Textbook Gamification
Transforming Exercises into Playful Quests by using Webble Technology
Susanne Friedemann, Lisa Baumbach and Klaus P. Jantke
Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology, Children’s Media Dept., Erich-K¨astner-Str. 1a, 99094 Erfurt, Germany
Keywords:
Gamification, Game Mechanics, Instructional Design, Language Learning, Webble Technology, Meme Media.
Abstract:
While teachers are increasingly realizing that playing and learning belong together, first gamification ap-
proaches are being applied to education. But the current solutions lack a real connection to the learning
materials with regard to the content. For this reason it is required to design playing experiences close to text-
book exercises likely to foster learning processes. A textbook gamification concept is proposed that directly
sets up game mechanics on a textbook using given exercises which are transformed into playful quests. Thus,
appropriate learning elements and didactic structures are integrated in the gamification application. The con-
cept is based on the decision oriented instructional design model (DO-ID) and the webble technology approach
which is an interface technology tailored toward creative human-machine interaction processes.
1 MOTIVATION
Digital learning materials have become an inherent
part of modern learning and teaching. Unfortunately,
they often appear as a digital copy of already ex-
isting analog materials that enable teachers organi-
zing their lessons and displaying their textbooks. In
most cases only little interaction is offered–and be-
yond this–those digital textbooks often lack an appro-
priate usability as they are presented in double pages
in style of conventional books. This does apply nei-
ther to interactive whiteboards nor to tablets. It rather
prevents the development from tapping its enormous
didactic potential that lies within the digitalization.
In the evolution of humans, playing and learning
are closely related. However, playful learning was re-
pealed with the institutionalization of education, and
learning and play were separated. Nowadays, modern
pedagogy finally discusses the advantages of trans-
ferring knowledge in an entertaining manner (Breuer,
2010). And the distribution of digital technology has
led to the development of innovative learning me-
thods. User-centered learning environments enable
decentralized, flexible and individual learning.
There also have been made various efforts to es-
tablish game-based learning (GBL) in education, but
providing proper games is always a matter of costs.
The growing expertise about gamification and its
common utilization in enterprises (Schulten, 2014)
led to first attempts to apply gamification approaches
in education (see chapter 2.3). Researchers do seek
for possible solutions for implementations (Monterrat
et al., 2014). But yet, these gamification approaches
are mostly independent of the learning content and
work through extrinsic motivation.
Didactic aspects are being considered in the de-
sign of a digital learning environment to significantly
increase the learning outcomes (Broecker, 2011). But
still, to avoid distraction and boredom, applications
need to get even more motivating. According to re-
searchers in fields of German as a foreign language
at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany,
the digitalization efforts run the risk of reducing the
diversity of exercises to tasks like fill-in the gap,
drag&drop, match, and right&wrong.
1
To advance the positive aspects of the ongoing
trend there is a need to develop gamification applica-
tions that work closely on existing learning materials
and hold didactic methods. Therefore, a gamification
concept is presented (i) that supports students’ learn-
ing efficiency and motivation by means of gamifica-
tion and (ii) that is using already existing materials
in textbooks. As a possible technological solution for
implementation the webble technology (cf. (Arnold
et al., 2013), (Jantke and Fujima, 2015), (Jantke et al.,
2012), (Kuwahara and Tanaka, 2010)) is examined in
this paper. Features such as peeling-off and direct
execution are useful for the interaction design.
1
www.alm.uni-jena.de/working-with-the-whiteboard [2015-02-04]
116
Friedemann S., Baumbach L. and Jantke K..
Textbook Gamification - Transforming Exercises into Playful Quests by using Webble Technology.
DOI: 10.5220/0005489101160126
In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU-2015), pages 116-126
ISBN: 978-989-758-108-3
Copyright
c
2015 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)
2 LEARNING AND
GAMIFICATION
Digital games already belong to the everyday life
of 80 percent of the German inhabitants who are
younger than 30 years and to 44 percent of the in-
habitants aged from 30 to 49 years.
