An Idiot’s Attempt at Gamification in Adult Education
Hello, and thank you for visiting my blog! If you’ve just stumbled across this blog post and are wondering what the heck gamification is and what it has to do with adult learning, please watch the above video for a brief introduction. If you have wandered on over from YouTube to learn more about gamification and its role in adult education, then welcome and thanks for coming.
Let’s get started, shall we?
As I mentioned in my video, gamification is the integration of game elements into a non-game environment to give it a game-like feel (Matallaoui, et al., 2017). Gamification has existed for many years, with some arguing that reward systems in medieval times was an early form (Kim, et al., 2018). Gamification in education began around 1970 with the introduction of learning games such as The Oregon Trail and Lemonade Stand (Kim, et al., 2018). The early gamifying of education was an attempt to better engage children, who have short attention spans, with learning. Gamification has since spread into university and professional adult education and is quite common in a variety of disciplines, including health, law, science, mathematics, English and engineering.
Why Does Gamification Work?
Many university students have grown up with some form of gaming technology and their attention spans are less than that of older adults. This makes it harder for them to maintain the concentration required for traditional methods of learning. One of the main benefits of gamification is its ability to keep the learner focused by making learning more enjoyable and engaging (Planet, 2017).
Here is a scenario: you have an exam coming up that requires you to memorise several different mathematical equations. Which would you find more enjoyable and easier to focus on for long periods of time?
- Reading from a heavy textbook and copying the equations over and over
- Playing a game like Space Invaders where you must shoot the correct equation
Motivational and self-determination theories (Kim, et al., 2018) further explain why gamification in education works. Motivational theory examines the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation attached to completing a task, and gamification assists with both. A game is more likely to pique curiosity and interest in students (intrinsic), which encourages them to want to learn on their own, and they are rewarded when they successfully complete their task (extrinsic). Reward systems and instant gratification play a major role in the success of gamification. If a student gets an answer right, they’re immediately rewarded, with a badge or in-game currency. They are satisfied with their win and want to continue winning, thus becoming self-determined learners. This works particularly well if there is an end goal and they must obtain a certain number of badges or coins to unlock it, or if students are competing against each other to see who can do the best.
A third reason, and arguably why gamification has taken off so well in education, is that modern society is very technologically savvy. University students have grown up with technology playing a major part in their lives, and as a result have become very dependent on it. Their attention is better held by devices than by traditional books, so to integrate technology into their education is the best way to keep them focused, and using gamification helps motivate them to learn (Planet, 2017).
Examples of Gamification in Adult Education
As mentioned earlier, gamification is evident in a variety of educational disciplines, and it would take far too long to discuss all of them in detail. In the following section I will briefly look at gamification in health and law education and discuss how students have responded to it.
Health
There has been quite a bit of research on gamification in health education, and the consensus is that it is beneficial for improving knowledge, skills and satisfaction (Gentry, et al., 2019).
One element that has been used in health education is digital badges for nurses to denote their level of achievement, learning accomplishment, mastery of a skill or experience. Users of digital badges have claimed that it increases learner motivation and is a way of maintaining high-quality feedback (White & Shellenbarger, 2018).
Law
“Students, graduates, and professors alike tend to agree that law school can be profoundly unpleasant.” (Ferguson, 2016). This humorous statement has a great ring of truth to it, so what better area to introduce gamification than law education?
Law educators have recognised the decrease in student motivation and engagement in Intellectual Property Law, so have created a boardgame to try and encourage student participation. An IP law professor examined the results of using the game in class and found increased self-motivation among her students to the point they started taking notes of areas they needed to revise for upcoming assessments (Jacques, 2018), something that is less likely to happen in a traditional approach to teaching.
In conclusion, though it is only two areas of education that have been examined, it is clear that gamification in adult education is hugely beneficial, as it better engages students and motivates them to learn on their own, thus increasing their knowledge and expertise on the subject matter.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have learned something from my post. If you’d like to add any examples of gamification you think I’ve missed, please do so in the comments section. Farewell for now dear readers.
