STLHE 2016 SAPES

Gamification is an umbrella definition for incorporating game oriented activities into a system that is not a full-fledged game, such as education or a course (Deterding, 2012). Over the past decade there has been an increasing adoption of game mechanics in non-game applications, such as learning, commerce, strategic simulation and medicine. Gamification and game-based learning increase motivation, permit rehearsal of professional behaviors and encourage self-directed and problem-based learning. It is an innovative method for teaching topics such as clinical decision-making, concept mapping, social media, game design, and multimedia. Our team has been using gamified systems to train health care university students (undergraduate education) and health care professionals (continuing education) to increase engagement and retention of course material.

In this workshop, participants will learn how educational game designers produce effective higher education and health professions training. This workshop will demonstrate how to convert learning objectives to game objectives, synchronize learning activities to simulation, design a narrative, create in-game challenges, utilize weighted random game elements and beta-test these learning systems. The workshop will provide participants with both theoretical and experiential components of gamification. Educators may choose “unplugged” or “plugged-in” gamification as well as multi-participant gaming. The comparative development costs across all platforms will be reviewed. Commonalities and differences between higher education and continuing education learners will be discussed. Barriers to implementation, such as conforming to external accreditation standards and evaluating performance in modified courses will also be addressed.

Gamification not only fosters intrinsic motivation, but also enables students to develop concept maps, algorithmic patient care decision path rehearsal and acquisition of didactic content. Gamification is at the leading edge of educational technology and does not require the use of digital media to be effective.


Deterding, S. (2012). Gamification: Designing for motivation. Interactions, 19, 14–17.