August 28, 2012 at 11:42Open Course Gamification at Coursera
Self-study and the Coursera theme are quite well disclosed on Habré. Now we want to share a course in which we participate ourselves and which may be of interest to a habra audience. Gamification is a course that started yesterday and which you can still join before September 9th.
About gamification
We already talked a little about gamification on Habré , and to speak less words, we will immediately refer to the Lecture preview , which is openly available without registration. Actually, the definition of gamification, which is given in the first lectures, is "the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts . " The main applications for gamification are:
- external to the company: in marketing, sales, consumer involvement;
- internal to the company: HR, increased productivity, crowdsourcing;
- behavior-changing : health, environmental safety, personal finances.
Who is this course for?
For all who are interested in the topic. No training, except knowledge of English, is required. It is very likely (more on that below) that subtitles in Russian will appear.
It is important to understand a few points:
- Gamification has nothing to do with game theory.
- Gamification is not only about points, badges and quests.
- To listen to the course, it is not necessary to be related to game development or game design experience.
- Skills in drawing, photoshopping and modeling are also not required.
- Great experience in video games is also not required.
After the first day, the primary statistics of the participants were published . Today, more than 63,000 people from 147 countries participate in the course. More than two-thirds are full time or freelancers. Only half of the participants love to play one or another video game.
Who is the teacher?
The course is taught by darling Kevin Werbach , @kwerb , associate professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to teaching, Worback is the founder of the Supernova Group consulting company and the organizer of the Supernova Hub conference of the same name .
About the course and the goodies
The course is designed for 6 weeks. Each week, two blocks of 5-6 video lectures lasting around 10 minutes each will be laid out. Weekly homework is given in the form of a test or a written assignment, which you can not do. Performing tests allows you to get a certificate of completion of the course (not a university model) at the end.
Lecture plan
After the introductory material on the course, the first topic we need to cover is what gamification actually means. As we'll see, there isn't universal agreement. However, there are a set of concepts and examples that are clearly within the scope of gamification.
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Course overview and logistics
1.3 Gamification defined
1.4 Why study gamification?
1.5 History of gamification
1.6 Categories and examples
You can't understand gamification without understanding games. This unit explains why the concept of games is deeper than most people realize, and the game-based foundations for gamification.
2.1 Gamification in context
2.2 What is a game?
2.3 Games and Play
2.4 Video games
2.5 It's Just a Game?
WEEK 1 HOMEWORK: Quiz
The ways game designers approach their craft is also the way to tackle a gamification project. Seeing situations through the lens of game design is an essential skill in this area.
3.1 Why Gamify
3.2 Thinking Like a Game Designer
3.3 Design rules
3.4 Tapping the Emotions
3.5 Anatomy of Fun
3.6 Finding the Fun
The raw materials of games and gamification are called game elements. We'll earn how to break down a game into its constituent parts and apply them to create gamified systems.
4.1 Breaking Games Down
4.2 The pyramid of elements
4.3 The PBL Triad
4.4 Limitation of Elements
4.5 Bing Gordon interview
WEEK 2 HOMEWORK: Quiz
Gamification is a technique for motivation, so it ties very directly into psychology. This unit introduces the behavioral psychology concepts relevant to gamification.
5.1 Gamification as motivational design
5.2 Behaviorism
5.3 Behaviorism in gamification
5.4 Reward structures
5.5 Reward schedules
The previous unit explains the benefits of a behavioral approach to gamification; this one identifies the risks and alternatives.
6.1 Limits of behaviorism
6.2 Dangers of behaviorism
6.3 Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
6.4 How rewards can de-motivate
6.5 Self-determination theory
6.6 First half wrap-up
WEEK 3 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment part 1
Gamification done well is a form of design. This unit provides a six-step framework to apply to any gamification project.
7.1 Design Thinking
7.2 D1 / 2: Business objectives / target behaviors
7.3 D3: Players
7.4 D4: Activity loops
7.5 D5 / 6: Don't forget the fun and deploy
Saying that gamification is a form of design means that it should involve a creative, human-centered, thoughtful process to achieve the best results. This unit identifies important considerations and options.
8.1 Two approaches to gamification
8.2 Is Gamification right for me?
8.3 Designing for collective good
8.4 Designing for happiness
8.5 Amy Jo Kim interview
WEEK 4 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment part 2
Particular challenges and opportunities when applying gamification inside an organization.
9.1 Enterprise applications
9.2 Workplace motivations
9.3 The game vs. the job
9.4 Playbor
9.5 Daniel Debow interview
How to apply gamification to make the world better, or to improve people's well-being, primarily through behavior change techniques.
10.1 Gamification for good?
10.2 Social good applications
10.3 Social good techniques
10.4 Behavior change
10.5 Susan Hunt Stevens interview
WEEK 5 HOMEWORK: Written assignment part 3 (Final Project)
There are many legitimate limitations, concerns, and dangers from gamification. Some of them can be avoided through thoughtful design, but others must be considered directly in any implementation.
