“Game on!” Teaching gamification principles for library instruction to health sciences information professionals using interactive, low-tech activities and design-thinking modalities

Abstract

Background: Gamification is correlated with increased motivation and engagement of learners and is increasingly being incorporated into library instruction. Opportunities for librarians to learn and practice principles of gamification can be helpful for those desiring to integrate gamification into instruction. This report describes the development and delivery of an interactive special content session at MLA ’18, the 2018 Medical Library Association annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on principles of low-tech game design for health sciences library classroom instruction.Case Presentation: The special content session, titled “Design, Play, Learn: A Special Content Session to Design a Game for Database Instruction,” was designed and delivered using multimodal instruction (e.g., flipped classroom, didactic component, active learning) that also incorporated principles of design thinking. A pre- and post-survey was given to all participants at the beginning and end of the session to measure confidence and desire to incorporate gamification into instruction and as a formative feedback indicator for instructors. Participants reported increased confidence and desire to use games for library instruction after participating in the session. A selection of games were uploaded to a shared content folder designed for course participants as an ongoing repository for ideas and communication.Conclusions: For librarians who are interested in integrating principles of gamification into library instruction, attending a relatively short hands-on workshop can facilitate learning and confidence around prototyping and creating games for use in library instruction. We intend to improve upon the workshop and offer it again in additional contexts, based on direct observations of the session and participant feedback.

Création d’un prototype de jeu sérieux sur la gestion des données de la recherche

“…Les bibliothèques se sont également approprié l'utilisation de jeux sérieux en tant qu'outil de formation aux compétences informationnelles, pour informer des activités de médiation ou même comme outil de communication et de promotion (Ancelin et al, 2012;Capdarest-Arest et al, 2019;Texier, 2021).…”

“…Cependant, la conception de jeux sérieux de hautes technologies (jeux numériques, en ligne, jeux vidéo, réalité virtuelle) nécessite des ressources financières, du temps ainsi que des compétences en programmation qui font parfois défaut dans les bibliothèques. Ces dernières se tournent ainsi la plupart du temps vers des jeux low-tech qui demandent moins de ressources mais qui permettent malgré tout d'expérimenter l'utilisation de jeux sérieux (Capdarest-Arest et al, 2019).…”

Quelling the Boredom with Alternative Instruction: Augmented Reality, Escape Kits, and Scavenger Hunts

“…After an intensive phase of research, gamification was selected as the instructional method to implement. The literature more than supported gamification's impact on motivation as well as engagement (Capdarest-Arest et al, 2019;Walsh, 2014;Hanus & Fox, 2015;Veach, 2019;Francis, 2017;Crowe & Sclippa, 2020). Games or gamifying experiences are a successful way in harnessing student motivation and engagement (Subhash & Cudney, 2018).…”

Investigating gamification services of university libraries in China

“…Carrying out gamification services is an important aspect for university libraries to improve their service. Moreover, there is a growing trend of libraries using or designing high-tech games for library instruction, orientation and training (Capdarest-Arest et al , 2019).…”