Gamification a model of Pedagogy

I found this useful blog on gamification some time ago. It's Michael Wu, Scientist of Analytics who sorts the gamification concept out to us.

I realized long ago that gamification and my knowledge of Pedagogy are very close connected and with Wu's conclusion below this connection is well formed.

So why do game mechanics/dynamics have the magical power to turn boring chores into desirable activities?

1. Game dynamics use positive feedbacks (e.g. points, badges, status, progression, customization, surprises, social factors, etc.) to build up the users’ motivation.
2. They increase the perceived ability of users by making difficult jobs simpler and more manageable; either through training/practice or by lowering the activation threshold of the target behavior.
3. Game dynamics place triggers in the path of motivated users when they feel the greatest excess in their ability. That is, triggers that prompt the user for action are designed to bring about the convergence of motivation, ability, and trigger all at the same moment.

The target of gamification and pedagogy are the same, and as pedagogy only have a target and not one model, gamification is one pedagogical model.

Reciprocity

Om någon ger oss något vill vi ge något tillbaka. Då är det smart att ge något näst intill orimligt. Mottagaren kommer ge så mycket som möjligt tillbaka. Två killar som helt gratis ger 24 timmars engagerad och engagerande debatt och underhållning, får riktigt många timmars deltagande per person tillbaka. Kan man så tittar man och peppar och deltar.

24 hours

24 hours med Ronnestam och Trendspanaren

SVT är så fast i sitt TV-uppdrag. Det är lite synd när det finns så många nya förutsättningar för public service. Gratis deltagande antingen på plats eller hemifrån soffan med datorn, twitter och någon bildtjänst i molnet. Det är bara kunskapen som är hårdvaluta.

En sådan här kväll konkurrerar lätt ut TVn en fredagkväll. Jag kommunicerar med både publiken och programledarna, jag kan fråga vad jag vill, jag nämns i bild, jag ser vilka som är på plats i lokalen - fast jag är hemma i min villa i förorten själv med tre små barn.

Johan Ronnestam och Göran Adlén vågar prata om sånt de är bra på och tycker är spännande 24 timmar i sträck livesänt. Det är generöst och det ger ett självklart utrymme för fel (ingen kan vara helt felfri 24 timmar i sträck!). Då vågar vi tittare/deltagare engagera oss - lika generösa och orädda tillbaka.



Tillägg:
Efter sex timmars sömn vaknade jag följande morgon och det första jag tänkte var 'hur har de det nu?'. Sjukt fräscha, fokuserade och engagerade såg de ut med fem timmars diskussion kvar. Det gick ju inte att lämna dem mer än nödvändigt i upploppet. Någon som är så engagerad måste ju fortfarande ha mycket kvar att säga och utröna. Eventet blev en fängslande upplevelse istället för en sänd debatt.

Computer paperwork by Julien Vallée

Again this kind of paperwork interpreting digital 3D art in real life that I love - by Canadian Julien Vallée

got stuck with Haunted Manor Lord of Mirrors

I got hooked this weekend by this pretty hidden object story, Haunted Manor: Lord of Mirrors. It made me realize how the game doesn't have to be hard to solve at all.

Haunted Manor is just about the same game as Drawn. It satisfy me almost only through magic and mystic illustrations while the game leads me along all the way and I just do what it tells me to do. I'm supposed to find hidden objects to achieve keys or other required objects to open up new rooms or drawers and to find new hidden objects. I get the aha-feeling again and again but it really doesn't require anything from me... and yet I like it. Or maybe therefor I like it.

I got so hooked I payed 50 kr in the middle of it to be able to continue...

iCarly vs. Shaun the Sheep

Swedish kids younger than 7 years old are devoted to public service children’s TV-channel. There is not really any competition. The public service is the only provider of programs for children from 6 am to 8 pm in Swedish. Other Swedish channels broadcast programs for children an hour at most in the morning and one in the evening. Then there is Nickelodeon and Disney Channel dubbed to Swedish and broadcasting all day, BUT with commercial breaks and other hidden agendas.

Swedish parents choose public service for their kids, produced especially with Swedish children… and Swedish parents in mind. I do, and everyone I know do too. Overall this means programs that are for example gender neutral and diverse and that we think are suitable for kids. There is obviously a gap in the commercial alternatives and what parents want for their kids that public service fills up.

