing for $15,000 down on their purchase. The top prize will go to the team with the most points, and points come from following lead via text message and mobile phones and then completing simple challenges at Prudential Georgia Realty open houses. It is not just a land grab, the contest will also help raise funds for The Sunshine Kids foundation for children with cancer.

UserInfuser: open source gamification platform

From the designers who brought you the engagement platform, CloudCaptive, come the open-sourced gamification platform UserInfuser. Setting up to be the WordPress of gamification, UserInfuser has free-to-use APIs for badges and analytics with more features to come. BigDoor‘s own gamification API has been free-to-use for some time, but this is the first we’ve seen of an open-source solution.