WEBVTT - Rerun: What is gamification? 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:13.920 How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.160 I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.000 I Heart Radio and I love all things tech. And 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:23.520 we are wrapping up some classic episodes while I get 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.160 back into the swing of things getting new material out 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.520 for you. Brand new episodes will be coming soon. But 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:30.960 today we're going to listen to a classic episode that 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:35.000 originally published way back on June eight, two thousand eleven. 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:39.360 It is titled what is Gamification? And this is a 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:44.000 concept that has become an underlying principle of tons of 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:47.600 different businesses. It was a huge thing back in two eleven. 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.479 It's still a big thing today. So what is it? Well, 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.040 Chris Poulette and I are going to tell you. Enjoy. 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:57.200 We're going to talk about gamification today, which is kind 0:00:57.200 --> 0:00:59.880 of a buzzword right now. It's been a buzzword for 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:02.480 a couple of years, particularly in the tech industry, but 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:05.520 it extends beyond just the tech industry. Oh yeah, yeah. 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.759 This is Uh, it's funny because it's it's not really 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.520 a tech topic in a way, because uh, this is 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:16.600 a this is a human engineering or you know, cognitive engineering. Short, 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:20.400 it's not it's not so much related to a specific 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.200 type of technology, but I think in a lot of 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:28.080 ways it can be traced back to technology. Yeah, basically 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.640 what gamification is and you can probably figure it out 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.640 just based on the word. It's applying game thinking and 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:40.039 game mechanics to tasks in order to kind of create 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.680 an extra layer on top of those tasks. And there 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:45.600 are a lot of different examples. In fact, we've talked 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.280 about some of them already. We have indeed, sure like 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:51.760 um like geo cashing. Geo cashing, I would argue, is 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:56.080 a kind of gamification to take a basic basic activity, 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.080 which in in geo cashing, you could call it either 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:03.000 hiking or if you wanted to, even exploring, and then 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.440 you add a game element on top of it. In 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.000 this case, it might be things like the you know, 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:09.760 you have a set of coordinates and you follow it, 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:11.840 and then when you get there, there's a little cash 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:17.440 of of goodies that's inside a box at that particular location, 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:19.120 and then you get to take something and maybe you 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.960 leave something behind as well, and that's the game element 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:25.840 to it. And as you continue to geo cash, you 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.600 accumulate these little tokens or whatever, and you leave your 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:35.720 own possibly personalized calling card behind at these various geo cashes, 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:39.320 so that other people who are following they may say, Hell, hey, 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.440 this guy, I've seen this guy's stuff before. This guy 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:44.400 was at this other geo cash before. I don't know 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.760 who he is or or I don't know who she is, 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.440 but I know that they always leave, you know whatever, 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:56.120 like a Smurf figurine. You know. So that's that's an 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.880 example of gamification. It's adding this element of gameplay on 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:05.480 top of another activity. Yes, see, I I blame Mary Poppins. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.840 She did say that in every job there must be done, 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:10.959 there is an element of fun. You find the fun 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:16.000 and snap, the job's a game. Well, actually that was 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:20.560 pretty wise because it's it's everywhere these days. It's easy 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:24.840 to see, uh in games. You know, and a lot 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:30.760 of our listeners are very serious video play, video game players, 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:36.080 video play gamers, um. But sometimes I would not put 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:40.680 it past them. But yeah, all those achievements that you unlock, um, 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:42.720 you know, you unlock a new character in the game, 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.480 you unlock a new scenario, you get a badge for 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:51.280 running fifty missions, that's that stuff is gamification, and that's 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:54.360 and it's weird to think of gamification on top of games, 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:57.160 but it is adding another element, for example. And the 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:00.960 purpose in technology generally tends to be one of two things. 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:04.360 You're either trying to teach a concept and you're using 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.880 gamification to entice people to learn about that concept by 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.240 by creating a sort of a reward system really for 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.840 them to participate, and the reward system keeps them going. 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:21.960 And the other related idea is engagement. Now, engagement is 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.039 one of those terms you're gonna hear a lot in 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:28.119 technology companies. Engagement is this elusive thing everyone's going after, 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:32.080 and that is not just attracting an audience, but keeping 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:35.400 that audience and keeping them coming back to you and 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:39.279 and to have them invested in your product over a 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.520 long term. Because if someone just comes to you once 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:45.159 and then they never come back, then you know you 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:48.320 only benefit from that relationship the one time. So what 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.000 you really want to do is you want to create 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.279 an experience or a product that has people coming back 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.920 to you over and over again. And uh, this can 0:04:56.960 --> 0:05:00.520 be hardware, it can be software, it can be a service, 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.960 it can be an activity like I said with geo cashing. 