If You Badge It, Will They Engage? Gamification Principles in Online Courses

Motivation (and the associated engagement) in online classes is both the linchpin to success and arguably the most difficult element to inspire in students. The principles of gaming offer clues to what makes activities fun and learning relevant. In particular, there is great promise in the use of badges to coax people to participate in ways they wouldn't otherwise. In this session, presenters will share their designs for implementing badges in two online academic courses (undergrad and grad) and one open, online professional development course. Participants will be encouraged to apply badging and other game principles in their course designs.