2
Games primarily
edutain their users, but they also form their collec-
tive and individual attitudes, knowledge, values, and
behaviors (Wimmer, 2013). According to (Deterding
et al., 2011) ”[...] gamification is the use of game de-
sign elements in non-game contexts”. It further is a
”[...] process of game-thinking and game mechanics
to engage users and solve problems” (Zichermannand
Cunningham, 2011).
In contrast to the educational sector, gamification
is already widely accepted in other areas of life. For
the purpose of customer loyalty or staff motivation
more and more game mechanics are applied by en-
terprises in everyday life concerns, e.g. in health, ed-
ucation or nutrition (Stampfl, 2012).
In comparison to GBL, gamification does not dis-
tract students so intensely, and it can be implemented–
less laboriously–all over the lessons to raise attention
and motivation. The integration of playful elements
into digitalized textbooks causes motivation for learn-
ing. The aspect of stressful learning fades into the
background (Kapp et al., 2014).
2.1 Benefits of Gamification in
Education
The present topic of establishing gamification in ed-
ucation seems to be absolutely ironic, if you think
about playing and learning being two sides of one
and the same evolutionary medal (Crawford, 2013).
Young animals as well as humansplay to obtain skills.
They use the trial-and-error principle in play, and –
thanks to the existence of neurons–they can evaluate
the results. Building connections between neurons is
called learning.
3
Shortly spoken, playing is immedi-
ately followed by learning.
The advantage of playing is that it is mostly in-
trinsically motivated. Humans voluntarily take part in
games and become active by themselves. The realistic
setting of digital games stimulates players to take ac-
tions. In contrast to school exams, the error tolerance
2
cf. Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und
neue Medien e.V. (BITKOM) (2013): Gaming in Deutschland.
www.bitkom.org/de/markt
statistik/77045 77024.aspx [2014-10-07]
3
cf. St¨ocklin, N. (2014). Kann Gamification intrinsische Motiva-
tion f¨ordern? Online: www.nandostoecklin.ch/2014/05/kann-gamification
intrinsische-motivation-foerdern.html [2015-02-04]
in games increases their self-confidence and encour-
ages them to apply their knowledge, e.g. in a foreign
language if it becomes necessary.
Learners shall be filled with enthusiasm as well
as motivated for a longer and more intensive occupa-
tion with the learning material. Gamification makes it
possible to transform boring or exhausting tasks into
playful challenges. As a result users experience such
challenges as funny and profitable adventures. The
integration of game mechanics and the transformation
of content into playful elements work like an effective
trigger for users to cope with an appropriate challenge
that will be rewarded in the end (Stampfl, 2012).
Gamification might be the right approach to di-
rect attention especially to exercises that are neces-
sary, but not motivating. Many current school systems
are so much supporting extrinsic motivation by exams
so that students do not learn for gaining knowledge–
though for attaining grades. It now is a chance trying
to get more intrinsic motivation into gamification and
into the classroom.
2.2 Application of Gamification
In order to transform several exercises into playful
quests, suitable gaming elements have to be identified
for composing a textbook gamification concept.
Game Mechanics
With the ongoing development of digital games and
the establishment of gamification, the number of
theories explaining substantial game mechanisms
increased a lot. There is a huge number of game
mechanics, but according to gamification experts
like (Kapp) and (Zichermann) the following five
ones form a solid basis in most cases: points, levels,
rankings, awards, challenge (cf. (Kapp, 2012), (Kapp
et al., 2014), (Zichermann and Cunningham, 2011)).
These mechanics are considered to be characteristic
for games. They have got a positive impact on
the subjective user experience and correspond with
individual motives (Blohm and Leimeister, 2013).
Game Dynamics
Game dynamics are evoked by players’ interactions
with the game mechanics. It is sufficient to integrate
a suitable selection of elements according to a certain
situation to influence users’ behavior.
4
The table pro-
vides an overview of common game mechanics and
dynamics as well as related motives (see table 1).
4
cf. Technische Universit¨at M¨unchen (2013).
