We are pleased to announce the release of our Practical Guide to Meaningful Gamification learning module. The module is an Open Educational Resource (OER) meant to provide educators with the tools necessary to develop their own meaningful, gamified learning activities.

The module is broken up into three sections:

• What is Gamification?
• How Do We Implement Gamification That Works?
• Ways You Might Use Gamification in Your Class

We encourage feedback and want to hear if the module has inspired you to gamify your teaching.

Continue the conversation with us via our various social media channels.

Tweet to @MEGA_ACADEMY_UB

Facebook: facebook.com/UBMeGa

Email: ubmegaacademy@gmail.com

Thanks to all who signed up for the conference. The response has been great. We’re currently at full capacity and therefore registration is closed.

Select sessions will be recorded and made available online.

Registration for the conference is now open. Please visit: http://goo.gl/forms/U5uHun3g9l

Space is limited, so be sure to register to secure your spot.

The Conference on Meaningful Gamification will be April 15th, 2016 at the UB Center for Tomorrow.

Conference activities will include talks from leading gamification researchers and a hands-on workshop to help you develop your own gamified activities.

Registration will open February, 2016.

Full description: This event will bring together gamification scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts, from across the Northeast to discuss the benefits of gamification in education. According to Deborah Moore-Russo, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Learning & Instruction, “This conference will give participants a chance to learn more about gamification while finding out about ways that they can incorporate gamified elements to enhance their own instruction.”

Gamification is an alternative engagement strategy that uses game mechanics, dynamics, and frameworks with the aim of encouraging desired behaviors. Research on the use of game-design elements in the field of education indicates a potential for gamification to promote motivation and student engagement.

The Conference on Meaningful Gamification is being planned by a research group from the Graduate School of Education. Led by Moore-Russo, the collaborative group, MeGa (Meaningful Gamification),  is committed to disseminating effective strategies for applying gamification to learning contexts, and to  providing a means to support faculty members (and others) who investigate, implement, and seek more information on gamified course elements. Conference activities will include talks from leading gamification researchers and a hands-on workshop to help participants to develop their own gamified activities. GSE doctoral student and member of the MeGa group, Andrew Wiss states

“UB GSE’s MeGa team is excited to share the insights of this accomplished panel of gamification researchers and practitioners. We expect that our attendees will come away from the event both with new ideas for their courses and new perspectives on how gamification techniques will be incorporated into the future of teaching and learning at the university level.”

The scheduled panel includes Sam Abramovich, Fred Aebli, and Scott Nicholson, experts in the field of gamification. Read the speakers’ full bios here.

The Conference on Meaningful Gamification will be held on April 15, 2016 in the Center for Tomorrow. The morning symposium will begin at 8:30 a.m. and runs through 11:30a.m. The afternoon workshop will run from 12:00pm until 2:00pm. Refreshments will be provided. The event is free of charge but registration is required.

Be sure to save the date for our conference on Meaningful Gamification. The conference will be April 15th, 2016 at the UB Center for Tomorrow.

Conference activities will include talks from leading gamification researchers and a hands-on workshop to help you develop your own gamified activities.

Be sure to check back from more information.