Library Instruction West 2018

Can gamification of active learning exercises for the library one-shot successfully increase student engagement and learning? By “gamification,” we mean the use of game design elements and techniques to create playful experiences in a non-game environment that will engage users and support both learning and value creation. Our non-game environment is the typical one-shot library instruction session at the UNM Valencia Campus consisting of a one-time, instructor-requested, 80-minute class period. The users are primarily first-year and sometimes sophomore students with an average age of 27 at a rural majority-minority Hispanic serving community college. Presentation participants will playtest some of the game experiences developed during 2016-2017 including parts of a board game, an online poll game, a physical cube game, and an evaluation game. After a brief review of elements of gamification theory and mechanics, and the use of games in libraries, participants will identify the elements of gamification such as motivation, narrative or story, completion, points, levels, challenges, rewards, badges, progress, and feedback that are used within the various activities. We will also identify how each game might fit into the ACRL Framework, stimulate critical thinking, problem solving, skill acquisition, and reflection as assessment. We will highlight challenges to the development and use of these games, and provide information on student and instructor feedback. Participants will leave equipped with the tools to integrate gamification into their own teaching via web-based resources of posted lesson plans, a bibliography, and game activities.