Die Rolle von Spielmechanismen und -dynamiken. Online:
http://www.spielifizierung.org/rolle-vonspielmechanismen-und-
dynamiken. [2014-11-13]
TextbookGamification-TransformingExercisesintoPlayfulQuestsbyusingWebbleTechnology
117
Table 1: Game mechanics and dynamics according to
(Blohm and Leimeister, 2013).
Game
mechanic
Game
dynamic
Motive
points collection achievement
levels gain of status social
acknowledgement
rankings competition social
acknowledgement
rewards collection,
gain of status
achievement, social
acknowledgement
challenges difficulty curiosity, cognitive
stimulation
Relevance in Gamification Applications
In the followingthe identified game mechanics are ex-
plained according to their relevance to the textbook
gamification approach presented in this paper.
• points:
Points and scores are elementary mechanisms in
games and form a common criteria for the eval-
uation of the user’s success. They motivate for
reaching rewards, competition, and challenge, but
also serve as feedback and information system for
the user.
Collecting points is a strong motive and there-
fore essential in gamified applications (Zicher-
mann and Cunningham, 2011) what makes them
mandatory in the textbook gamification approach.
• levels:
A level is a section of a game. The player tries
to fulfill a defined goal by interacting and, thus,
to reach the next stage. Levels allow drawing
conclusions about the player’s progress and state.
Besides, level upgrades go along with raising the
degree of difficulty. They are still a reasonable
design element for content and feedback (Zicher-
mann and Cunningham, 2011) because of repre-
senting the game progress as well as the devel-
opment of the game character. Not least, they
do function as motivational factor because users
feel successful and self-confident after finishing a
level.
For these reasons textbook lessons should be de-
signed as levels within the textbook gamification
concept.
• rankings:
Highscores or leaderboards are listings of partici-
pants and their scores in a compact, tabular form
that provides a simple and quick comparison. This
stimulates competition and thus motivation when
players are striving for honor and appreciation.
Rankings should be respected in textbook gam-
ification mainly for the purpose of comparison,
but also for illustrating feedback on the player’s
progress as a motivation.
• rewards:
Rewards or badges signalize appreciation and sta-
tus by using (graphical) symbols or goods like
medals, money or unlocking additional modes.
The rewards along with the social reputation serve
as inducement for successfully passed challenges.
It is reasonable to implement two kinds of rewards
in gamification applications for educational pur-
poses. Foreseeable badges after passing single
lessons on the one hand, and surprising badges
to reward certain actions like regular exercising.
• challenge:
Digital games immediately confront users with
challenges or problems that have to be solved by
taking some efforts. If the player succeeds to iden-
tify the situation, dealing with the subject gets ap-
pealing. But it has to be considered that most of
the users only deal with difficult challenges, if a
solution seems achievable. The difficulty of chal-
lenge must be balanced to keep interest and ten-
sion, and not to cause boredom or stress (cf. flow
theory by (Csikszentmihaly, 1990)).
Within the textbook gamification approach the ex-
ercises will be taken from a given textbook and
transformed to playful challenges. In this way a
repetitive and didactically substantiated occupa-
tion with the learning material is ensured. The
difficulty of quests should be raised analog to the
textbook exercises.
2.3 Gamification in Use
Some first gamification applications are currently
quite popular in the field of education.
For example, using Class Dojo a student can
develop his or her own avatar. Class Dojo-points
are added or deducted according to achievements in
lessons like participation or punctuality. Teachers and
parents can take correcting actions on the students’
behavior that way (Schulten, 2014). Probably more
than 35 million teachers, parents, and students are
currently using the application.
5
World of Classcraft is an approach to get stu-
dents to involve in lessons by an online role playing
gamification application. Students choose a character
5
www.classdojo.com [2015-02-04]
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118
class and build teams. Similar to Class Dojo, expe-
rience points are collected when doing homework or
collaborating in class. Developing one’s character’s
skills is rewarded with benefits in the real world like
eating during the lessons or using cheat sheets. World
of Classcraft is integrating game mechanisms without
having an impact on the course plan.