11.1 Pointsification
11.2 Exploitationware
11.3 Gaming the game
11.4 Legal issues
11.5 Regulatory issues
The final unit details gamification-related techniques that go beyond those covered throughout the course, and concludes with a look toward the future.
12.1 Going beyond the basics
12.2 Inducement prizes
12.3 Virtual economies
12.4 Collective action
12.5 The future of gamification
12.6 Course review and wrap-up
FINAL EXAM
1] What is Gamification?
After the introductory material on the course, the first topic we need to cover is what gamification actually means. As we'll see, there isn't universal agreement. However, there are a set of concepts and examples that are clearly within the scope of gamification.
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Course overview and logistics
1.3 Gamification defined
1.4 Why study gamification?
1.5 History of gamification
1.6 Categories and examples
2] Games
You can't understand gamification without understanding games. This unit explains why the concept of games is deeper than most people realize, and the game-based foundations for gamification.
2.1 Gamification in context
2.2 What is a game?
2.3 Games and Play
2.4 Video games
2.5 It's Just a Game?
WEEK 1 HOMEWORK: Quiz
3] Game Thinking
The ways game designers approach their craft is also the way to tackle a gamification project. Seeing situations through the lens of game design is an essential skill in this area.
3.1 Why Gamify
3.2 Thinking Like a Game Designer
3.3 Design rules
3.4 Tapping the Emotions
3.5 Anatomy of Fun
3.6 Finding the Fun
4] Game Elements
The raw materials of games and gamification are called game elements. We'll earn how to break down a game into its constituent parts and apply them to create gamified systems.
4.1 Breaking Games Down
4.2 The pyramid of elements
4.3 The PBL Triad
4.4 Limitation of Elements
4.5 Bing Gordon interview
WEEK 2 HOMEWORK: Quiz
5] Psychology and Motivation (I)
Gamification is a technique for motivation, so it ties very directly into psychology. This unit introduces the behavioral psychology concepts relevant to gamification.
5.1 Gamification as motivational design
5.2 Behaviorism
5.3 Behaviorism in gamification
5.4 Reward structures
5.5 Reward schedules
6] Psychology and Motivation (II)
The previous unit explains the benefits of a behavioral approach to gamification; this one identifies the risks and alternatives.
6.1 Limits of behaviorism
6.2 Dangers of behaviorism
6.3 Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
6.4 How rewards can de-motivate
6.5 Self-determination theory
6.6 First half wrap-up
WEEK 3 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment part 1
7] Gamification Design Framework
Gamification done well is a form of design. This unit provides a six-step framework to apply to any gamification project.
7.1 Design Thinking
7.2 D1 / 2: Business objectives / target behaviors
7.3 D3: Players
7.4 D4: Activity loops
7.5 D5 / 6: Don't forget the fun and deploy
8] Design Choices
Saying that gamification is a form of design means that it should involve a creative, human-centered, thoughtful process to achieve the best results. This unit identifies important considerations and options.
8.1 Two approaches to gamification
8.2 Is Gamification right for me?
8.3 Designing for collective good
8.4 Designing for happiness
8.5 Amy Jo Kim interview
WEEK 4 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment part 2
9] Enterprise Gamification
Particular challenges and opportunities when applying gamification inside an organization.
9.1 Enterprise applications
9.2 Workplace motivations
9.3 The game vs. the job
9.4 Playbor
9.5 Daniel Debow interview
10] Social Good and Behavior Change
How to apply gamification to make the world better, or to improve people's well-being, primarily through behavior change techniques.
10.1 Gamification for good?
10.2 Social good applications
10.3 Social good techniques
10.4 Behavior change
10.5 Susan Hunt Stevens interview
WEEK 5 HOMEWORK: Written assignment part 3 (Final Project)
11] Critiques and Risks
There are many legitimate limitations, concerns, and dangers from gamification. Some of them can be avoided through thoughtful design, but others must be considered directly in any implementation.
11.1 Pointsification
11.2 Exploitationware
11.3 Gaming the game
11.4 Legal issues
11.5 Regulatory issues
12] Beyond the Basics
The final unit details gamification-related techniques that go beyond those covered throughout the course, and concludes with a look toward the future.
12.1 Going beyond the basics
12.2 Inducement prizes
12.3 Virtual economies
12.4 Collective action
12.5 The future of gamification
12.6 Course review and wrap-up
FINAL EXAM
Well, the buns of the course are its powerful social wrap.
- Students themselves make subtitles and translate into different languages.
- A huge lively forum is attached to the course , where students from different countries discuss lectures.
- A Russian - language group on Facebook has self - organized around the course, in which there are already almost 150 participants.
- The course is accompanied by a huge number of links to additional materials, including a list of books on Amazon and the internal project Wiki .
In general, study the lectures posted , join the movement or ask questions in the comments !