References
Ferguson, D. M., 2016. The Gamification of Legal Education: Why Games Transcend the Langdellian Model and How they can Revolutionize Law School. Chapman Law Review, 19(2), pp. 629-658.
Gentry, S. V. et al., 2019. Serious Gaming and Gamification Education in Health Professions: Systematic Review. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 21(3).
Jacques, S., 2018. Experimenting Gamification in Legal Higher Education: A Thousand Intellectual Property Rights. Nottingham Law Journal, Volume 27, pp. 3-12.
Kim, S., Song, K., Lockee, B. & Burton, J., 2018. Gamification in Learning and Education: Enjoy Learning Like Gaming. s.l.:Springer International Publishing.
Matallaoui, A., Hanner, N. & Zarnekow, R., 2017. Introduction to Gamification: Foundation and Underlying Theories. In: S. Stieglitz, et al. eds. Gamification: Using Game Elements in Serious Contexts. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, pp. 3-18.
Planet, L., 2017. 5 Reasons Gamification Works in the Classroom. [Online]
Available at: https://www.literacyplanet.com/au/news/5-reasons-gamification-works-in-the-classroom/
[Accessed 22 May 2019].
White, M. & Shellenbarger, T., 2018. Gamification of Nursing Education With Digital Badges. Nurse Educator, 43(2), pp. 78-82.
Protected: Cairns City Spectacled Flying Foxes: To Move or Not to Move?
An Idiot’s Attempt at Podcasting – Reflection
My podcast, Urban vs Rural Connectivity: A Divide in More Than Distance, discusses the digital divide between urban, rural and remote Australia, and how this affects their access to quality health services. Listeners are reminded that Australia is a very large and sparsely populated country and that the gap is much more than geography.
My intention is to inform listeners of the disadvantages Australians living in rural and remote communities experience when trying to access reliable technology which is integral to modern life and something many city dwellers take for granted. I chose to focus on the inequality in health service access, as this impacts on the basic human right of rural and remote Australians to equitable health care, overall health and life expectancy.
I chose to use simple language and provide examples learners could relate to including the limited effectiveness of the infrastructure, such as internet speeds, required to support access. To personalise, I used anecdotal evidence about my experiences living in a rural city.
I originally wrote all the sources into the podcast script as I would write them in an academic paper, but on reflection, realised this does not allow for flow and does not mimic normal human speech patterns, so I removed them. However, I did use some sources as lead-in statements for the next section to ensure flow between points. For example, the quote from Qiuyan Fan about signal strength and distance was used as the opening to my anecdotal evidence. If I was to redo the podcast, I would attempt to include and cite the sources using a more conversational approach.
A majority of the information provided in my podcast was my own understanding of health service provision and internet access in rural and remote Australia, although I didn’t actually realise how one impacted the other. I used academic sources to support my discussion.
The track, ‘Unfair’, which backs the podcast was found on Soundcloud in the list of tracks allowed to be used commercially. It suited the podcast as it reinforces the unfairness of this inequality. The track art includes a speech bubble that says ‘mind the gap’ which related perfectly to the gap discussed in the podcast.
My greatest challenge was picking a topic as I struggled with the concept of a true digital divide. I discussed this with my mother, a specialist in Rural and Remote Health services in Queensland, and she suggested I look at the digital divide that impacts on healthcare for isolated populations.
There has been a lot of research done in this area, so I was able to find many interesting academic sources to support the topic of my podcast. As a result I realised that, rather than looking for issues that I can relate to, I should open my mind to other possibilities, and seek advice from others. The topic opened my mind to a divide I never even considered, and hope that it will also open the minds of my listeners.
An Idiot’s Attempt at Online Identity
Profile Pictures and Online Identity: How they relate, create and manipulate
In the age of digital media, a main form of communication and information sharing is online using social media. Social media can be both blessing and curse, providing instant communication and information that may or may not be the truth. “Fake news” a common criticism of social media, extends to the ability of users to portray themselves honestly or otherwise by using a created profile.