6
Altogether, just like grades–these apps are another
opportunity to rate the students’ behavior. Arousing
real interest in the learning content is yet neglected as
these apps can be used all over the lessons and are not
depending on specific materials.
Another main point of criticism about such gami-
fication tools is the strong concentration on the merit
design, which means using scores, rewards, leader-
boards, etc.
Enjoyment of playing and intrinsic motivation will
only happen successfully, if there is a balanced rela-
tionship with further game mechanics like challenge,
as well as with the functional, aesthetic, and rela-
tional design components (Schulten, 2014).
(Kapp, 2012) even goes one step further and dis-
tinguishes two forms of gamification:
(i) structural gamification:
Playful elements are applied to a system without
changinganycontent. This form of gamification
mostly is implemented by using points, rewards,
levels, and rankings.
(ii) content gamification:
There are direct changes of the learning content
through an input of game elements and game
thinking. This might be the implementation of a
story concerning the course material or the start-
ing a lesson with a challenge instead of a list, for
example.
Regarding the textbook gamification concept, a
combination of both types will work best: (i) The in-
troduction of game mechanisms will cause some at-
traction to playfully deal with the materials. (ii) The
learning content will be slightly changed because of
the transformation of exercises into mini-games, but
the didactic fundament remains mainly the same.
3 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
MODELS AS BASIS OF
GAMIFICATION CONCEPTS
Concept development of digital learning environ-
ments can be systematized by using instructional de-
6
www.classcraft.com/de/ [2015-02-04]
sign models. Even though there are many variations
common phases of such processes are
• analysis,
• draft,
• production,
• implementation and use (Broecker, 2011).
The main goal of most games is providing pleasure
or tension to their users. Further goals often are ir-
relevant. In the beginning, there is mostly the idea of
a storyline or some topic that shall be realized. On
the contrary, in gamification a clear goal is pursued
whose achievement is very important for the success
of the application, e.g., the transfer of knowledge or a
certain impact on the users’ behavior. For this reason
it is proposed to apply instructional design theory to
the conception of learning environments.
3.1 Benefits from Using ID-Models
Such theoretical design models enable the best possi-
ble consideration of learning aspects. This is of great
importance to the success of the gamification appli-
cation. The resulting learning effects are mainly de-
pendent of a well-founded concept that is based on
(i) a concrete goal, (ii) an analysis of the framework
requirements, and (iii) design decisions. The coordi-
nation of these three factors in combination with an
analysis of the users’ requirements and their goals is
essential to the concept elaboration. Otherwise, the
intended learning goals might be missed. Instruc-
tional design models contain many recommendations
that can be flexibly implemented in the final concepts.
3.2 Introducing the DO-ID Model
The Decision Oriented Instructional Design Model
(DO-ID) (Niegemann et al., 2008) is one suitable
model as a basis for the conception of gamification
applications.
This model serves as a framework for the design
process and describes a hierarchical classification of
the design decisions. By using the DO-ID model
the process of planning and developing a multimedia
learning environment can be structurized and system-
atically justified. When planning a concept it is im-
portant to set a specific goal and to analyze the frame-
work requirements. The core of the DO-ID model
consists of six design decisions (see figure 1) accord-
ing to the
• format:
What kind of learning environment shall be used?
TextbookGamification-TransformingExercisesintoPlayfulQuestsbyusingWebbleTechnology
119
• content structure:
How will the content be classified and arranged?
• multimedia design:
Which senses shall be addressed? Which sym-
bolic systems will be applied?
• interaction design:
How do the users interact with the system?
• motivational design:
What drives the users?
• graphic design:
How is the interface designed?
Finally, usability testings and a evaluation of the
results are scheduled (Niegemann et al., 2008).
Figure 1: The DO-ID model by (Niegemann et al., 2008)
serves as a frame for the design process.
Summing up, the DO-ID model is described very
much in detail, and offers a plenitude of recommen-
dations according to the several parts of conception.
