applying gamification principles to online faculty professional development

APPLYING GAMIFICATION PRINCIPLES TO ONLINE FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Michael Wi lderOctober 29, 2014

S E SS I O N E VA L U AT I O N S

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Applying Gamification Principles to

Online Faculty Professional

Development

Presenter

Michael WilderInstructional Design CoordinatorDestiny has led Michael on a dual career path of education and technology. As a result, he's a hybrid with skills and perspectives from both fields. He has worked as educator and trainer in a variety of environments, serving as instructional designer, learning technologies specialist, Blackboard administrator, and university instructor.

Learning Objectives

By attending this presentation, participants will be able to:• Discuss the challenges of online professional

development (PD)• Identify potential solutions for providing PD to higher

education faculty• Define essential gamification principles• Develop a basic badge issuing system• Analyze a case study applying these methods

Questions• How many ever taught an online course?• How many have ever received formal training on online teaching and learning pedagogy and tool use?

The Problem• Enrollment in online learning is

rapidly increasing.• All 50 states offer online

learning opportunities.• 21st century educators need to

be prepared to teach online.• Very few institutions offer

practical training opportunities.

(Kennedy & Archambault, 2012)

UNLV Online Education• 300 – 400 online or hybrid

sections per semester• Similar # of instructors• Many courses taught by

part-time instructors• Many new instructors every

semester (with little or no prior online teaching experience)

Our MissionProvide online professional development for online instructors.

• Online teaching and learning pedagogy• Course planning and development • Best-practice models for faculty to see

what the environment looks like• Opportunity for faculty to experience an

online course as a student• Experience with technology and tool use• Identify helpful resources

The Art & Science of Teaching Online Version 1.0

• Initial planning stages in late 2010• First section taught March 2011• Six-week sessions• 25 credit hours / six modules• Cohort based / 5-15 participants per cohort• Instructional designer facilitated• Incentives provided

Initial attempt

Initial attempt

The Art & Science of Teaching Online Version 1.0

• Thirteen sections• 148 participants• 67 graduates• 45% completion rate• Several faculty taking the course repeatedly

67 complete

81 incomplete

148 total

QuestionsImagine yourself in a position to provide professional development to online educators.• What are some ways you could encourage higher

completion rates?• How could you build flexibility so that educators

keep coming back for additional training?

Key survey results

• Online educators have diverse professional development content needs.

• Online educators are very busy.• Online educators need flexibility

with scheduling.• Online educators want an

interface that is both simple and engaging.

Open ended

• No start or end date• Complete on your own schedule• Certificate of completion after all

six modules

Solution

Non-linear• “Choose your own adventure”• Modules can be taken in any

order

Solution

“Gamification is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior.””7 Things You Should Know About Gamification," Educause Learning Initiative

Solution

Gamification

• At least 35 elements of game design

• Many already exist in learning management systems

Case Study

The Art & Science of Teaching Online

Course objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• describe standard design and development processes for fully online or blended (hybrid) courses at UNLV,

• prepare typical planning documents necessary for developing an online class (syllabus, course schedule, learning objectives),

• identify online teaching techniques that encourage student success,

• develop effective communication and collaboration strategies for online courses,

• design meaningful and authentic assessments for online learning.

Course organization

The course is composed of six learning modules:• Starting the journey• Planning and designing a course• Teaching an online course• Content presentation and online resources• Communication and collaboration• Assessments and rubrics

“Choose your own adventure” navigation

Faculty are encouraged to share challenges and successes, resources, ideas, and thoughts

Future enhancement: Mini quests

Learning Theory?-

Learning Theory?

Learning Theory?

Quality Matters certification process

Hybrid/Blended teaching strategies

Time management for online educators

Questions• What additional topics could be added for online faculty professional development?

Badges“Digital badges are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.”"A Future Full of Badges," The Chronicle of Higher Education

Example badges from Codecademy

Badges

• Bullet point #1• Bullet point #2• Bullet point #3• Bullet point #4• Bullet point #5

Badges

• Bullet point #1• Bullet point #2• Bullet point #3• Bullet point #4• Bullet point #5

The Future

• Leaderboard• Learning community• Discussion rating• Mentoring• Mobile integration• Additional “mini quests”• Social media integration

Questions – Tie Breakers

“Over 5 million people play an average of _____

hours a week of games.”

Questions – Tie Breakers

“As a planet, we spend ______ hours a week playing video and computer games.”

Questions?

Michael Wilder

E-mail: michael.wilder@unlv.edu

Phone: 702-879-8454

Web: http://online.unlv.edu