Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 98

Gamification Challenges and a Case Study in Online Learning
Treasure Hunt Case Study
Conclusions
Linking the process (the game with
a team of players) with the product
(online learning and the development
of the team project) was a great success. In
spite of the fanciful metaphors, it was popular,
and the students demanded faster progress
reports and were eager to see the results
of their efforts. Tabulating on the Treasure
Hunter Report was a manual process that
featured a few strategies to maintain privacy
and to motivate the players. As previously
mentioned, at each level at least two NPCs
ranked with the top, bottom and midrange
players, reinforcing “running with
the pack.” To reduce the likelihood of NPC
detection, their growth could only advance
in a reasonable fashion given the possible
measurements and incentives for that week.
In some cases, the list was scrambled with
the rank order switched from low-to-high or
high-to-low while at other times, it featured
other elements. Only aliases were displayed
and only if they remained anonymous. The
team members were “sworn to secrecy” and
encouraged to keep their reputation titles
to themselves. No one mentioned them
in class, except to say that they enjoyed
advancing through the ranks and having
their accomplishments reinforced. From an
instructor’s perspective, implementing the
game required planning and steady work.
During the last three weeks, the students
as players insisted on daily if not hourly
reports, and future games of this nature will
benefit from an automated gamification
process and report generation.
Grades are insufficient catalysts for
ensuring great online team experiences.
Without recognizing the beliefs and values
that learners bring to class as they work
on the online team projects, it would be
hard to help them remap these perceptions
with new perspectives. The game-design
elements were simple in the case study and
the overhead was mostly in keeping track
of the measurements on a spreadsheet and
the metaphors for creating energy and
excitement in the game.
As Wilson (2015) observed, how
the game is designed is only one piece of
the puzzle. Motivating the learners, getting
everyone energized and hosting a great
game requires a great implementation
and hard work, at least initially. Once the
learners assume ownership of the game,
the burden on the instructor shifts and the
game feels like an organic part of the class
and quite natural.
Linking the process (the game
with a team of players) with the
product (online learning and the
development of the team project)
was a great success.
Back to the Future Research
The case study offered individual
measurements in the game for team
activities, but several opportunities
emerged during the assessment phase. For
the educational use of gamification, future
work could explore the opportunities
presented by collaborative gamification to
strengthen the team experience through
shared goals, measurements, collaboration
tasks, group communication mechanisms
and in fostering team cohesion for online
learning.
Gamification as self-determined
learning is a goal within heutagogy, and it
presents opportunities for encouraging the
development of lifelong learning skills and
students as game designers. In past classes,
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