Ludological application in the gamification of tertiary level education / Mohamad Izwan Ismail...[et al.]

The education system is meant to prepare young minds for the
workforce. Yet, despite the rapidly evolving industry, this system
is still reminiscent of industrial-age values whereby students are
trained to sit in line and follow instructions. On the contrary, the
current industry requires candidates who are capable of critical
thinking, creativity or flexibility, maintaining motivation, and
being engaged with their work. The current conventional
education approach lacks the necessary mechanics that
drives the development of engagement in students. Through
ludology, or game studies and gamification, it becomes possible
to modify the current education approach and instill these values in
students. Here, we aimed to develop a framework for applying
ludological mechanics in the form of gamification to improve
student participation and engagement in an education course.
The core of the gamification system was developed using
Microsoft Excel. The key student participation elements were
first identified and segregated into three general categories;
in-class participation, lab participation, and participation
outside of the classroom. These were then broken down further
for a more accurate record of each participation. A points-based
reward system was then developed, dubbed “Extra Points” or
“ExP” to act as a gamification currency. A shop mechanic was
then designed to attribute value to the points. To avoid inflation,
a balanced point-based economy was then developed, taking
into account student behavior, perceived preferences, as well as
feedback. The ExP system effectively assimilates the core values
of well-balanced RPGs, encouraging students to willingly and
actively participate and engage with the system. In this regard,
the ludological approach successfully improves self-motivation
in students while enumerating their participation, providing
a clear indicator of each students perceived level of engagement
during class.