Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 99

Internet Learning
andragogy was a common learning strategy
as students would use trial and error to map
their prior knowledge to new experiences
and review the content only when their
behaviors was not supported.
Several opportunities for future
work are indicated. Through gamification,
it may be possible to blend how adults learn
(andragogy) with self-determined learning
(heutagogy) to offer insights on how to
enhance knowledge and skill development
through online learning. Ethnographic
studies that follow the gamers through
time and over several courses may discover
insights useful for future work. How to
transfer the energy and ownership of the
game to the students as players through
game ownership may lead to interesting
research in shared leadership and peer
mentorship.
As learning involves certain challenges,
future work may explore the strategies for
achieving game balance to meet curriculum
requirements and how to maintain game
balance by keeping the challenge level
slightly higher than the skill level of its
players. The Flow Model (Csikszentmihalyi,
1975; Hoffman & Novak, 2009) is one
instrument for examining the gamer’s
perceptions and emotions as they face new
challenges and attempt to develop their
skills through gamification.
Through gamification, it may
be possible to blend how adults
learn (andragogy) with selfdetermined
learning (heutagogy)
to offer insights on how to
enhance knowledge and skill
development through online
learning.
Conclusion
Gamification offers the promise of
better online learning experiences
with regard to early work and
effective teamwork. Through the use of
game-based mechanics, it can encourage
learners to participate, collaborate and
develop effective online team skills. But
there are no guarantees that the use of
game design in an online course will lead to
success.
Future successes in this area will
come from careful planning and design;
from selecting game mechanics and rewards
that map to the beliefs and values of the
participants, and for selecting metaphors
and game characteristics that support how
the players feel about the tasks and their
importance. By blending user interaction
design strategies with game-based mechanics
and a sensitivity for what motivates the
participants, achieving the desired outcomes
through a great gamification experience is
within reach.
Gamification offers the promise
of better online learning
experiences
References
Anderson, A., Huttenlocher, D., Kleinberg,
J., & Leskovec, J. (2013). Steering user
behavior with badges. Paper presented at
the Proceedings of the 22nd international
conference on World Wide Web.
Aparicio, A. F., Vela, F. L. G., Sánchez, J. L.
G., & Montes, J. L. I. (2012). Analysis and
application of gamification. Paper presented
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