Images and language used in introductory bios, short videos and profile pictures are the primary resources used to create the persona a social media user portrays to capture the interest of followers (Page, 2014). This online identity is not unlike a mask that hides the true personality of the uploader, thus manipulating how they are viewed online (Page, 2014). Users can adjust their online identities on different sites to appeal to different audiences, such as appearing professional on LinkedIn or fun loving on Facebook.
With the widespread ownership and use of smartphones as communication tools, hand held computers and cameras, images have become a popular media for portraying an online identity (Hawisher, 2000). A cleverly chosen picture can introduce and tell the story that the uploader wants to tell at that time and place. A picture can also portray a preferred personality type and reflect how seriously (or not) the uploader feels about the topic at hand.
When I began my social media journey in 2008, I decided to not take myself too seriously by using humour in my profile pictures. Of the 140 profile pictures I’ve had over the years, my favourites have always been the quirky ones used on all my sites, because that is how I like to come across online.
One of the most popular social medias currently used is Facebook (Anon., 2019). It provides a simple way to share information about life, opinions and current activities. Currently I am travelling across the UK so am using images on Facebook to inform my friends about what I am doing and seeing. To highlight certain aspects of the holiday, I am creating and uploading new profile pictures regularly.
This photo, taken at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, is my current profile picture and a perfect example of how I choose not to take myself too seriously. I intentionally chose this photo because I knew it would elicit a few chuckles and it helps reinforce the perception that I am quirky with a good sense of humour. This is not unlike the real me in some ways, but I do tend to take things more seriously than my online persona suggests.
WordPress
The feature image for my WordPress blog can be seen above, and I use this to present myself in an amusing light and communicate how I view myself when it comes to certain skills.
When this blog was created a few years ago, I intended to use it to practice my writing and maybe gather a following. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself and so felt the need to warn users that what they were reading was not a professional blog but my humble opinion on certain literary topics, so each post was titled ‘An Idiot’s Attempt at…’. I stopped blogging and the site went inactive for a couple of years.
I recently resurrected the old blog but decided to continue the theme created when I first began as I wanted to reinforce the perception that I don’t take myself too seriously and am open to a bit self-deprecation.
About.Me
The use of the image on my About.Me page follows a similar theme to my Facebook and WordPress pictures. In this case I chose to present myself as a fun, adventurous person who is not afraid of a challenge. About.Me has the advantage of being able to include a short bio and mine does not come across as amusing or self-deprecating. It instead focuses on my love of travel and adventure, which is reflected in this image. My About.Me page is probably the one closest to my real personality, but I still use the feature image to manipulate a reader’s perception of me.
My identity on Twitter is a combination of the three personas I have created for my other online pages. My Twitter bio, name (dorcusmollorcus) and the following tweets – one, two, three and four – are both humorous and indicative of my discomfort in using unfamiliar media. My profile picture is at the White Cliffs of Dover and reinforces my love for travelling, adventure and seeing the world which provides great fodder for my tweets.
Like many users of social media, I use profile pictures to construct the identity I want my audience to see online. These images tell an entertaining story told from behind the mask of the real me.
References
Anon., 2019. Most famous social network sites worldwide as of January 2019, ranked by number of active users (in millions). [Online]
Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
[Accessed April 2019].
Hawisher, G. E., 2000. Constructing Our Identities through Online Images. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(6), pp. 544-552.
Page, R., 2014. Hoaxes, hacking and humour: analysing impersonated identity on social network sites. In: P. S. &. C. Tagg, ed. The Language of Social Media : Identity and Community on the Internet. s.l.:Palgrave Macmillan Limited, pp. 46-64.
All photos owned by Brodie Smart
Protected: Reflection – Andrea Bowring: Platinum Paddler
Protected: Andrea Bowring: Platinum Paddler
An Idiot’s (Second) Attempt to Blog
Salutations and welcome (again) to my blog!
It has been over two years since my last blog post, so it’s fair to say I’m well overdue for an update aha. But before we get to the updated blog posts, it’s time for an update of “where the heck are you in your life Brodie?!” Well, here it is.
When I first began this blog, I was completing the last two subjects of my undergraduate degree, and I was incredibly excited because once I had finished them, it would mean no more university, right?
WRONG!
