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"Gamification is simply the application of "game" mechanics to non-game entities. The big idea here is to encourage a desired behavior. In this way, "gamification" amounts to installing mechanics or systems that recognize and reward behavior. Through increased visibility of nuance, documentation of progress, and rewarding of seemingly minor (but critical) behaviors, a specific outcome can be achieved. Since it encourages internal motivation through an outwardly-created set of circumstances, gamification sits at the awkward intersection of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation."

"Gamification" describes turning real-world situations into games. Gamification is a neologism -- a newly invented term that's becoming commonly used. The word gamification was likely born in the realm of casual conversation to convey the idea of turning something into a game. People like entrepreneur and author Gabe Zichermann, though, have given gamification its own unique definition. Zichermann, a respected authority on gamification and its applications, defines the term as "the process of using game thinking and mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems." In short, he describes gamification as "non-fiction gaming."

In his 2010 book "Game-Based Marketing," co-authored with writer Joselin Linder, Zichermann defines a related term he coined: funware.

There is something in games based learning that seems to get missed out of much of the discussion. While it's common to think of using game-like approaches or video-games I find much of what is said revolves about how games work in terms of mechanics. Level ups, XP (experience) and badges seem to dominate the gamification dialogue. I wonder how you can gamify the workplace or the classroom without also exploring the more important aspects of why people play - how it feels to be immersed in a story that you feel a part of. Players are given badges and tokens all the time, except these don't provide that intrinsic motivation that people often associate with gamification. For the love of it. How do you get people to play for that reward?

The Gamification Blog styles itself as "The Leading Source for Gamification News & info"

Gamification is one of the buzzwords in education right now, and for a good reason: Gamification is empowering, exciting, and under the right circumstances can be the disruptive innovator many teachers desperately need in order to change the dynamics between knowledge and the learner. There is an explosion of EdTech tools destined to gamify the …

Gamification is one of the buzzwords in education right now, and for a good reason: Gamification is empowering, exciting, and under the right circumstances can be the disruptive innovator many teachers desperately need in order to change the dynamics between knowledge and the learner. There is an explosion of EdTech tools destined to gamify the …

"Have you been gamified yet? Perhaps not a painful as it sounds, gamification is on its way to becoming THE buzzword of 2011. Social media engagement tools such as badges, points, levels, leaderboards, etc are making their way out of hipster apps to every online engagement you can think of. Yes, it all sounds oddly familiar (green stamps, reward cards, etc.) but of course, it's all NEW NEW NEW, with gurus and pundits claiming that gamification will change the way we live and of course, spend money."

The Gamification Guide for Teachers. This site offers gamification guides for teachers to use. It includes a variety of instructional strategies that can be implemented through games in order to develop students learning and build their skills with some specific content in mind.

Gabe Zichermann is an entrepreneur, author, highly rated public speaker and gamification thought leader. He is the chair of the Gamification Summit and Workshops, and is co-author of the book "Game-Based Marketing, where he makes a compelling case for the use of games and game mechanics in everyday life, the web and business. Gabe is also a board member of StartOut.org and facilitator for the NYC chapter of the Founder Institute. For more information visit: http://www.tedxkids.be

Wiki page about gamification concepts applied to learning and teaching. Links to resource pages.

From @coolcatteacher "Is Game-Based Learning the Same as Gamification? Not exactly. Gamification is "applying typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity." Great classrooms often use both. Every day in my classroom, I'm using the essentials: gamification elements, reward systems, and game-based learning. I've already covered 5 Ways to Design Effective Rewards for Game-Based Learning. Let's learn how to pick the games."

Another PEW report, this time into gamification "Tech stakeholders and analysts generally believe the use of game mechanics, feedback loops, and rewards will become more embedded in daily life by 2020, but they are split about how widely the trend will extend. Some say the move to implement more game elements in networked communications will be mostly positive, aiding education, health, business, and training. Some warn it can take the form of invisible, insidious behavioral manipulation. "The development of 'Serious Games' applied productively to a wide scope of human activities will accelerate simply because playing is more fun than working," observed Mike Liebhold, senior researcher and distinguished fellow at The Institute for the Future."

Scott Traylor of 360KID interviews media theorist and educator Henry Jenkins about what educational publishers should consider when making learning games for classroom use. In this interview Jenkins discusses the problems with gamification and new ways to reinvent the textbook for game enhancement.