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.760 Letter boxing is another great example. Letter boxing again is 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:11.480 treasure hunting, and there's a whole range of game systems 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.360 that are put on top of letter boxing that that 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.000 make it really an engaging activity for people who get 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:22.000 into it. And so gamification, it's it's something that people 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:24.360 have been doing for centuries. I mean, they've been throwing 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.040 games on top of stuff for as long as there 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.600 have been games, really, but it's only been in the 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:31.839 last couple of years that that's kind of become a 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.360 buzzword where people are concentrating on ways to create game 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.880 elements on top of whatever it is they're offering in 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:44.000 order to get that level of engagement they're looking for. Um. Yeah, 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:48.320 and they're they're all kinds of applications for this. I mean, um, 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:51.960 some of you who have mobile devices like to check 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:55.760 in on things like go Wala or four square or 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:59.039 Scavenger if you like, and scavin you know, let's let's 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.360 start with four Square then of the Scavenger, because Scavenger 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.840 is kind of like a very specific twist on four square. Well, 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:10.440 it's funny because um, these these I don't know, they're 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:14.920 really not technically games. Um, they're badges that you can 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.919 earn in four square. For example, Yeah, that and and uh, 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:20.520 that would be I would say the oldest of the 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.760 three four square. You know, once you count create an 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:27.640 account on four square and you have a GPS enabled phone. Um. 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:30.200 Basically you're asked to check in when when you go 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:32.920 to someplace, so you know, you get to work. Um, 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.720 you say, okay, I'm here at work, um, and it 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.080 will tell you, for example, how many of your how 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:40.600 many people are there, and how many people possibly who 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:42.560 they are? Yeah, if you if you're friends with them, 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:44.040 I will tell you if your friends are there. It 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:45.880 may even tell you if your friends are nearby. If 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.159 they're not like right where you are, but they're in 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:50.120 the area, it might tell you that. It gives you 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:52.479 an opportunity to share that on Facebook and Twitter. It 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.839 gives you opportunity over time to become the mayor of 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:58.000 a location. So that's the first layer of gamification, right there, 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.440 is becoming the mayor, because then you have us You 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:04.440 have attached a status to this service, and status is 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:08.400 really important to people. People like having high status. It's 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:10.560 good to be the king. Yeah, it makes you feel important, right, 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.600 I mean, it's it's we all get this like it 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.720 it just if it feels good. So the mayor idea 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.440 makes perfect sense. You you know, you could argue, yeah, 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.560 it's just it just means that you have a smartphone 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.080 and you've been here a lot. It doesn't that's all 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.240 it means. But you could say, yeah, but you know, 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:30.000 I've achieved something. I am a mayor here. And then 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.200 then they have these badges that they have all four 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.200 square that you get. You you earn these badges by 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:40.600 checking into specific types of locations, or perhaps the location 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:44.760 you're checking into has a particular feature, Like there's one 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.160 that if you've you've checked into at least three places 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:51.040 that have a photo booth, you get a certain badge. Um, 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.440 there are there are badges where if you check into 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.000 a place that has a lot of other people, they 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.120 have swarm badges and they have different levels of swarm. 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.000 So the more people who are there, the Like if 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:04.880 you have like two hundred or five hundred or a 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.800 thousand people, you'll get a different level of swarm badge 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:10.720 for checking in. So if you guys want swarm badges, 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:12.880 here's where you gotta go. You have to go to 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.280 either South by Southwest or c E S. And I 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:18.559 guarantee you because that's where all the tech people are 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.360 and they all love to use these things. That's where 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.160 you're gonna get the best chance to really earn one 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.000 those badges. You can also earn them an other like 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:30.000 really popular places like say Disney World or Disneyland. Yeah. 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:33.560 Actually that's that's a good point. Go Wala has a 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.439 feature on it that allows you that where in which 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.920 they have certain tours where you collect if you go 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:44.760 to someplace like disney World, Um, you're supposed to. If 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:46.679 you go to all the different places, they'll have like 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:49.640 a subset of badges there and it's sort of like 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.040 a can you collect all twelve of these locations? You know, 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:55.240 see if you can check in at all these different spots, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.560 um and then and that really can do that. Yeah, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.480 it really drives engagement. Like we said, like if four 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.720 Square did not have the badges and did not have 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:08.240 the mayor element to it, then there would be I'm 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.319 sure there would be a significant drop off of the 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.160 number of people who would use the service a couple 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.160 of times and then we'll just never come back to it. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.160 There would be a lot more of those people right, 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:19.560 and they're there already are those people. And it's not 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.440 like we're saying that these things make you stay, but 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:26.760 they are incentives for certain people to keep trying to 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.480 use this this uh um service. I know as as 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:32.960 mayor of how stuff works. As of the recording of 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:36.920 this podcast, I get really really cheesed off when Brian 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:40.480 steals my mayorship. And that's gone back and forth between 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:43.959 the two of us at least five times already. Brian 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:47.160 and I we tend to steal this. I become mayor, 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:49.360 then like a week later he's the mayor, and then 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:51.960 I'm the mayor again. And I mean there is a 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:56.120 there's a definite competitive element to know you want to 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.240 become the mayor, Like there's a there's a certain level 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.680 satisfaction of stealing the may air from someone else. Yeah. Yeah, 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:07.040 um And uh Goala also offers uh something, a little 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.400 something that four Square doesn't that I think is kind 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:14.000 of cool. Um. The company that makes uh Goala is 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.440 called Alamo Fire. They're based in Texas, and they have 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:20.200 a They also if you've ever played the Facebook collecting 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.840 game pack Rat, they also do that. They have some 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.200 pretty cool art and that's one of those things. That's 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.920 really neat because they come up with UM badges for 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:34.160 certain locations, certain stores and other places. So it's kind 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:37.240 of fun to collect those stickers because they may be 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:40.200 sort of unique. And you like geo caash and you 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.880 drop and pick up items when you go places. You 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:44.760 might know, if you go to a bookstore, you might 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.360 get a typewriter or what they call a page turner 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.640 a book um, and it has a collector's number on 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.720 their number, you know, one thousand and fifty four, um, 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.360 so you know when they launched that particular item, and 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:00.280 so you uh, that kind of keeps you going because 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.199 you go, okay, well I've gotten these things, or hey, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.120 look at that they made a new one for for 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:09.360 this intation. Um. You might say, though, what's in this? 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:14.480 Why why would anybody do this? Well, companies, uh, these stores, 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:18.720 for example, have realized that they can offer people using 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:22.120 these services a little something extra. You might find if 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:26.160 you're using four square uh a coupon. Yeah. Uh. You 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.960 know they go to this hotel and tell us that 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.440 you saw this special on four square and we'll give 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.640 you ten percent off your stay. Yeah we um. I 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:39.959 went to a restaurant at Universal uh the Universal Islands 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.400 of Adventure Properties, and they had it where if you 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.959 showed that you checked in on four Square that you 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:50.160 would get a free cocktail. Interesting free my tie and uh, 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.920 it's a problem for you. Yeah, I don't drink. For 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:55.320 for folks listening to the podcast, I'm not a drinker 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.520 at all. So my wife got to my ties and 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:00.840 because she checked into four square and I checked into 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.240 fourth Square, and my wife was very happy. At the 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:04.960 end of the dinner, she said it was the best 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.800 dinner ever. Um, getting around of the fountain was a 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:11.280 bit of a challenge. But no, I'm joking. I'm joking. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:14.280 I love you, Rebecca. Guys have just wrote doubles. It 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:17.600 means that I'm gonna have to lose a turn. So 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:19.960 while I'm waiting for my turn to come back around, 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:29.920 let's let's take a break and think our sponsors. There's 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.920 this element of tempting people to come into places by 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:36.920 having this this special deal, right, that's one way you 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.320 can you you as a as a vendor, as a 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:44.440 as a retail operator or restaurant operator. That's one way 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:47.200 you would you might want to leverage these services or 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.440 that this gamification is that it's a way to lure 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:53.400 people into your your place. Uh, Scavenger, Like you were saying, 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.680 Scavenger is kind of an interesting thing and that it 0:12:55.760 --> 0:13:01.199 adds another level level of gameplay to to checking into locations. 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.520 I first started using Scavenger at CS so this past 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.360 the e s as of the recording of this podcast. 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.080 And you would go to a booth and you would 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:12.520 you know, I went to a booth and they had 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:14.040 me sign up for Scavenger and they said, all right, 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.000 now walk around the booth and you're gonna see different 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:19.280 tasks that you need to complete in order to win points. 