Abstract:

MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses) have spread in the education world for some years now. With time, though, MOOCs have changed and have given birth to new forms of online courses. COOCs (Corporate Open Online Course) or SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses) are examples of MOOCs derived contents and programs (these are further grouped under the common banner of “online courses”). Yet, while they may diverge in some ways, these online courses available on the market share a lot of similarities: videos are usually recorded in studio or in class and are the unique type of educational resource available, evaluation is made by quizzes and peer-evaluation, MOOCs last several weeks and a statement of accomplishment is often delivered to students who have finished the MOOC. (HOLLANDS, F. M., & TIRTHALI, D. (2014)).

Against this backdrop, the question of differentiation when launching a new online course in an already over-crowded universe is necessary. An analysis of those that already exist reveals that gamification is apparently absent from that world. Gamification can be defined as “the use of game elements and game-design techniques in non-game contexts” (WERBACH, K., & HUNTER, D. (2010)). As such, it appears to be a great solution to improve these online courses formats.

First, gamification enhances students’ learning experiences as it offers the possibility to discover a new way of learning that is already set up in some companies (MEISTER J.C. (2013)). Second, it seems like gamification can augment students’ motivation to learn (KAPP, K. M. (2012)), and thus reinforce their engagement in online formats that are known for their very low engagement rates.

Gamification necessitates a high-level of course scripting, as well as identifying and relying on tools and processes that will be closely adapted to the online course. This paper describes and analyses the gamification process of a SPOC in infrastructure finance in a business school. It explains in detail how the gamified SPOC was co-created by a team of pedagogical experts and a professor specialized in infrastructure finance. It also provides information on the way that the SPOC was implemented, and shows that based on initial feedbacks from the participants, it has apparently reached its goal of higher participants’ engagement.

References:
[1] BANDURA, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New-York: Freeman and Company.
[2] DE WAARD, I. I. (2013). MOOC YourSelf, Set up your own MOOC for Business, Non-profits, and Informal Communities.
[3] HOLLANDS, F. M., & TIRTHALI, D. (2014). MOOCs: Expectations and reality,Full report . Columbia University: Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education Teacher College.
[4] KAPP, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction, Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
[5] MEISTER, J.C. (2013, Jan. 2). How Deloitte made learning a game, Harvard Business Review, Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/01/how-deloitte-made-learning-a-g/
[6] WERBACH, K., & HUNTER, D. (2010). For the win, How game thinking can revolutionize your business. Philadelphie: Wharton Digital Press.

Keywords:

MOOC, SPOC, Gamified, Gamification, Business School.