Gamification

20th May 2013 | Blog | Comments (4)

Let’s play!

You know how much I love Coursera (read about it here, here, and here). I love the education I get there for free, I love professors who are teaching us skills that we can actually use in our life and work, and I love it because at the end, if you successfully passed all assignments, you get a Statement of accomplishment or Certificate.

I got my certificate yesterday, and I want to share it with you. I’m so happy about it! It was a lot of work, but it was wort it!

After 6 weeks, 140 handwritten pages, 4 quizzes, 3 written assignments, and a final, here it is:

Certificate Gamification

Verify at coursera.org/verify/TP2Y6LT23H

I know you probably don’t even know what gamification is, and if you’re anything like me, you probably think it’s something for children. But it’s not. Gamification became so common nowadays that we don’t necessarily notice it. When we do, it’s usually poorly done. Do you too have those little stickers in your stores, the ones that you collect and then buy stuff that you don’t want or need for half the price, or something? That is one aspect of gamification, but in my opinion, not a very good one.

Course records from Coursera page:

University of Pennsylvania

Instructor: Kevin Werbach

Duration of course: 6 weeks
Time commitment: 4-8 hours/week (more in my opinion)

Description:
Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Syllabus:
The course is divided into 12 units. We will cover two of them each week:

1. What is Gamification?

2. Games

3. Game Thinking

4. Game Elements

5. Psychology and Motivation (I)

6. Psychology and Motivation (II)

7. Gamification Design Framework

8. Design Choices

9. Enterprise Gamification

10. Social Good and Behavior Change

11. Critiques and Risks

12. Beyond the Basics

I now know enough that I recognize gamification in the world, and that I can use it’s principles in the business world. At the same time I know enough to know that my journey is just starting. I want to know more. I love the psychology aspect behind it, and the fact that you can take elements from game design (very simplified), and use it in the real world. It’s incredible.

LinkedIn, Foursquare, MailChimp are just a few of those that we all love, and that use gamification in a very good way.

My journey continues as I discover the world of games, game design, and psychology. If you want to start this journey, don’t hesitate to check out the Coursera Course Gamification run by Professor Kevin Werbach. I highly recommend it!

P.S. I’ll tell you more about these courses in the future. I plan on going slowly through my notes, and reflect on the subjects here and there. :)

Until next time, have fun!
Pia

Flower Power at the disappearing lake

19th May 2013 | Blog, Personal | Comment (1)

Now that the doggie and I are alone, as Tine is already in Munich, we love our long walks. We live (for just a month or so more) close to a “disappearing lake” Cerknica (read all about it on Wikipedia - Lake Cerknica). We live in the Karts part of our country, hence the disappearing. If you want to know more about it, read about the Intermitted lakes on Wikipedia.

Over the last three years I came to love this lake, as it’s constantly changing – from our own little Grand Canyon to a huge lake that spans across the valley. I think this is the one thing I will really miss, especially now that Amos and I have been spending so much time there. It’s great, we rarely meet anyone, and he can run around as much as he likes.

Having Tine home for the long weekend I actually had a chance to take a few photos of the flowers that we see there every day.

Enjoy the late spring colors!

Flower power cerknisko jezero

If you’re ever in Slovenia, don’t hesitate to take a short trip here. It’s a magical place, I promise! And the best thing – come as many times as you want, and it will never be the same.

Until next time, have fun!
Pia

Education, tests, and the future

9th May 2013 | Blog | Comments (4)

Learning and teaching has been a part of my life since I can remember. At 18 I decided to become a teacher. I’ve been working with children for 4 years at that time, but I remember sitting one day in a church, watching two kids fighting and arguing about something. Their mother tried to calm them down, and I remember smiling and thinking, so this is what I’ll be doing, ha? And so I became a teacher.

One year into my work (I got a job before I actually finished my University), and I was miserable. I love working with the little ones, I adored parents, but the collective of all women was making me crazy.

5 years forward, I’m finally finishing my studies only to move to Munich. I love the city. It is a place of many happy memories I hold, but being a teacher doesn’t really help me survive there. The shitty thing about teachers is that they can only teach in the county they studied. And honestly, after five years of being self employed, I’m craving a job. A real one.

I am being real, knowing that this won’t be easy. I have lots of experience, but I have never had a focus and become a real expert of just one thing, except being a teacher. But what I am is being determined (strong willed, stubborn…). I’m going to get that dream job! Somehow…

I know that many young people think that in order to get a good job, experience is all that you need, and that as long as they have talent that will give them a good life. That might be true in countries like Slovenia, but it’s definitely not true in countries like Germany. They want, like, and respect people who have formal education, or years and years of experience. And the latest survey from UK, researching employment of graduate students and those without formal education, shows that gradutes have more opportunities than their unqualified colleagues.

The logical thing would be to enroll in an University there, and get the education for a designer or psychologist, and then go on to masters for an UX designer, or HCI specialist.

But.

I hate exams. Trully and honestlly, I hate them. No, I don’t. I loath them. So much that I wanted to give up my studies before every single exam I took. And I took as many as 12 per year (multily that with 4 years). This is also the reason why I waited so long to finish my studies. I’m dreading that last presentation.

At the same time this is exactly why I love Waldorf education. They get how stressful exams are, and how important it is to learn for life. And that is also why I love Coursera. I learned so much in the past few months. I’m taking 3 courses at the same time, enough to keep me busy, and not so much to get me overwhelmed. I’m gaining experience I can use in my work. I can choose what to study, and even though there are quizes and esseys they are not as stressful as the one at the University, where you sit before a teacher, and answer his questions.

That said, I came the video below that moved me so much that I want to share it with you. I love how creative youth is, and how clever they are. I love it that they speak their minds, and give us better solutions. I remember being 16, full of life, hopes and dreams, only to be turned down so many times with the phrase “You’re too young. No one is going to take you seriously.” And now, still full of dreams and hopes, only to have the wrong degree.

I love learning and teaching, but I am certain that we came to a point in life when we have to stop and look at education, listen to young people, make changes, teach them to live, let them teach us to live, to create, to be successful.

Until next time, have fun!
Pia