WEBVTT - What is gamification? 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.840 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:08.920 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:17.760 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.520 Welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris Poulette. I'm 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:22.720 an editor at how stuff works dot com. Sitting across 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:26.240 from me as always a senior writer, Jonathan Strickland's laughed. 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:32.240 Just a game, makeups the rules as it turns out. Yes, 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:36.440 yes it is. We're going to talk about gamification today, 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.320 which is kind of a buzz word right now. It's 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.680 been a buzzword for a couple of years, particularly in 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.839 the tech industry, but it extends beyond just the tech industry. 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.239 Oh yeah, yeah, this is Uh, it's funny because it's 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.280 it's not really a tech topic in a way, because uh, 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.040 this is a this is a human engineering or you know, 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:59.720 cognitive engineering. Short, it's not it's not so much related 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.920 to specific type of technology, but I think in a 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:07.280 lot of ways it can be traced back to technology. Yeah, 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:10.560 basically what gamification is and you can probably figure it 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.240 out just based on the word. It's applying game thinking 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:19.760 and game mechanics to tasks in order to kind of 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.640 create an extra layer on top of those tasks. And 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:25.440 there are a lot of different examples. In fact, we've 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.160 talked about some of them already. We have indeed sure 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.679 like um like geo cashing. Geo cashing, i would argue, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:36.200 is a kind of gamification. You take a basic basic activity, 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.199 which in in geo cashing you could call it either 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:43.080 hiking or if you wanted to, even exploring, and then 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.560 you add a game element on top of it. In 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.120 this case, it might be things like the you know, 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:49.880 you have a set of coordinates and you follow it, 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:51.920 and then when you get there, there's a little cash 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:57.520 of of goodies that's inside a box at that particular location, 0:01:57.560 --> 0:01:59.240 and then you get to take something, and maybe you 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:03.080 leave something behind as well, and that's the game element 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.920 to it. And as you continue to geo cash, you 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.720 accumulate these little tokens or whatever, and you leave your 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:15.840 own possibly personalized calling card behind at these various geo cashes, 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.440 so that other people who are following they may say, Hell, hey, 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:22.560 this guy, I've seen this guy's stuff before, this guy 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:24.520 was at this other geo cash before. I don't know 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.880 who he is or or I don't know who she is. 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.560 But I know that they always leave, you know whatever, 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:36.240 like a smurf figurine. You know. So that's that's an 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:40.120 example of gamification. It's adding this element of gameplay on 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:45.520 top of another activity. Yes see, I I blame Mary Poppins. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.960 She did say that in every job there must be done, 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.079 there is an element of fun. You find the fun 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:56.079 and snap, the job's a game. Well, actually that was 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.640 pretty wise because it's it's everywhere these days. It's easy 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:04.959 to see, uh, in games, you know, and a lot 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:10.880 of our listeners are very serious video play, video game players, 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:16.200 video play gamers, um. But sometimes I would not put 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:20.800 it past them. But yeah, all those achievements that you unlock, um, 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:22.799 you know, you unlock a new character in the game, 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:26.600 you unlock a new scenario, you get a badge for 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.960 running fifty missions. Yeah, that's all that stuff is gamification. 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.480 And that's and it's weird to think of gamification on 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:36.680 top of games, but it is adding another element for example, 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.320 and the purpose in technology generally tends to be one 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.680 of two things. You're either trying to teach a concept 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.760 and you're using gamification to entice people to learn about 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:51.120 that concept by by creating a sort of a reward 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:54.800 system really for them to participate, and the reward system 0:03:54.880 --> 0:04:01.400 keeps them going. And the other related idea is in engagement. Now, 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.400 engagement is one of those terms you're gonna hear a 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:07.640 lot in technology companies. Engagement is this elusive thing everyone's 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.440 going after, and that is not just attracting an audience, 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.880 but keeping that audience and keeping them coming back to 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:19.000 you and and to have them invested in your product 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.159 over a long term. Because if someone just comes to 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:25.120 you once and then they never come back, then you know, 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.279 you only benefit from that relationship the one time. So 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:29.719 what you really want to do is you want to 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:33.160 create an experience or a product that has people coming 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:36.800 back to you over and over again. And uh, this 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.919 can be hardware, it can be software, it can be 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.159 a service, it can be an activity. Like I said 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.000 with geo cashing. Letter Boxing is another great example. Letter 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:50.279 Boxing again is treasure hunting, and there's a whole range 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:52.800 of game systems that are put on top of letter 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:57.479 boxing that that