Instructor



     

    Prof.

    Terence Govender


Terence Govender is currently a doctoral student researching digital games and gamification at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. He has been an educator for more than 10 years in various positions and is passionate about contributing his knowledge to others. He is an accomplished instructional designer and adult education specialist as well. 

Although his passion is in game design, he also has a deep love for psychology and linguistics. Psychology, especially, has helped him to have a greater overview of how education works. Consequently, his teaching methodology evolved to be more focused on the students having a fun experience while being immersed in an educational environment. To fortify his skills, he completed his master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire, where he focused heavily on application development, game design, and e-learning. 

His research included knowledge retention, increasing participation, and user/student experience. In the end, his thesis on serious game design won an award for being the best project in his graduating class, and he achieved an overall distinction for the degree. As you can already guess, his hobbies include video games, graphic design, and researching. 


Course Description


Gamification is an important tool in an educator's classroom. Although gamification sounds like a separate concept to education, it has been a part of education from the start. Gamification is the title of the field that is aiming to break down the fun elements that we already add to our lessons and study their effects. This means more effective teaching methods and a deeper understanding of learner engagement. This course goes through the theories and inspiration behind creating lessons that motivate students with fun, gameful approaches.


Learning Objectives

During this course, you will: 

  • Learn the psychology of learning and cognition focusing on attention, memory, engagement and motivation. 
  • Dissect the gamified classroom to understand the teacher's role, the constructivist approach to learning, flow and self-determination. 
  • Analyse game design elements for their impact on motivation and self-efficacy. 
  • Create your own gamified project using practical knowledge.


Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  •  Explain the fundamental theories that support gamification. 
  • Understand and create a learning-conducive ecosystem in a gamified classroom. 
  • Identify, describe and use gamification elements to engage learners in interactive experiences. 
  • Differentiate between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. 
  • Evaluate a gamification element's applicability to your needs. 
  • Implement gamified learning into your curriculum. 
  • Demonstrate your knowledge of gamification to others in the field.


Course Curriculum

  • 1

    Curriculum

    • Curriculum - Gamification for educators
  • 2

    Unit 1: The Science of Fun

    • Unit 1 Lesson 1

    • Unit 2 Lesson 2

    • Unit 1 Lesson 3

    • Unit 1 Project

    • Additional Reading

    • Quiz 1

    • Lesson plan template
  • 3

    Unit 2: Learning Theory

    • Unit 2 Lesson 1

    • Unit 2 Lesson 2

    • Unit 2 Lesson 3

    • Unit 2 Lesson 4

    • Unit 2 Project

    • Additional Reading

    • Quiz 2

    • PowerPoint Storyboard by Adam Beardslee

    • PowerPoint Storyboard by Sherry Michaels
  • 4

    Unit 3: The Role of an Educator

    • Unit 3 Lesson 1

    • Unit 3 Lesson 2

    • Unit 3 Lesson 3

    • Unit 3 Project

    • Additional Reading

    • Quiz 3
  • 5

    Unit 4: Practical Applications of Gamification

    • Unit 4 Part 1

    • Unit 4 Part 2

    • Unit 4 Part 3

    • Unit 4 Part 4

    • Unit 4 Part 5

    • Unit 4 Project