As soon as I completed my undergraduate, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to go back to university and do…dun dun duuuuuuun… post grad!
Why though?
Well, I don’t know why. Maybe I just love learning so much that I never want to leave university. Maybe I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and continuing my education seemed like a good way to delay the inevitable. Maybe I just like to make myself suffer.
Anyway, post grad began in 2017. It is now 2019 and I am in the last semester of my Graduate Diploma of Professional Writing. I have two subjects to go (I’m sensing a pattern here) and once they are finished, maybe I’ll be done with university. Maybe.
Why are you suddenly back on blogging after two years of silence?
Because one of my subjects I have to complete is an online communication techniques subject, and blogging is a big part of that (funnily enough). Hopefully by doing this subject I will get better at communicating online and blogging, instead of just rambling on about nothing forever – though I do enjoy a good rambling.
So what can you expect from this round of blogging? That’s a damn fine question, and one I hope to figure out as I blindly fumble my way down this blogging path. Fingers crossed it’ll be fun for me to write and you to enjoy.
Anyways, as said above welcome (or welcome back) to my blog. Whether you are a fellow student in ALC708 or you have accidentally stumbled across my strange little corner of WordPress in a hunt for memes, I look forward to sharing posts with you, and I hope you join me and have fun on this little adventure that I am about to embark upon.
Until next time, farewell.
An Idiot’s Attempt at Dreams
Howdy, howdy. It’s Saturday again, and I have no idea how that happened. This week has been pretty full on for me, since it is my last week of university ever (hooray!) and also, my sister welcomed a new baby boy into the world. I am an aunt for the third time, and he is beautiful 🙂 But that is not what I am here to brag about. No, instead I would like to put in my two cents on dreams being included in writing.
But why?
Why not? It’s an interesting topic that I feel could have a mixed response in the writing world. I had a professor last year at UNCG that said outright he didn’t want to read about dreams in our stories because he believed they were a cop out for the real action. Part of his argument was “when someone tells you about their dream, do you listen? No, because who really cares?” I didn’t say anything then, but I disagree. I personally love to hear about peoples’ dreams because dreams make no sense. And you know what? It’s awesome. I find it fascinating to hear about a dream that started in a bread factory and ended up in an enormous battle with five armies and a malicious goat. Dreams are a story, and like all storytellers and readers alike, I love to hear them. Even though they don’t make sense. Sometimes, that makes it even better, because you can fill in the blanks yourself. How did we go from the bread factory to the battle? Does the baking of bread have anything to do with it? Why is the goat so malicious? There are so many questions, and what storyteller wouldn’t want to find answers to them?
Not to mention dreams can give amazing and valuable insight inside a person’s mind through the use of symbolism and metaphors. I have a couple of “dream deciphering” books, and while I don’t really believe in them (a lamp doesn’t always symbolise guidance, hope and recovery. Sometimes it’s just a lamp) they are pretty fascinating to read. If the lamp is symbolic of guidance and hope, why does the character need it? Are they guiding someone, or do they need guiding themselves? TELL ME, DREAMS!
Point is, I love the use of dreams in stories. If you decide to include a dream sequence in your story, here are some tips that may be useful in writing it to make it the best dream sequence ever.
1.Keep it short and simple
When I was younger and used to sit down and write a story on the fly (as in, literally no planning before I started to write) I would write lengthy dream sequences that really didn’t do anything for me or my story. In one story (that will never see the light of day thank goodness) I wrote the entire ending as a dream in the beginning. And it wasn’t even clever. It was terrible, and reading back on it now, it makes me cringe. So my advice to you: keep it simple. Don’t include a whole lot of detail. I don’t know about others, but I know that my dreams don’t have that much detail, and if they do, I forget about it anyway. So keep them simple. Give the readers a taste of the character’s mind, but don’t go too much past that or you’ll lose the mystery and intrigue.
2.Tread carefully
I’ve never done it, but if you want to try your hand at writing a dream as a dream really is, one: kudos to you because that sounds really freaking hard, and two: be careful. Dreams are patchy. As in my above example, we jump from the bread factory to the battle to the malicious goat. What happens in between? Probably something, but dreams conveniently skip those middle parts that would have everything make sense. If you wish to write it like that, you have to be careful that you don’t confuse the readers too much, otherwise they’re just going to put your story down, walk away and ponder what the hell just happened.