make it really an engaging activity for 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:01.520 people who get into it. And so gamification, it's it's 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:03.720 something that people have been doing for centuries. I mean 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.640 they've been throwing games on top of stuff for as 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.440 long as there have been games, really, but it's only 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:11.480 been in the last couple of years that that's kind 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.480 of become a buzzword where people are concentrating on ways 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:17.800 to create game elements on top of whatever it is 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.919 they're offering in order to get that level of engagement 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:25.640 they're looking for. Um yeah, and they're they're all kinds 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:29.040 of applications for this. I mean, um, some of you 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:32.760 who have mobile devices like to check in on things 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:37.400 like go Wala or four square or Scavenger if you like, 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:39.880 and Scavenger. Well, yeah, let's let's start with four square 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:41.880 and then move to Scavenger because Scavenger is kind of 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:46.120 like a very specific twist on four Square. Well it's 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:50.840 funny because um, these these I don't know, they're really 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:55.240 not technically games. Um, their badges that you can earn 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:57.960 in four square for example, Yeah, that and and uh 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.640 that would be I would say the oldest of the 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.880 three four Square. You know, once you account create an 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:07.720 account on four square and you have a GPS enabled phone, Um, 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.320 basically you're asked to check in where when you go 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.039 to someplace, so you know, you get to work Um, 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:15.840 you say, okay, I'm here at work, um, and it 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.200 will tell you, for example, how many of your how 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.720 many people are there, and how many people possibly who 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.680 they are? Yeah, if you if you're friends with them, 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:24.400 will tell you if your friends are there. It may 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:26.240 even tell you if your friends are nearby. If they're 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.760 not like right where you are, but they're in the area, 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:30.839 it might tell you that. It gives you an opportunity 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.800 to share that on Facebook and Twitter. It gives you 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.560 opportunity over time to become the mayor of a location. 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.240 So that's the first layer of gamification right there, is 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:40.640 becoming the mayor, because then you have status. You have 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:44.800 attached a status to this service, and status is really 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:48.719 important to people. People like having high status. It's good 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:50.640 to be the king. Yeah, it makes you feel important, right, 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:52.719 I mean it's it's we all get this like it 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.839 it just if it feels good. So the mayor idea 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.600 makes perfect sense, you know it. You could argue, yeah, 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.640 it's just it just means that you have a smartphone 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.200 and you've been here a lot. That doesn't that's all 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:06.359 it means. But you could say, yeah, but you know, 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.080 I've achieved something. I am a mayor here, and then 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:13.320 then they have these badges that they have on four 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.320 Square that you get you You earn these badges by 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:20.720 checking into specific types of locations, or perhaps the location 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.880 you're checking into has a particular feature, like there's one 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.280 that if you've you've checked into at least three places 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:31.120 that have a photo booth, you get a certain badge. Um, 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:33.560 there are there are badges where if you check into 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.080 a place that has a lot of other people, they 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.239 have swarm badges, and they have different levels of swarm. 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:42.680 So the more people who are there, the the Like 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:44.880 if you have like two hundred or five hundred or 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.560 a thousand people, you'll get a different level of swarm 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.800 badge for checking in. So if you guys want swarm badges, 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.000 here's where you gotta go. You have to go to 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.400 either south By Southwest or c E S. And I 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.679 guarantee you because that's where all the tech people are 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.440 and they all love to use these things. That's where 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.240 you're gonna get the best chance to really earn one 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:05.920 of those badges. You can also earn them an other 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:10.080 like really popular places like say disney World or Disneyland. Yeah, 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:13.640 actually that's that's a good point. Go Wala has a 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.520 feature on it that allows you that where in which 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:20.040 they have certain tours where you collect if you go 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:24.720 to someplace like uh Disney World, um, you're supposed to 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:26.680 if you go to all the different places, they'll have 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.560 like a subset of badges there and it's sort of 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:32.840 like a can you collect all twelve of these locations? 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:34.360 You know, see if you can check in at all 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.959 these different spots, um and then and that really can 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.439 do that. Yeah, it really drives engagement. Like we said, 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:43.320 like if four Square did not have the badges and 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:47.520 did not have the mayor element to it, then there 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.880 would be I'm sure there would be a significant drop 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.439 off of the number of people who would use the 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:54.640 service a couple of times and then we'll just never 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:56.120 come back to it. There would be a lot more 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.200 of those people, right, and they're there already, are those people. 