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The Teaching Librarian 22.2 33 Diana: we already gamify enough in education, and the different tools (e.g. scores, leaderboards) do not necessarily encourage the students in the same way that they do when they are a part of their "natural environment." I can think of two examples. when I was trying to potty-train my first child, we offered her all sorts of incentives and set up a reward system. Her response was "why should I poo in the potty to get a toy? I can get a toy another way, like from Grandma." My second example is a bit more recent - I wanted to learn more about the use of games in education and I found an online group, which shall remain nameless. They had fully embraced the gamification philosophy, to the extent that after reading an article, our comments would be ranked and our names would appear on a leaderboard. This totally turned me off. I wasn't participating because I wanted my name to appear on a list - I wanted to join the conversation for my own learning. I understand why you suggest changing the pace through the use of game elements, but there are other, authentic ways to transform learning experiences. Using games as part of the learning experience is genuine. extracting game elements and forcing them onto class procedures isn't. one of my favourite infographics showing how gamification is just another version of what already exists can be seen here. (The original source is sarahchu.com) Leslie: My knowledge of gamification and game-based learning until recently has been one of interchangeable terminology and confusion. Isn't a game just a game, whether it is online, from a box, or teacher created? Diana: I can understand why there's a lot of confusion about gamification and game-based learning. after all, one of the universities in ontario with a Faculty of education is currently offering a course in how to gamify your classroom and in the most recent issue of ETFO Voice magazine, a feature article on the topic referenced one as part of the other, even though they are different (see http:// etfovoice.ca/article/gamification-in-the-classroom/). Let me recommend a few researchers that are examining game- based learning to help widen understanding of this issue - and the great part about this list is that all the academics are from canadian universities! • sara Grimes, from the University of Toronto (ischool. utoronto.ca/sara-grimes) • Jason nolan, from ryerson University (http://www.ryerson. ca/ecs/faculty_staff/fulltime/nolan_jason.html). Visit this hyperlink to see the title, by Jason nolan and Melanie McBride on Beyond Gamification: Reconceptualizing Game- Based Learning in Early Childhood Environments. • Jennifer Jenson, from York University (jenjenson.com) Leslie: so, how does this impact the school library? Diana: I believe it's less about changing your terminology (like "Great job Jimmy! You've levelled up and unlocked the 'borrowed a book from every dewey category' achievement. Here's a badge!") and it's more about being open to using and thinking about and discussing games of all sorts that students honestly care about. (don't get me started on edu-games - that's a different topic!) Take a look at some of the suggestions from the last issue of The Teaching Librarian and Lisa castaneda's article (Volume 22, Issue 1, page 33). as Lisa said "climate change in schools isn't 'gamifying' everything, nor is it individualizing everything to the point where kids teach themselves. It involves being responsive on the individual level, maybe stepping out of our own comfort zone and genuinely interacting with one another." z Image Courtesy of Sarah Chu. Adapted from the Gamification Infographic, found on http://www.knewton.com.