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.480 And then at the end of the day there's gonna 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.960 be a drawing for a prize, and the number of 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.800 times you're entered into the prize will be dependent upon 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:29.920 how many points you burned, so the more points you 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.800 are and the more chances you have to win. And 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:38.240 it was things like find out how many uh how 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:42.160 far down this waterproof watch can go before before it's 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:45.760 no longer rated for that depth, stuff like that, where 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:48.240 is John Cameron Swayze when you need him? Right? So 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.160 you would have to go over to that part of 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.840 the booth and find that device and learn you might 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.440 even have to talk to one of the one of 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.920 the representatives there to get the information. Then you have 0:13:57.960 --> 0:13:59.839 to go into the app and text that in for 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.319 nation in for it to be verified so that you 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:04.960 would get those points. Or it might be get a 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:10.319 picture of this one gadget, uh that's located somewhere in 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:11.640 the booth and you would have to go through the 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.199 booth and find it. Well, for those people, the people 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.560 at that these booths, every time you're going through and 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:20.960 completing one of these tasks, now in your mind you're thinking, 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.760 I need more points. I need to get more points 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.480 because then I can win. Uh. What they're thinking is 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.960 by making you go to all these different sections of 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.320 the booth, you are building more awareness of their brand 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:35.560 and that you might not be very conscious about it, 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:39.040 but that you're gonna take home this experience. You're gonna think, 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.680 oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that that laptop. I remember I 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.840 saw it at such and such booth because I played 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.560 that game. And for them, that's where it pays off. 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.520 It's like marketing, right, it's a way to build awareness. 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.520 And they didn't have to buy a commercial. All he 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:55.800 did was put this stuff into an app and they 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.680 let you do all the work, and because there's that 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.320 reward system, because there's points involved and there's a competition, 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.760 everybody really comes out a winner because the user gets 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.880 the feeling of accomplishment as they build points, and the 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.640 vendor gets the feeling of hey, we've got a successful 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.480 marketing campaign. It's not like one of those things where 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.080 you know, you feel I wouldn't think that as a user, 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:22.440 I would feel like I was quote unquote used right 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:24.480 because I got something else out of it. It wasn't 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:27.360 just you know, having to walk around. I was doing 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.720 it voluntarily because it meant that I was earning points. 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.160 And that's a lot of Uh, that's that's one side 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.880 of gamification is really you know, you've designed this this 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.960 level of games to to reward people but also to 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.920 keep them coming back to you. But there's another level 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:47.440 of gamification too, there's a problem solving and learning side 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:53.720 of gamification. Oh, absolutely, absolutely, um the In fact, there 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:58.480 have been some projects that have been using gamification as 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:01.520 a way to in as an incentive for other people 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:05.920 to participate. We've talked about crowdsourcing some on the on 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:10.600 the show, um where basically, look, I've got a lot 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:13.240 of stuff to do for example the cety at Home 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.760 project as as an example we've used before where UM 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:21.760 scientists were collecting a mountain of information through radio telescopes 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.040 and they just didn't have the computing power to process 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.400 it all in a timely manner to see if there 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:32.400 was any kind of discernible signal in all the noise 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.440 they were getting from space. Um, So they enlisted the 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.760 help of many, many people. Hey, look, we've got a 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.040 little application that you can install on your computer. It 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.640 will help us crunch the numbers that we're getting back 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.520 from space and in the background, you don't have to 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:48.920 do anything. Yeah, and and it was a pretty cool 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.080 screen saver as well. UM. So it looks like it's 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.960 doing something really cool. And basically when you share the 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.360 information back with them, it's it comes to them in 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.480 a form that they can use and quickly scan to 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.800 see if there's any value in it. Um. Also, hey, 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:07.439 a little bit of gamification. Before gamification was a word, UM, 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.120 I think. Uh, they offered you the chance. They said, hey, look, 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:15.040 if we find somebody out there, uh, you know, you'll 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.320 have some credit for that. So you you do get 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.520 a little something. You get a share in the prize 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.880 it's I guess it's not a prize problem. You essentially 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.800 your name is associated with what could arguably be the 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.800 biggest scientific discovery since ever. Yeah, but they're doing that 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.280 with all kinds of other