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.200 And it's not like we're saying that these things make 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:06.080 you stay, but they are incentives for certain people to 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.640 keep trying to use this this uh UM service. I know, 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.440 as as mayor of how stuff works. As of the 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:16.319 recording of this podcast, I get really really cheesed off 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.960 when Brian Steals my mayorship. And that's gone back and 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.840 forth between the two of us at least five times already. 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.760 It's impressive. Brian and I we tend to steal this. 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.199 I become mayor, then like a week later, he's the mayor, 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:31.760 and then I'm the mayor again. And I mean there 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:35.800 is a there's a definitely competitive element to now you 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:37.800 want to become the mayor, Like there's a there's a 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:41.360 certain level satisfaction of stealing the mayor from someone else. 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:47.400 UM and uh Goala also offers something, a little something 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.720 that Fourth Square doesn't that I think is kind of cool. UM. 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:55.240 The company that makes uh Goala is called Alamo Fire. 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:57.640 They're based in Texas, and they have a They also 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:01.240 if you've ever played the Facebook electing game pack Rat, 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:03.920 they also do that. They have some pretty cool art. 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:05.960 And that's one of those things that's really neat because 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:10.560 they come up with UM badges for certain locations, certain 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:14.720 stores and other places. So it's kind of fun to 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:18.240 collect those stickers because they may be sort of unique. 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.000 And you like geo cash and you drop and pick 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.840 up items when you go places. You might if you 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.200 go to a bookstore, you might get a typewriter or 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.200 what they call a page turner a book. Um, and 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.560 it has a collector's number on their number, you know, 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.959 one thousand and fifty four. Um, so you know when 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.840 they launched that particular item, and so you uh, that 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:41.000 kind of keeps you going because you go, okay, well 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:44.199 I've gotten these things, or hey, look at that they 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:47.760 made a new one for for this station. Um. You 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:51.120 might say, though, what's in this? Why why would anybody 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:55.720 do this? Well, companies, uh, these stores for example, have 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.559 realized that they can offer people using these services a 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:03.760 little something extra. You might find if you're using four square, 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.200 uh a coupon. Yeah. Uh you know they go to 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:10.199 this hotel and tell us that you saw this special 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:13.040 on four Square and we'll give you ten percent off 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:16.520 your stay. Yeah we Um. I went to a restaurant 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:22.120 at Universal, uh the Universal Islands of Adventure properties, and um, 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.440 they had it where if you showed that you checked 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.880 in on four Square, that you would get a free cocktail, 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:33.199 free my tie, and yeah, I don't drink for for 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.839 folks listening to the podcast, I'm not a drinker at all. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:39.400 So my wife got to my ties and because she 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.520 checked into fourth Square and I checked into Fourth Square 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.640 and my wife was very happy. At the end of 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.559 the dinner, she said it was the best dinner ever. Um, 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:48.720 getting around the fountain was a bit of a challenge, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:55.080 but no, I'm joking. I'm joking. I love you, Rebecca anyway. So, um, yeah, 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:59.679 the the So there's there's this element of tempting people 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.760 to come into places by having this this special deal. Right, 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.280 that's one way you can you you as a as 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:10.439 a vendor, as a as a retail operator or restaurant operator. 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.080 That's one way you would you might want to leverage 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.880 these services or that this gamification is that it's a 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.560 way to lure people into your your place. Uh, Scavenger, 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.080 like you were saying, Scavenger is kind of an interesting 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.959 thing and that it adds another level level of gameplay 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:30.439 to to checking into locations. I first started using Scavenger 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:33.160 at c e S so this past the e S 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.840 as of the recording of this podcast. And you would 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.640 go to a booth and you would you know, I 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.000 went to a booth and they had me sign up 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:41.679 for Scavenger and they said, all right, now walk around 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:43.880 the booth and you're gonna see different tasks that you 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.320 need to complete in order to win points, and then 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:49.679 at the end of the day there's gonna be a 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:52.480 drawing for a prize, and the number of times you're 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:55.200 entered into the prize will be dependent upon how many 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.120 points you burned, So the more points you are and 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:00.240 the more chances you have to win. And it was 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:05.520 things like, uh, find out how many uh, how far 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.320 down this waterproof watch can go before before it's no 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.800 longer rated for that depth, stuff like that, where it 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.240 is John Cameron Swayze when you need him right, So 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.160 you would have to go over to that part of 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.880 the booth and find that device and learn. You might 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.480 even have to talk to one of the one of 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.920 the representatives there to get the information. Then you have 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.480 to go into the app and text that information in 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.760 for it to be verified so that you would get 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.960 those points. Or it might be get a picture of 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:37.640 this one gadget uh that's located somewhere in the booth, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:39.000 and you would have to go through the booth and 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:43.320 find it. Well for those people, the people at these booths, 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:46.760 every time you're going through and completing one of these tasks, 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.880 now in your mind you're thinking, I need more points. 