3.Don’t go overboard on the symbolism
For symbolism to work, it needs to be subtle and not obvious. And if you overkill on the symbolism, it detracts from the effectiveness. I’ll try an example, using the ever popular theme of lost love (I still have a lot of learning to do in the dreams department so please don’t crucify me if the quality is awful).
He walked down the deserted path with no end in sight. In his hand, he held the rose. It had guided him this far with its soft red glow, but it was starting to fade. He held it up to take a closer look, but as he watched, it turned to dust.
vs.
There were roses all around him, and trees. He was lost in the field of roses and trees. The roses were dying as he watched, and the trees were closing in on him. Shadows flitted among the trunks, visible but only briefly. He couldn’t make out a face. Dead rose petals fell all around him, disintegrating when they touched the ground. Darkness closed in on him.
I mean, the second one could probably work if the character was having a nightmare or some other wacky fever dream, but there is a lot going on that it can potentially distract the reader. The first one communicates being lost (deserted path, no end) and the losing of love (rose disintegrating) pretty simply.
4.Realism when the character is awake
I don’t know about you, but I rarely remember my dreams, let alone in extensive detail. This is something else I used to be quite guilty of. When my character woke up, they were able to recount their dreams to someone else with absurd clarity, and while I don’t deny this can happen, just be aware that it is not that common. If you do want your character to recount their dreams, maybe experiment a little with having them forget parts of it. Oh, and one more thing: BE CAREFUL OF REPETITION. I had a friend once call me out because I had my character talking to another character and they were recounting their dream. But I literally wrote the whole thing out again, so that the reader had to read it twice. This doesn’t directly relate to my subject topic, but it is something to be aware of.
5.Make sure the dream is relevant
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT OF ALL.
If you write a dream sequence, please don’t just do it because it fills in space or something. Make sure it adds to the story or character development, or you’ll be doing exactly what my American professor disliked: distracting from the real action. This is a pretty obvious point, but I thought I’d make it anyway just for reiteration purposes. Ensure that everything has a purpose. Or you’ll end up with a story with a lot more words and pages than necessary. Everything included in your story must be included for a reason, otherwise you will lose readers. And obviously as a writer, that is the last thing you want.
That’s all I have for today folks. My two cents on dreams in stories. If you have opinions, comment and send them my way because I’d love to learn from you. Or if you’ve ever read a particularly good dream sequence somewhere, TELL ME, so that I can hunt it down and read it and learn from its superiority.
Until next time.
Peace out xx
Featured image retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284378.php
An Idiot’s Attempt at Smut
Smut. Written porn. A lovely ‘do I or don’t I?’ that pops up in writing.
Just to be clear – the following post is my personal opinions on smut writing, and in no way reflects professionalism on the topic. If you disagree with anything I put up, please comment, because I would love to learn from other writers on how they do smut, since there is such a mixed opinion on it, and so many ways to write it.
I enjoy writing smut, and I usually write it as a side story that doesn’t appear in a final piece, since the stuff I usually write does not really suit having a full-blown sex scene. But that is not to say that smut has no place in writing at all. Writing characters having sex can serve a lot of purposes. It’s a great way to show how close they are and how they really feel about each other. It can act as a turning point in a relationship, whether positive or negative. It can give hints about their personalities – are they dominant or submissive? Slow or fast? Adventurous or cautious? The list is endless.
It’s up to you to determine whether or not it is fitting to include a sex scene in your piece, but if you do, I have some personal tips (again take them or don’t, it’s entirely up to you) that may assist in getting you started.
1.Don’t dance around the issue
I believe that if you are going to write a smutty scene, there is no point in dancing around the issue. Sex is sex, and if you feel weird enough about writing it that you become vague, consider whether or not you can move forward without it.
If you think you need it but still feel weird about writing it, practice. To get comfortable, you can maybe try writing some smutty scenes that take place beyond the perimeters of the story, or even about some completely random characters. Whatever it takes to get comfortable with writing it.
