PowerPoint Presentation

Gamifying Irish-language learning

Geraldine Exton; Liam MurrayUniversity of Limerick,Ireland

Duolingowww.duolingo.com Freely available/inclusive/accessibleCrowdsourcing/TranslationIrish track, August 2014 beta versionFeedback from usersNow fully implemented

What is Gamification?separate from Games: core of the system

Definition:the use of game design elements in non-game contextsDeterding

Why Gamification?Motivational affordancesgame elementsto increase participation and engagement of learners

Connect gamification and motivation

MotivationSelf-Determination TheoryRyan and Deci

Three components to be fulfilled:

CompetenceAutonomyRelatednessSkill masteryChoice Social connectedness

Gamification and MotivationTaxonomy: Linking specific game elements to these components of motivationWhy?Address criticism slaps elements all over the place/ pointsification/ exploitationwareWork the motivational needs into the design

Gamification and MotivationTaxonomyTakes 16 elements found in gamesLooks at their target behavioursLinks these to Competence, Autonomy, RelatednessShows why this is importantShows when it occurs in gamified system

Gamification and MotivationTaxonomy

Game ElementCompetenceAutonomyRelatednessAchievementsAvatarsBadgesBoss FightsCollectionsCombatContent-UnlockingDiscussion forumsGiftingLeader-boardsLevelsPoints QuestsSocial GraphsTeamsVirtual Goods

Application to Duolingo

Gamification in Duolingo11 out of the 16 elements presentHighly gamified

Gamification in DuolingoCOMPETENCEDuolingo home page: skills tree (achievements)High emphasis on mastery of skills9/11 elements fulfil competence needs

Gamification in DuolingoAUTONOMYDuolingo lingot store4/11 Autonomy-relatedChoice re: avatars, discussion forums, gifting & virtual goods (lingots)

Gamification in DuolingoRELATEDNESSDuolingo discussion pageDiscussion forums: communities of practice9/11 Relatedness

Gamification in DuolingoFrom Taxonomy:14/16 Competence9 in Duolingo6/16 Autonomy4 in Duolingo12/16 Relatedness9 in Duolingo

Gamification in Duolingo100 million users (as of June 2015)Language learning always looking for ways to motivate learners:gamification is key to Duolingo successAccessible, free, funCommunity of learners helping each other

ReferencesBogost, I., (2011) Persuasive Games: Exploitationware [online], available: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6366/persuasive_games_exploitationware.php [accessed April 7, 2014]Brathwaite, B., & Schreiber, I. (2008). Challenges for Game Designers, Charles River Media.Inc., Rockland, MA.Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments (pp. 9-15). ACM.Duolingo (2012) Duolingo: Free Language Education for the World [online], available: www.duolingo.com [accessed Feb 24, 2014] Ferro, L. S., Walz, S. P., & Greuter, S. (2013). Towards personalised, gamified systems: an investigation into game design, personality and player typologies. In Proceedings of The 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death (p. 7). ACM.Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M. & Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI.Huotari, K. & Hamari, J. (2012). Defining gamification : a service marketing perspective. Proceeding of the 16th International Academic MindTrek Conference.Llagostera, E. (2012). On gamification and persuasion. SB Games, Brasilia, Brazil, November 2-4, 2012, 12-21.Protalinski, E., (2015) 100M users strong, Duolingo raises $45M led by Google at a $470M valuation to grow language-learning platform [online], available: http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/10/100m-users-strong-duolingo-raises-45m-led-by-google-at-a-470m-valuation-to-grow-language-learning-platform/ [accessed August 25, 2015]Reeves, B., & Read, J. L. (2009) Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete. MA: Boston,: Harvard Business School Publishing.

References

Reinhardt, J., (no date) Developing a Research Agenda for Digital Game-Based L2 Learning [online], available: slat.arizona.edu/sites/slat/files/page/gamesresearchagenda.pptxReeves, B., & Read, J. L. (2009) Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete. MA: Boston,: Harvard Business School Publishing.Reinhardt, J., (no date) Developing a Research Agenda for Digital Game-Based L2 Learning [online], available: slat.arizona.edu/sites/slat/files/page/gamesresearchagenda.pptx[accessed August 18, 2015]Robertson, M., (2010) Cant Play Wont Play [online], available: http://hideandseek.net/2010/10/06/cant-play-wont-play/ [accessed April 7, 2014]Robinson, D., & Bellotti, V. (2013). A preliminary taxonomy of gamification elements for varying anticipated commitment. In Proc. ACM CHI 2013 Workshop on Designing Gamification: Creating Gameful and Playful Experiences. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.American psychologist,55(1), 68.Thom, J., Millen, D., & DiMicco, J. (2012). Removing gamification from an enterprise SNS. In Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (pp. 1067-1070). ACM.von Ahn, L., (2014) Duolingo turns two today! [online], available: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/3412629 [accessed January 28, 2015]Werbach, K and Hunter, D, (2012) For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Digital Press