Introduction
One of my ARP’s research questions is “How can knowledge and confidence of this topic be increased to create best practice?”. Over the course of my research – including my document analysis of the web sustainability guidelines, understaning learning technologists’ confidence levels with the topic, attending UAL’s carbon literacy training programme – I have come to learn that institutionally we are at the beginning of understanding and implementin an appraogch to this topic and therefore my intervention needs to effectively convey the foundational aspects of digital sustainability for e-learning in a accessible and entry level way. I have therefore become interested in how a gamified approach is appropriate for this.
There are a number of things that led to my interest in creating a game around sustainable design practice for e-learning. One was that my analysis of the questionnaire of learning technologists was that there was an awareness of general sustainability best practice for being online (ie cloud storage, device management etc) but less about creating the content students learn from sustainability. Most respondents felt unconfident about sharing best practice with others across the university. This led to me to analsye the web sustainability guidelines for simple and actionable tips that could be shared and adopted across the university.
However, in addition to deriving these top ten tips, my document anaylsis of the WSGs also revealed how dense the literature on this topic can be and this presents a difficulty for comprehension and engagement. As a technical document, it provides key information on the topic of digital sustainability, but is not suitable as a standalone learning opportunity, at least for gaining foundational knowledge of the topic and simple actionable steps towards sustainable practice.
Doing UAL’s Carbon Literacy Training
I therefore knew an additional step was required in order to answer the question of how we might develop sustainable digital practice at UAL and I took the opportunity to take UAL’s Carbon Literacy Training course to see if it could help me (and as I myself am by no means an expert on sustainability!)
As well as going through the fundamentals of what is causing the climate crisis as well the UAL context, doing this training allowed me to view the topic from the perspective of a learner. I was therefore able to learn about the topic but also be reflective about my learning experience.
One of the highlights of this programme was the Carboned Out! game presented by two UAL alumni who had developed the game during their studies. Players competed against each other to make the least carbon intensive choices, only learning the true carbon cost of things such as washing the dishes, eating pizza and even getting a mortgage after they made their choice. If players made too many carbon intensive choices they would become “carboned out” and lose the game.
The gamification of this content helped me to retain these facts about carbon cost as it was enjoyable and more engaging than simply reading the same information. I was inspired by this approach, particularly as a way of teaching around a heavy topic.
Gamification theory
To build on what I observed during the Carbon Literacy Training, I closely read “Gamification of adult learning: Gamifying employee training and development” (2019) by Landers et al. I chose this particular reading because as well as being well cited and reatively recent, it is aptly focused on the correct audience for the game I wish to create, ie adults in a professional context rather than children, young people, etc. Additionally to counter the under-researched hype around gamification, the motives of the paper are to “define gamification and provide a comprehensive introduction to it […] explore which theories describe its known and potential effects […] provide extensive practical literature-driven recommendations for those seeking to gamify training themselves.” (2019)
One of my key takeaways from the paper was that learning in a gamified way can be extremely effective in increasing learners’ ability to meet learning outcomes. Additionally the efficiency of gamified elements including assessment, game fiction, immersion, points, badges, leaderboards, progress bars, quests, meaningful stories, and avatars are proven in relation to pyschological theories including self determination theory, test-enhanced learning, expectancy theory, goal-setting theory, and self-determination theory. In addition to how well gamification elements may bear out in relation to these theories, in a professional context the article points out that “it is important to consider a variety of situational moderators of training effectiveness, including climate/culture, supervisor support, and employee buy-in”. Luckily in UAL, climate consciousness is a key cornerstone of our social juctice mission as an institution. Equally my own ARP questionnaire of UAL learning technologists showed that 92% were interested in training and guidance for best practice in reducing emissions through online course build and design.
However, what the article also stresses is that gamification is an instructional design tool rather than a wholesale solution to creating effective learning solutions. If the content is not of quality or in alignment with the intended learning outcomes gamification is not going to make a difference to that. Additionally the article states that “Critically, gamification of training should not be attempted unless there is a specific, identifiable problem with a training as it currently exists.” I have rationalised my reasons for wanting to use gamification in the introduction above. However, I am starting out with this training rather than seeking to improve something pre-existing. Therefore for me, the article’s subsequent point about gradually including gamified approach is important “Gamification of training is a process in which training content and methods are modified using game elements. This process is incremental in nature, whereby the instructional designer modifies pieces of the training bit by bit to improve learning outcomes.” Therefore being thoughtful in my approach, focusing on the content itself rather than all the gamified bells and whistles is a sensible approach for the initial iteration.
My takeaway is that I will operate within the constraints of whatever game authoring system I will use.Equally while badges/certificates could be possible and are proven to help with learners’ motivation, I think the game is still too early in its development to be connected to a badge although it is an option to consider at a later point. I am interested in using opportunities for learners to individualise their learning, so that tasks and activities correspond with their own context. Additionally, similar to a progress bar or collection of points, I think the a decreasing carbon count as players progress through the game could be effective.
Application to my game prototype
In the blog post Game design, development, and prototype I write about how I developed the game drawing on the inspiration from the students’ Carboned Out game and through my reading of the Landers at al.
References
Barker, G. (2023) UAL Carbon Calculation: Educational Working Group. Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/News/240267/ual-carbon-calculation-educational-working-group. (Accessed 12 January 2024)
Landers, R.N., Auer, E.M., Helms, A.B., Marin, S. and Armstrong, M.B., (2019) Gamification of adult learning: Gamifying employee training and development. The Cambridge handbook of technology and employee behavior, pp.271-295.