Lawrence Lilley, Head of Solutions Design and Delivery at Dollar Financial Group, The open University, United Kongdom

Gamification is about leveraging “game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems”.

Most education methods already use the self elements of gamification – achievements, grades, time restrictions, etc. – however little research has been done in balancing this with social elements of gamification, behaviours to drive and how to leverage modern mobile technology. And all this needs to be provided in a sustainable setting.

This talk will examine some of the mechanisms the commercial world is using to drive behaviours, and discuss how these can be used in an educational setting.

I will argue that whilst gamification could be used in an educational setting, achievement and sustainability are directly associated to the techniques and technologies selected. Careful consideration needs to be taken of variables such as behaviour selection, feedback, timescales, rewards and implementation

In conclusion, this session will explore how gamification methods and frameworks from the commercial world can be used to inform, and enable, more successful learning outcomes.