Play as you learn: gamification as a technique for motivating learners

Motivation can sometimes be a problem for learners, especially when they do not find the purpose of a learning activity to be clear. Gamification is a recent concept, primarily from the web development industry, that can make learning activities more active and participatory. This paper provides an overview of the background of gamification, the relevant key game concepts, gives an overview of examples from outside education and provides some suggestions for implementing gamification in education generally, and e-learning specifically. This paper is intended to give readers an overview of gamification, allowing an informed analysis of the technique in their own context to be made.