Fun and Games:
Strategies for Success with
Gaming in Online Course Design
Dr. Tamara Powell
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
Blast from the Past
• In 2005, Marc Prensky wrote, “’Engage Me or Enrage Me,’ What
Today’s Learner’s Demand.”
• It was published in the Educause Review.
• It is available now online here:
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf.
What Students Want/Need
• A challenge
• Decisions to make
• Goals to achieve
What You Need*
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•
•
•
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A lesson goal (you don’t necessarily have to share this with the students)
Creativity (lots and lots of creativity)
Clear rules to the game (you do have to share this with the students)
A path to a game goal (that helps students to also achieve the lesson goal)
A clear indication that some task or challenge has been successfully
completed by the students
*(note that fancy bells and whistles or computer game design skills are not
on this list)
Simpler can be better.
Cool Tools
• Kahoot
• VoiceThread
Marczewski classifies gamers into
“gamification user types”:
• player (motivated by extrinsic rewards)
• socialiser (motivated by relatedness)
• free spirit (motivated by autonomy)
• achiever (motivated by mastery)
• philanthropist (motivated by purpose)
Questions for Discussion
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of gamifying the
classroom?
• What successes or failures have you encountered as you integrate
gaming into the online classroom?
• What games do you integrate into your courses?
• What experiences have you had with the games during this session?
• Have you observed any impact of the games on participant behavior?
• What kind of gamification user type are you?
Works Cited
Kim, Bohyun. “Designing Gamification in the Right Way.” Library
Technology Reports. Feb/Mar2015, 51.2: , 29-35.
Prensky, Marc. ““’Engage Me or Enrage Me,’ What Today’s Learner’s
Demand.” Educause Review. September/October 2005. 60-64