Badges and Gamification
People learn best when they have fun! This is something teachers and instructors have known for thousands of years. There is historical evidence that games and game-based learning were well-known educational ideas in ancient Greece and during the Roman Empire. The earliest African board games used to teach mathematics, logic, and strategy were designed over 5,000 years ago!
Despite this long and rich history, the term gamification first appeared in online education around 2008 and gained popularity as of 2010. A widely accepted definition of gamification is the use of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts.
This definition is not specific to education. In fact, gamification is present in many aspects of our daily lives. For example, we earn miles when we fly and redeem them for free upgrades, and we earn points and stamps when we shop and redeem them for all sorts of gifts, and so on. In the corporate world, many organizations use...
