POKEDU is a gaming method involving poker card decks which utilize a concordance of facts within the four suits to complete poker styled hands. Standard shared and draw poker games (i.e. Texas Hold’em and 5 & 7 Card Draw) can be played using these decks; as well as many other popular youth and family games.
Gamification is a powerful tool that is poised to change the world. The old Gartner adage that predicted that by 2014, 70 percent of the world’s top 2000 companies will be using some form of gamification…but they also had a report that stated 80 perfect of gamified processes will fail in 2014.
Naturally, there is some backlash from those who think gamification is a fad that doesn’t really work, or that it can even be harmful. And you know what? Some of those critics make good points. The problem, however, is not gamification itself. The problems are FAKE gamification and BAD gamification.
Coursera was a very integral part in growing the gamification community in 2012, largely due in part to Kevin Werbach’s class on gamification. However, Couresera’s ability to have effectively delivered a strong massive open online course (MOOC) is a testament to its ability to appeal to everyone’s intrinsic desires to learn. Its hard to believe how a system could appeal to 12 thousand students interested in gamification and have them complete 7 weeks of lectures, homeworks, and testing to receive a small certificate of completion. Coursera is doing something right and Julia Stiglitz is part of that team making it happen.
Earlier today, Gabe Zichermann had an Op-Ed go live on The Huffington Post entitled The Hard Truths of Gamification, in which he addresses most of the misunderstandings revolving around gamification and lays down all of the gamification’s clear triumphs in during the last two years.
Gabe describes a number of significant gamification successes in business, education, and health to support his arguments and lays down a strong foundation for an anyone dealing with a gamification skeptic. Although, not everybody was convinced and in true gamified fashion Gabe was awarded a particular badge.
This defense of #gamification wins maximum hubris badge. Frames critique as factless. cc: @ibogost & @dingstweets huffingtonpost.com/gabe-zicherman…
— Evan Selinger (@EvanSelinger) January 23, 2013
What do you think? Is gamification the future of motivation or do his arguments fall flat? Read the full article and decide for yourself.
If you’ve never attended one of our gsummitX meetups before, now’s your chance to experience some of the great speakers we sign up for our events. Watch the video below to hear some great sessions from our last gsummitX meetup at Tel-Aviv this past December. Some of these sessions include, talks on marketing gamification, the IDF Blog’s gamification story, and the brains behind Freshbiz, the Entrepreneurship Game, that we covered this past summer.
As the world evolves into a massively digital age, the publishers producing print media need to adapt in order to stay relevant. While it might be true that some children will always vehemently oppose the very nature of books, it doesn’t mean that new techniques and gamification could assist in making the classic book more engaging for others.
Using gamification in HR to engage with employees is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern enterprise, especially when it comes to training – see Deloitte’s Leadership Academy, for example. The speakers at GSummit 2013 recognize the power of games in this context and there’s a strong number of sessions devoted to this topic.
Check out my top sessions for HR gamification that you’ll want to make sure you see this year.
If asked to describe a typical gamer, most people would probably describe a teenage boy playing games in his parents’ basement. Stereotypes do not always match reality, however. Most game players engage in social play by playing either with another person or online, and girls make up 47% of all gamers. What research has shown is that girls are drawn to games for different reasons than boys and that the factors that motivate girls to play are also important aspects of learning. Researchers are investigating how to create games in education that motivate girls and encourage all students in learning.
According to this GigaOM article, Redbox has started beta-testing for their upcoming Redbox Instant service to rival Netflix’s streaming service. What’s interesting about this beta-testing campaign, called Redhead Nation, is the gamification elements in the system.
Last week we had a special episode of the Gamification Revolution, the only live gamification webcast featuring Gabe Zichermann and fellow gamification experts happening every Monday at 1PM ET/10AM PT/1800 GMT. We were lucky enough to have Asi Burak, Co-President of Games for Change, and speaker at GSummit SF 2013 for a little Games for Change special episode.
Watch this week’s episode to get hear Asi’s approach towards social impact games and why he believes games are the best medium for affecting change. In essence, games are a unique medium to convey stories. Traditional medium simply tells you what to believe and what is or isn’t right. Games are unique in that they enable a player to experience multiple perspectives on an issue and allows them to make a personal conclusion through player choice and actions. Learn more about Asi’s approach below:
Be sure to check out the Gamification Revolution next week to see legendary designer, Jesse Schell, as our next guest.
Every parent knows that bribing their child is not the most effective behavioral management technique, but getting your children to eat the vegetables on their plate for 15 more minutes of video game time doesn’t seem too harmful, right?.
Over the years, psychologists have determined that short-term rewards directed towards end results are not helpful in teaching children proper behavior and manners. In fact, bribes—whether they come in the form of money, play time, and/or candy—have a negative effect on children learning development.
Going through a strange time in my adolescence, I was very fond of playing Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) as a means of being able to play videogames while being active. I can attribute much of my adult lower body strength simply to my stomping and jumping to fast-paced Japanese music and it pleases me to no end that UnitedHealthcare and KONAMI are working together to bring these benefits to entire classrooms.
Although society often views video games as a barrier to more productive educational outcomes, some in the field view games in education as a way to address current concerns. Some educators recognize increases in student engagement, but others see skill acquisition benefits as well.
If you haven’t already noticed, the 2013 strain of influenza is reaching “epidemic” proportions and people all over your Facebook have been strangely bragging about contracting this “flu thing”.
While there’s little we can do besides avoiding other sick people and bathing in hand sanitizer, there is a way to educate ourselves more about how influenza spreads and avoid blowing the entire problem out of proportion.
As the Co-President of Games for Change, Asi Burak has had a long career using the transformative power of games to promote greater social good in the world. Asi’s path to social impact games began with his education in a Masters of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon and a BA in Design from the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. His initial work in mobile gaming with Axis Mobile has led to many significant projects that has been picked up by international media outlets. Some of this exceptional work includes:
