Thanks Andrew Jessup for showing me the work of Seth Priebatsch, who as it turns out has a lot of material covering the exact topic that has been bugging me.
How do I integrate Games Based Learning, or GBL, into my pedagogy without disrupting or contradicting my current approach to learning and teaching?
I think the idea of ‘the game layer’ is the answer. I think it’s also a great concept for me to use in thinking further about the role of motivation and learning theory in explaining the success of teachers who ‘gamify’ their teaching.
Seth is the Cheif Ninja at SCVNGR and the use of the popular game meme here did make me chuckle. Playful right down to the business card eh? I like it! Especially as I’ve been characterising myself in class as the ‘Cheif Pirate’. I wonder who that is in Seth’s camp, and what they do?
I highly recommend a watch. He has quite a few talks online now but this TED talk (above) gave a great overview of four key elements that build a successful game.
Watch the video and your reward will be to find out what they are 😉