There’s a very interesting phenomena in biology I’ve been wanting to link to gamification called “the winner effect.” When any animal, from fish to humans, wins a contest, they have a large release of testosterone and dopamine in the brain. Over time this changes their brains structure and chemical makeup, making them more confident, smarter, and able to take on larger challenges than before.
“It turns out video games are just a Trojan horse for studying interest-driven learning” – Constance Steinkeuhler
Now here’s an ironic twist: for all those decades in which academia has been demonizing video games by claiming its taking time away from teenage reading, it now turns out gaming has become one of the main catalysts for teenage reading in boys. I’m not referring to text inside the games nor am I suggesting gamifying reading with points, badges and leaderboards either. I’m saying teenage boys involved in complex games called Massively Multiplayer Online games are taking time aside from their game play to spend hour’s deeply analyzing and creating texts whose difficulty was rated to be college level or higher by experts. Reading and writing are back!
For people who still watch regular broadcast television, it has become very common to actually watch TV while simultaneously using your laptop, phone, or tablet. Savvy networks like USA/NBC have picked up on this and created gamified mobile companion applications to engage with users as they both watch TV and browse on the net. There are compelling case-studies that outline the efficacy of this concept, coined the second screen, but I have not really seen any other kinds of engagement tactics for viewers. However, I found inspiration for new possible ways from the gamer community, and more specifically, the Dota 2 community.
Educational games have come a long way since The Oregon Trail and Math Blaster.
Sokikom is a MMO math game that aims to help teachers educate their students by using this interactive and math-based online world. After receiving a $2M startup grant funded by The Institute of Educational Sciences as well as former Intel Chairman and CEO Dr. Craig Barrett and Zynga co-founder Steve Schoettler, the game is finally ready to be unveiled to the world and to evolve out of beta.
Starlite MMO Game Set to Educate Gamers in Beta Release Before 2013 In the wee hours of Monday, August 6, 2012, science geeks from across the globe waited with bated breath while NASA’s immense, expensive, and undeniably awesome Mars Curiosity Rover walked the gauntlet known in space circles as “Seven Minutes of Terror.” Engineers at Mission Control…
MIT’s Education Arcade released some information recently that could really change how gamification/ game-based learning can be used to help students learn. Games for Learning is not a new phenomenon, but this recent manifestation is quite unique and could be a springboard for further games of this type. This manifestation has specific, unique promises for further…
Happy Social Media Week! This week on the gamification news roundup, we explore the power of gaming in a social and enterprising context. The office could be changed forever if Gartner is right about the need for gamification in BPM implementation and if the Microsoft Kinect ends up in everyone’s office. And in light of Social Media…
