Gamification vs. Motivation - Children's Educational Apps

Transcript

1. An Approach for Children’s Educational Apps Gamification vs. Motivation ConnectJS – October 17, 2015
2. Patrick Seda @pxtrick •  Independent Mobile App Architect •  5+ Years in Mobile Development •  25+ Years as a Software Professional •  Apps: Enterprise to Children’s games
3. Gamification “The process of adding games or gamelike elements to something so as to encourage participation.” - Merriam-Webster
4. Fitocracy: For those who Exercise - Quest scoring - Social sharing - Friendly competition - Leveling up - Leaderboards - Badges Gamification
5. SuperBetter: For improving your Lifestyle - Rewards - Leaderboards - Social sharing - Social support / Allies - Resilience score - Quest scoring Gamification
6. “The process of adding games or gamelike elements to something so as to encourage participation.” Gamification is all about motivation! Gamification
7. Motivation “The act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something.” - Merriam-Webster
8. “It’s what keeps your apps open!” - Patrick Seda Motivation
9. Extrinsic Motivation: - Encouragement to do something based upon external rewards/punishments (often called “Carrot and Stick”) - Grades in school, scholarships - Salary raises, project bonuses - Status, recognition - Medals, trophies, patches, ribbons Gamification ! Motivation
10. Intrinsic Motivation: - The innate drive to do something whereas the activity is rewarding in and of itself (aka “fun”, no external rewards) - Solving a Sudoku puzzle - Writing a book - Meditating - Creating a painting, poem, song Motivation
11. Elements of Intrinsic Motivation: -  Autonomy (Self-direction) “ I will choose my own path. “ Motivation
12. Elements of Intrinsic Motivation: -  Autonomy (Self-direction) -  Mastery (Sense of progress) “ I’m getting better at this. “ Motivation
13. Elements of Intrinsic Motivation: -  Autonomy (Self-direction) -  Mastery (Sense of progress) -  Purpose (Finding meaning) “ I feel connected to this. “ Motivation
14. Manipulating motivation … + = Motivation Intrinsic motivation can be created!
15. The “Overjustification Effect” + = Motivation Intrinsic motivation can be destroyed!
16. In education: “Rather than focusing on rewards for motivating students’ learning, it is important to focus more on how to facilitate intrinsic motivation” Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again American Educational Research Association, 2001 - Delci, Koestner, & Ryan Motivation
17. I want to make a children’s educational app … so what do I do? App Planning
18. -  Clearly define the target demographic -  Observe kids actually playing games -  Talk with their parents -  Talk with formal educators -  Learn about COPPA App Planning
19. Important Question: How persistent is the desire for extrinsic gamification rewards? App Planning
20. Time Desire Observe: Desire for Reward over time High Desire Low Desire App Planning
21. Time Desire Observe: Desire for Reward over time App Planning
22. Observed Results: Desire for extrinsically-driven rewards declines over time In other words: Motivation from gamification declines over time App Planning
23. Conclusion: Make the rewards Intrinsic Thus: Motivation is better maintained Result: The desire to use the app remains high App Planning
24. Implementing Intrinsic Motivation as the reward system The Approach
25. The paramount goal: The reward for success … is the game itself The child feels satisfaction and motivation simply by playing the game The Approach
26. Elements of Intrinsic Motivation: -  Autonomy -  Mastery -  Purpose -  Challenge -  Curiosity / Discovery -  Surprise The Approach
27. Two iPad apps: Letter School Mr. Edison The Approach
28. Have an appropriate difficulty range. The Approach
29. Know when a child is struggling. The Approach
30. Encourage autonomy. The Approach
31. Unexpected things should happen. The Approach
32. Provide occasional Easter Eggs: The Approach
33. Know there will be favorites. The Approach
34. Enable discovery. The Approach
35. Enable discovery. The Approach
36. The Approach Use tons of randomization.
37. -  Know the target children -  Test and observe -  Minimize gamification For children’s educational apps: Conclusion
38. For children’s educational apps: Intrinsic Motivation Is the name of the game Conclusion
40. Patrick Seda @pxtrick patrickseda@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/patrickseda speakerdeck.com/pxtrick techmatters.fm