projects now too, where they 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.480 offer you the opportunity to participate in the project and 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.399 they'll give you a badge for getting a certain number 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.400 of units turned in and and uh, you know, other 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:45.359 kinds of things like that. And there's talk of even 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:50.720 turning using gamification and designing educational courses, so you know, 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:54.479 you create a game playing element in learning, and you 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.960 have created a new way to encourage students to learn. So, 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:00.320 you know, one of the big challenges of of being 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.919 a teacher, and there are many, Being a teacher is 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.320 an incredibly challenging and so I'm sure many people would 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.959 argue a very rewarding occupation. I certainly am very thankful 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.920 that both of my parents are teachers, because they they 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:18.040 taught me a lot as a by extension. But yeah, 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.879 there's there's this this idea of throwing game elements into 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.440 education and turning education into more of a game so 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:29.520 that students are are enthusiastic about learning, they're eager to learn, 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:31.480 because it means that they get points, they get to 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:34.320 move ahead. It's it's it's kind of just taking the 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:38.159 whole concept of grades and turning it into more of 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.320 a a game. And you could you know, we've been 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.879 doing this, like I said, for decades. I mean, you know, 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.120 when I was a kid and you did something really well, 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.280 you'd get a gold star. Like you know, that's that's 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:52.440 a level of gamification. It's a reward system that's kind 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:54.440 of like a game. Like you did well on this test, 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:57.720 you get a gold star. Um, it's just taking that 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.199 and and making it a little more sophisticated it and 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:05.160 a little more integrated into the educational system. And it's 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:10.119 still very early days for that kind of of widespread 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.159 use of gamification, but uh, there are a lot of 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:15.639 people who are really interested to see if this will 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:18.320 pay off in the long run. Um. And I actually 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.040 have an interesting kind of example of this that I 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:23.800 would like to talk about just for a second if 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:26.520 I might. Okay, have you heard of a man named 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:32.119 John Hunter? John Hunter. John Hunter is a teacher in 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:36.000 in Virginia, and he came up with a game that 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.280 he calls the World Peace Game. And there's a documentary 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:44.480 film about this. It's called World Peace Game and Other 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:49.080 Fourth Grade Achievements, which is a great title, right, So yeah, 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.240 he has he teaches fourth graders and he's a he 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.400 teaches gifted students, so it's a it's a specific program here. 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:59.480 The kids are given an interesting task. They have a 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:02.520 a map that has four layers to it. It's actually 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:07.720 like uh, levels of of plexiglass and plywood, all right, 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:12.000 So you've got the top level is space that kind 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.800 of represents space, so it it's where satellites are, It's 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:19.879 where spacecraft are. That's the top level. The next level 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:24.160 is airspace, so we're talking like clouds, weather patterns, planes, 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:27.520 that sort of stuff. The base level is ground and 0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:30.800 sea level that's where all your your land based in 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:34.240 water based units are. And the level below that is 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:39.040 under the sea, so it's things like submarines and uh 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:41.639 undersea oil drilling that kind of stuff and crabbing a 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:45.760 little mem and there's this. The purpose of the game 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:48.800 is that the they have I think it's four nations 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:55.399 that are not representative of any particular real world counterparts 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:59.119 phoe nations, and the students even get to name the 0:20:59.200 --> 0:21:03.119 nations that they've along to each nation. The teacher comes 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.800 up to students that he thinks would be particularly well 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:09.119 suited for the role and approaches them and said offers 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:12.359 them a chance to become prime minister of one of 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:15.960 those nations. The prime minister in turn gets to a 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:21.200 point from the class UH different cabinet level positions, and 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.359 these fourth graders end up taking over these nations that 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:30.000 all have various economic powers, military powers, UH. They have 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:34.960 various complicated relationships with one another. UM, there's a whole 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:41.840 element of of competition for resources, there are differing political ideologies, 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.960 and the goal of the class is to go through 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:48.880 this program and by the end of the program achieve 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:53.360 world peace while dealing with all the other issues that 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:55.919 nations in the world have to deal with. Chris and 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:58.000 I have a little bit more to say about gamification 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:00.119 in just a moment, but before we get to that, 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:10.280 let's take a quick break to thank our sponsors. So 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:16.280 he has a thirteen page UH document that has all 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:18.760 these different elements to it, all of which are are 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:21.720 somewhat interconnected. So if something changes on one, it's going 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.480