How to Gamify Computer Science Courses?

Abstract

Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, is already widely used to enhance learner engagement and motivation. Gamification motivates by adding gamefulness to the learning tasks. It is largely agreed that the success of applying gamification to educational contexts strongly depends on the way the gamification is designed & implemented. The goal of this BOF will be to provide a platform for discussing and brainstorming of different ways in which Computer Science courses could be gamified. BOF participants will form groups which will be tasked with developing scenarios of gamification design for a CS course. The groups will be led by the BOF organizers & other participating colleagues who are experienced in applying gamification in their courses. The guiding questions will include: What should be the steps in the gamification design process, where do we start? What are the goals? Which learning activities are suited for gamifying? Which game elements - the building blocks that are used for creating gameful experiences - could be used in the selected contexts? What gamification platforms or tools can be used to implement the designed gamification? At the end, the groups will be invited to present their gamification scenarios. We hope that in this BOF we will collectively identify new and interesting strategies for creating successful and sustainable gameful experiences in CS courses which will contribute to learners' engagement & motivation.