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.240 I need to get more points because then I can win. Uh. 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.839 What they're thinking is by making you go to all 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.640 these different sections of the booth, you are building more 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.280 awareness of their brand and that you might not be 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:03.920 very conscious about it, but that you're gonna take home 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.200 this experience and you're gonna think, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.440 that that laptop. I remember I saw it at such 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.480 and such booth because I played that game. And for them, 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.040 that's where it pays off. It's like marketing, right. It's 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.840 a way to build awareness. And they didn't have to 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.760 buy a commercial. All they did was put this stuff 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.040 into an app and they let you do all the work. 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.360 And because there's that reward system, because there's points involved 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.880 and there's a competition, everybody really comes out of winner 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.920 because the user gets the feeling of accomplishment as they 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:39.600 build points, and the vendor gets the feeling of hey, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.640 we've got a successful marketing campaign. It's not like one 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.200 of those things where you know, you feel I wouldn't 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.200 think that as a user. I would feel like I 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:50.560 was quote unquote used right because I got something else 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.000 out of it. It wasn't just you know, having to 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.680 walk around I was doing it voluntarily because it meant 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.440 that I was earning points and that's a lot of 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:01.840 that's that's one side of gamification is really you know, 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.960 you've designed this this level of games to to reward 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.600 people but also to keep them coming back to you. 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.680 But there's another level of gamification too, there's a problem 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:18.720 solving and learning side of gamification. Oh, absolutely, absolutely, UM. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.320 The In fact, there have been some projects that have 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:27.320 been using gamification as a way to and as an 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:31.400 incentive for other people to participate. We've talked about crowdsourcing 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:35.840 some on the on the show UM where basically, look, 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.400 I've got a lot of stuff to do. For example, 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:41.960 the SETI at Home project, as as an example we've 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.960 used before where UM scientists were collecting a mountain of 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:50.360 information through radio telescopes and they just didn't have the 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.520 computing power to process it all in a timely manner 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:58.360 to see if there was any kind of discernible signal 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.360 in all the noise they were getting from space. UM, 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:05.080 so they enlisted the help of many many people. Hey, 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:07.360 look we've got a little application that you can install 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:09.840 on your computer. It will help us crunch the numbers 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.920 that we're getting back from space. And in the background 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.240 you don't have to do anything. Yeah, and and it 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.200 was a pretty cool screen saver as well. Um, so 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.120 it looks like it's doing something really cool. And basically 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:23.600 you're when you share the information back with them, it's 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:25.160 it comes to them in a form that they can 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.640 use and quickly scan to see if there's any value 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:31.040 in it. Um. Also, hey, a little bit of gamification 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:36.280 before gamification was a word. Um, I think, Uh, they 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.360 offered you the chance. They said, hey, look, if we 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:42.400 find somebody out there, Uh, you know, you'll have some 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.960 credit for that. So you you do get a little something. 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.040 You get a share in the prize. It's I guess 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:52.320 it's not a prize. Essentially, your name is associated with 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:58.080 what could arguably be the biggest scientific discovery since ever. Yeah, 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.160 but they're doing that with all kinds of other projects 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.120 now too, where they offer you the opportunity to participate 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.199 in the project and they'll give you a badge for 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:10.000 getting a certain number of units turned in and and uh, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:11.680 you know other kinds of things like that. And there's 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:16.640 talk of even turning using gamification in designing educational courses. 