When the kids turn 7 they get the power to choose themselves, and most often they switch channel to Nickelodeon. They think of public service as fun and exciting, while Nickelodeon is considered to be more cool (though also fun and exciting). I’m not sure this tells me very much. Kids say that any program they watch is fun, no matter what the content is.

I tried at home to ask my Nickelodeon watching 7-year old girl to explain why she prefers Nickelodeon. My personal guess is that it presents cool girls and boys (not grown ups, but not kids) and their social relations. It has some sort of romance and what to come mystery about it. I cannot come to think of any specific word that would represent all this to a 7-year old girl and my test object replies – because it’s more fun. It is also self-chosen and completely free from obligations and expectations. Is it fun only maybe?

Then I try ‘What’s the most fun program on the public service channel?’. ‘Shaun the sheep’ she answers and in that battle iCarly is apparently the winner.

My 9-year old has left TV completely since about a year. It’s all the Sims, moviestarplanet.com and Stardoll to her. And to her friends. They are not interacting online yet, but they play it together either several girls by the same computer or via phone. Yet most of the hours she spends alone decorating her virtual suit or creating a movie.

With the immense and immediate popularity of iPad and iPhone amongst very young children the commercial opportunities within the edutainment business is growing fast. Finally we see high quality both fun and educational productions for kids available at very small costs. How much timespent will these alternatives steal from traditional TV for the younger children? How will the needs for and requirements on public service change with that? And the older kids, will they ever return from the computer?

GreenGoose might change habits

I hope the GreenGoose game platform idea is as good as it sounds. It looks as simple as a merge of a set of different sort of step counters and a progression display.

I guess the easiest way to change habits would probably be to gamify them. Often you really don't want to change mentaly though it make sense in all other aspects. You tend to cheat as long as no one is watching you. Most people hate to see themselves fool themselves though and a game easily makes this more visible. Still you can cheat and this is what the counting sensors will avoid. The thing I like the most is that it seems all flexible - you set up your own tasks and goals.

Anyone with bad habits to change that can test it for me, because I haven't time enough to try it out...

The games from the basement are still great

I hate that we've got the basement full of cardboard containers packed with games and consoles, games from the early 80's until today. I'd love my partner to sort them all and arrange them so that the family can play them, learn some history and have fun. Instead they are only bulky.

Today something hit him and he rememberd the old PS2 including at least 200 games, when we arrived at our summerhouse. We started with fantastic Ulala in Space Channel 5. This was one of the first games that supported my ideas on what kind of games many girls like. It's that short that it is not stealing too much undeserved time. The idea to collect more hip friends saving the world is a fun story and a great alternative to visualize progression without points, levels and badges. Graphically it's colorful and it clearly embrases a pink party attitude. I had forgotten completely. I'm happy to be reminded.

Now time for Soul Calibur (my girls are still happy about the mega cool female characters though I think they could be a little more well dressed, and our boy fances Voldo for some reason...'I'm really good' he shouts out...)

CSR låter roligt, utvecklande och effektivt

SvD skriver idag om att upp emot hälften av alla chefer i kommun och landsting går i pension de kommande 10 åren och hur viktigt det blir för dessa arbetsgivare att jobba med sina varumärken för att locka kompetens.

I samma tidning intervjuas (H&M's CSR chef angående företagets hållbarhetsarbete. Jag tänker att de vänder den mest tänkbara kritik de kan få till sin fördel genom att jobba aktivt med problemen.

Jag har tidigare alltid tänkt att det inte spelar mig någon roll huruvida företagens hållbarhetsarbete främst är en strategi för att främja varumärket eller för att rädda världen - arbetet blir ju gjort och det är det viktigaste, men på sistone har jag ändrat mig. Det räcker inte att bara tala om att man arbetar för hållbarhet. Alla måste arbeta för att alla andra också ska kunna bli bättre. De måste dela med sig av kunskapen om vad de gör och hur de arbetar. Målet måste vara ett mer hållbart arbete för alla för att resultat ska uppnås.

Kommun och landsting är för mig idag lika med tråkigt, icke utvecklande och ineffektivitet. Ska de locka mig ska de skapa varumärken med ett gemensamt mål om hållbarhet på alla fronter vilket för mig låter roligt, utvecklande och effektivt.

Traditional and adorable paper sculptures

It's interesting how the asian origin makes just a little more sense and story to the art - how a culture and traditions takes new forms in several aspects in these most adorable paperwork or paper sculpture from Cheong-ah Hwang alias papernoodle (buy them on Etsy)