2.Use real anatomy words
Personally, I find using flowers to talk about vaginas or referring to penises as ‘the root of his desire’ incredibly bizarre and distracting. Sex is not attractive – it’s sweaty and messy – so using words like ‘rose’ or ‘manhood’ just seems out of place and more likely to make me shut the book and walk away.
3.Get up close and intimate
This kind of ties into my first point. Usually, when characters have sex, they’re pretty comfortable with each other. Sex is supposed to be close and intimate, so when writing it, make the reader feel what the characters feel. Have them hear what the characters hear – panting, moaning, whatever. The best sex scenes are when the reader feels as close to the characters as the characters feel to each other.
Note: obviously intimacy isn’t always going to be a factor. Say, if you have a character sleeping with a prostitute – be aware that the connection between a customer and a prostitute is not going to be the same as the connection between lovers. Ensure you match the closeness and intimacy you write with the sex that is being depicted.
4.Be realistic
If you’re writing characters’ first time, try to be realistic. It isn’t going to go smoothly on their very first go. There’s fumbling, some pain and confusion at what to do. Maybe they don’t get in all the way. This also extends to later down the track – while it becomes a lot easier to figure out what to do, still try to be realistic. A big thing I’ve noticed (and admittedly used to do) was have my characters climax at the same time. This is not something that happens as frequently as you’d think in real life. This isn’t to say that you have to drag out the smut scene until both characters climax, but you can put in lines that make it obvious that the characters have come at different times. Example:
… let out a soft groan when he ejaculated, and … came soon after.
Or you could make it that one of the characters doesn’t come at all. That happens too.
5.Foreplay
Please don’t forget that people need arousal before penetration. If a character is going to jump right in and penetrate their partner without foreplay, there is going to be pain. The amount of foreplay required is dependent on the character of course, but including kissing, touching, fingering and oral sex is a safe way to ensure that they’re aroused enough for penetration without discomfort. Again, be realistic.
Also, describing foreplay is a good way to get readers excited for what comes next (pun unintended).
6.Pacing
This ties into my previous point. When writing sex scenes, ensure that you pace yourself. Don’t make it so fast that the reader blinks and it’s over, but also don’t drag it out for dozens of pages. I think describing foreplay is a safe and natural way to pace the scene out so that it reads nicely, because there is at least a little time before full penetration. I’ll admit I still have some difficulties pacing out the actual penetration to climax parts, but because I go into the foreplay, it doesn’t feel super rushed. Just be wary of the pacing.
7.Sex dialogue
Bad sex dialogue can be cringe-inducing. What you consider ‘bad’ is obviously dependent on you, but as a tip, try to avoid the cliches. Example: ‘Oh Frank, you’re so big’ or ‘Louise, you’re so tight’. It could just be me, but I find dialogue like that makes me uncomfortable because it just sounds so ridiculous. In real life, people have conversations and make jokes with their partner while having sex. If you watch porn, ignore the dialogue, because it is some of the worst ever and completely unrealistic. Having characters think that someone is big or tight is fine though. Far less cringe-inducing.
Or you can have characters not say anything at all, and just focus on the sounds they make during sex. This is my favourite approach, and what I almost always do when writing smut.
There you have it. I would once more like to reiterate that this is personal opinion and not a magic ‘how to’ guide. If you find my tips helpful, then I’m glad to have been of service. If you don’t, let me know how you prefer your smut, because again, I’d love to learn. Writing is a continual learning process, so impart all your brilliant knowledge to me please.
If you only take away one thing from this post, let it be this: PRACTICE. Seriously, practicing writing sex is the best way to find out what works for you and what your preferred approach is. Also, have others read your sex scene. They can tell you if something sounds stupid, or if something is just plain absurd. I find peer reviewing particularly helpful for bad dialogue and when something just goes too fast.
Until next time,
Peace out xx
Featured image retrieved from: http://www.boldsky.com/pregnancy-parenting/basics/2016/surprising-facts-about-getting-pregnant/fact-3-pf131119-105193.html
An Idiot's Attempt 