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.800 So you know, you create a game playing element in learning, 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:24.200 and you have created a new way to encourage students 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.760 to learn. So, you know, one of the big challenges 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.399 of being a teacher, and there are many, Being a 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.840 teacher is an incredibly challenging and so I'm sure many 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:37.320 people would argue a very rewarding occupation. I certainly am 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:40.000 very thankful that both of my parents are teachers because 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:44.240 they they taught me a lot as by extension, but 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.879 uh yeah, there there's this this idea of throwing game 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:51.720 elements into education and turning education into more of a 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:55.760 game so that students are are enthusiastic about learning. They're 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:58.080 eager to learn because it means that they get points, 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:00.560 they get to move ahead. It's it's it's kind of 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:04.119 just taking the whole concept of grades and turning it 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.960 into more of a a game. And you could you know, 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:10.520 we've been doing this, like I said, for decades. I mean, 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.400 you know, when I was a kid, and you did 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.600 something really well, you'd get a gold star, Like you know, 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.959 that's that's a level of gamification. It's a reward system 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:20.840 that's kind of like a game. Like you did well 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:23.880 on this test, you get a gold star. Um, it's 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.360 just taking that and and making it a little more 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.520 sophisticated and a little more integrated into the educational system. 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:35.120 And it's still very early days for that kind of 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:40.000 of widespread use of gamification, but uh, there are a 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.080 lot of people who are really interested to see if 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:44.879 this will pay off in the long run. UM and 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.679 I actually have an interesting kind of example of this 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:50.680 that I would like to talk about just for a second, 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.520 if I might have you heard of a man named 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:58.639 John Hunter. John Hunter. John Hunter is a teacher in 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.840 UH in Virginia, and he came up with a game 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.600 that he calls the World Peace Game. And there's a 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:11.159 documentary film about this. It's called World Peace Game and 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:15.280 Other fourth Grade Achievements, which is a great title. Right. 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.000 So yeah, he has he teaches fourth graders and he's 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:20.280 a he teaches gifted students. So it's a it's a 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:24.000 specific program here. The kids are given an interesting task. 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:28.720 They have a UM a map that has four layers 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:32.959 to it. It's actually like, uh, levels of of plexiglass 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:37.160 and plywood, all right, So you've got the top level 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:40.480 is space. That kind of represents space. So it's it's 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:46.200 where satellites are, it's where spacecraft are. That's the top level. 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.639 The next level is airspace, so we're talking like clouds, 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:53.560 weather patterns, planes, that sort of stuff. The base level 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.760 is ground and sea level. That's where all your your 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.480 land based in water based units are. And the level 0:20:00.520 --> 0:20:03.520 below that is under the sea, so it's things like 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:08.000 submarines and uh, undersea oil drilling, that kind of stuff. 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:13.320 And there's this The purpose of the game is that 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.159 the they have I think it's four nations that are 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:23.280 not representative of any particular real world counterparts phoe nations, 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.600 and the students even get to to name the nations 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:30.320 that they belong to. Each nation, the teacher comes up 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:33.199 to students that he thinks would be particularly well suited 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.320 for the role and approaches them and said offers them 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:40.920 a chance to become prime minister of one of those nations. 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.560 The prime minister in turn gets to a point from 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:49.440 the class uh different cabinet level positions, and these fourth 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:52.919 graders end up taking over these nations that all have 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:58.719 various economic powers, military powers, they have various complicated relationships 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:03.359 with one another. Um there's a whole element of of 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:10.120 competition for resources. There are differing political ideologies, and the 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.800 goal of the class is to go through this program 0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:16.840 and by the end of the program achieve world peace 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:21.240 while dealing with all the other issues that nations in 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:23.560 the world have to deal with. So there could be 0:21:23.840 --> 0:21:25.800 uh he has I think it's I think it's a 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:32.080 thirteen page uh document that has all these different elements 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:34.560 to it, all of which are are somewhat interconnected. So 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:37.840 if something changes on one, it's gonna change everything else too, 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:42.160 and and so things like there may be various crises 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:46.680 like ethnic disputes between different groups. Uh, there may be 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:51.680 m a resource shortage, there may be environmental disasters. Uh, 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:55.920 there may be um like a massive storm takes out 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:59.120 resources in one part of the world, and the students 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.440 have to keep working together to work through these problems 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:05.240 in order to achieve world peace. Well, this is gamification 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:10.520 of a of lots of different issues, things like every 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:15.520 he tackles stuff like global warming, you know, political science, um, 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:19.199 environmental concerns. I mean, there's all these different elements that 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:23.720 go into this game. And the the amazing thing is 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:26.760 that I think he I think his classes have a 0:22:26.760 --> 0:22:29.440 perfect record of reaching world peace by the end of 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:32.080