Gamified

Gamified is a platform meant to reinvent the wheel in terms of how education is being brought to students. It is an educational framework that makes use of gamification in order to motivate participation during classes.

Gamified comes as a need from my own experience as a student and now as a teacher, interleaved with my passion for computer games, and carefully guided by the knowledge acquired from a course on Gamification by Prof. Kevin Werbach from the University of Pennsylvania.

If you have ever felt demotivated simply because of the constant and stressful grading policy - week after week - making learning just a side effect of the perpetual effort not to fail or maintain an average grade over the course of a semester, than please read on, as you might be surprised.

We've been programmed to believe that positive feedback is detrimental in achieving a higher level of proficiency, and that negative feedback (like punishment) is the solution. It is a model for many parents, schools, law enforcement; yet, most recent research shows just how wrong we were, and explains the benefits and importance of positive feedback in human motivation.

What is Gamified ?

Rule #1: No. more. grades.

It is a framework that replaces classical grading schemes (weekly grades, class tests, project grades ...) with experience (XP) accumulated by all students throughout the course of the educational period (e.g. semester).

Students will acquire XP for all in-class activities they do and level up, similar to role-playing games (RPG). Leveling up occurs whenever certain thresholds of XP have been reached.

There is a maximum level of 50 with leveling-up requirements increasing from level to level.

There is an additional amount of XP that can be accumulated past the maximum level and will count as bonus towards the final course grade.

What is Gamified not ?

It is not an online educational platform.

It is not a framework that substitutes learning with game-based activities.

As opposed to hybrid game-like platforms that employ online lectures and assignments, and also game-like activities that mask the actual theoretical approach, Gamified does not imply any online activity nor does it use games for learning. There are no online achievements to be accomplished or any games to be played. Only the grading (thus the motivational factor) is done in an innovative approach, all the rest remains as it should be: in class, face to face, with pen & paper.

For all the rules and details of grading, make sure to visit a full description here: https://sites.google.com/site/alexandrutopirceanu/projects/gamified