Additional content that can be unlocked, such as through unlockable challenges, increases student motivation.

Davidson College

- avatars
- quests and challenges
- badges
- points and levels
- onboarding
- replay
- unlocking content
- customizing 

Game Elements used in Educational Applications

Eleftheria, C. A., Charikleia, P., Iason, C. G., Athanasios, T., & Dimitrios, T. (2013, July). An innovative augmented reality educational platform using Gamification to enhance lifelong learning and cultural education. In IISA 2013 (pp. 1-5). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IISA.2013.6623724

An Innovative Augmented Reality Educational Platform Using Gamification to
Enhance Lifelong Learning and Cultural Education

Avatars are used often to allow the student to customize their character and how they look within the platform. It can also provide a visual representation of what the student aspires to be/role they want to be in life. Examples of this could include a parent, certain profession, social class, etc. students can also customize the costume, power status, leadership position, etc. and therefore they can be someone they might not feel comfortable being in real life, giving them a confidence boost in the fictional space.

Avatars in Educational Applications

Quests consist of a series of challenges that the player/student must complete that require them to use critical thinking skills. These often give the student a sense of direction to finishing or completing a level or the game in general. These also create a way for students to use the knowledge from class and complete engaging tasks either individually or with others, depending on the quest and its challenges. Failing a quest provides a sufficient way for the student to understand their mistakes and learn how to solve the quest in their next trial.

Quests and Challenges in Educational Applications

Onboarding lets you welcome new users and reconnect with returning ones. An optional onboarding experience that’s fast, fun, and educational can help people get the most from your app without getting in their way.

Provide onboarding that helps people enjoy your app, not just set it up. People can appreciate the opportunity to learn more about your app, but they also expect it to just work. Avoid including setup or licensing details in your onboarding experience. For guidance, see Launching.

Get to the action quickly. After the system replaces your launch screen with your initial app screen, let people dive right in and start enjoying your app. If you need to provide tutorials or intro sequences, give people a way to skip them and don't automatically show them to returning users.

Anticipate the need for help. Proactively look for times when people might be stuck. A game, for example, could casually show useful tips when paused or when a character isn’t advancing. Let people replay tutorials in case they miss something the first time.

Stick to the essentials in tutorials. It’s fine to provide guidance for beginners, but education isn’t a substitute for great app design. First and foremost, make your app intuitive. If too much guidance is needed, revisit the design of your app.

Make learning fun and discoverable. Learning by doing is a lot more fun and effective than reading a list of instructions. Use animation and interactivity to teach gradually and in context. Avoid displaying static screenshots that appear interactive.

Onboarding

The addition of a replay function in gamified approaches within education allows students to fail without experiencing major consequences. As such, it further reinforces exploration.

Replay (Gamification in Educational Application)

The addition of aspects that can be customized within an educational gamified context, such as through the ability to customize a guide, allows learners (especially those that fall under a general explorer umbrella) to experience increased engagement.

Learn Before

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