Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 94

Gamification Challenges and a Case Study in Online Learning
the players needed a sense of control and
autonomy in the game’s progress and
ownership of the game.
The Treasure Hunter’s Report offered
progress checks, yet masked the identity
and relationship of players through the use
of non-player characters (NPCs) added to
the class ranks. Protecting the participants’
right to privacy and encouraging collegial
bonhomie across the different teams were
also factors in the gamification design.
As a result, incentives for supporting
and mentoring other classmates shifted
the energy from an overemphasis on the
product and the completion of each task
to understanding the process of project
development and synthesizing it.
Since the classes featured a mix of
senior and new students, it was a challenge
to assess what each student wanted for
rewards prior to class, so a common value
system was selected and approved by the
class during the first week. When asked
during the first class for a preference, they
unanimously agreed to use gold and the
Treasure Hunter’s Game was launched.
Other metaphors included a Dragon’s
Hoard, which described the piles of gold
coins as they accumulated, and reputation
titles as these metaphorical piles grew taller.
When students offered insights that were
noteworthy, the instructor typed or said
Ka-ching! in the feedback, and described
the sound of coins flowing into their coffers
as she addressed mastery of the concepts.
While it was easy to map gold
rewards to discussion posts and normal
course activities, to encourage the process
as well as good project development
practices led to the need for more granular
measurements such as: proposing ideas,
mentoring discussions, keeping the team
updated on the project’s status, taking
charge of specific sections of the project,
and integrating the team’s efforts into a
Treasure Hunter
Report
Character Name Score
Daffy Duck 470
Griselda Grinch 465
Freakish Frank 425
Jagged Jane 390
Sam Shorty 345
Scooby Doo 310
Mack McClown 275
cohesive document. This expanded list of
measurements added to the instructor’s
workload, yet took some of the subjectivity
out of assessing each player’s performance
prior to delivery of the final project. Rewards
for completing early work, mentoring
others and demonstrating leadership
exceeded the normal classes’ point values,
requiring them to be tracked separately in
an instrument called The Treasure Hunter’s
Report. So the game’s scoring system
mapped to the course’s gradebook, but
offered more extensive measurements and
exceeded the course’s total points. To ensure
players needed a sense of control
and autonomy in the game’s
progress and ownership of the
game.
FERPA compliance, each player provided a
game alias that was unknown to the other
students. The instructor added a variety of
game non-player characters (NPCs) to the
list with at least two at the top, two in the
mid-range and two at the bottom. Using a
“run with the pack” competition strategy
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