Hence, it serves as basis for the concept proposed in
chapter 5. The design decisions according to the un-
derlying DO-ID model are specified within the para-
graphs of chapter 5.1.
What is presented in chapter 5 may be seen as an
instance of a general process model aiming at more at-
tractive and, thus, more effective textbooks. The gam-
ification approach is general enough to be applied to
a large number of presently available resources.
4 THE WEBBLE TECHNOLOGY
APPROACH
In addition to the present papers’ aim of contributing
to a new generation of digital educational material,
the authors intend to introduce an innovative inter-
face technology particularly tailored toward creative
human-computer interaction processes (exemplified
in (Jantke and Fujima, 2015)).
As learning is one–maybe not just one, but a mani-
fold collection–of the most creative human activities,
the technology fits the present conceptual approach
particularly well.
4.1 Webble Technology: The Essentials
Webble technology is one of the interesting rare cases
in which information and communication technology
has been inspired by philosophy. In his seminal book
(Dawkins, 1976), Richard Dawkins discusses in much
depth the field of non-biological evolution and coins
the term meme to denote building blocks of evolution
in areas such as architecture, fashion, and religion,
e.g. (see (Blackmore, 1999) for a discussion of the
reach of Dawkins’ theory).
Yuzuru Tanaka took up the challenge and studied
the fundamentals of carrying over Dawkins’ ideas to
the evolution of digital content (Tanaka, 2003).
Tanaka was driven by the intention to exploit the
power of contemporarycomputer technologyto speed
up the evolution of human knowledge. His assump-
tion is that human knowledge may be externalized in
digital representations or, at least, what humans call
knowledge representation (Brachman and Levesque,
2004) does somehow closely relate to human know-
ledge. Tanaka calls the building blocks of external-
ized digital human knowledge meme media.
So-called meme media technology as summarized
in (Tanaka, 2003) and (Arnold et al., 2013) shall allow
for the evolution of pools of meme media objects, i.e.,
for replication, cross-over, mutation, and extinction.
Implementations that make Tanaka’s ideas come
true exist already since (Tanaka and Imataki, 1989).
The technology has changed over time (Kuwahara
and Tanaka, 2010) until most recent versions based
on HTML5, CSS and JavaScript support–at least,
in principle–the evolution of meme media running
in HTML5-enabled browsers on all terminal devices
(Fujima, 2013).
The usage of the technology for educational
purposes has recently attracted increasing attention
(Arnold et al., 2012), (Fujima and Jantke, 2012), (Jan-
tke, 2013a), (Jantke, 2013b). The stage is set for novel
educational materials: meme media textbooks.
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4.2 Webble Technology: Touch & Feel
The most recent meme media are called webbles and
are build upon HTML5, CCS, and JavaScript as de-
scribed in (Fujima, 2013). They run in browsers.
Every webble has a model-view-controller(MVC)
architecture.
Human users manipulate webbles by moving them
around on the screen and possibly connecting them.
As a result, the users may get compound webbles with
a functionality combining the functionalities of their
constituents accordingly.
Roughly speaking, the webble’s model determines
its functionality. The view determines its appearance
on the screen. And the controller manages the inter-
action with the human user and its potential effect on
the behavior and appearance.
Webbles allow for the quite intuitive explorations.
Figure 2: Webbles for Interactive Fungus Classification.
For illustration, figure 2 shows some webbles and how
to manipulate them.
The object in the upper right part of the figure is
a webble. Its view shows the picture of some fungus.
Internally, this webble contains several slots charac-
terizing the fungus by key data such lower and upper
estimates of the length of the stem, whether there are
gills or not, and so on. The decision trees on display
in figure 2 are webbles, as well. When a human user
drags the fungus webble over the decision tree in the
left window and drops it there, the webble latches in
the input slot of the tree, so to speak. The decision
tree webble, which is a compound webble consisting
of several smaller tree webbles, propagates the fungus
data downwards through the tree. At the classifying
node at the bottom of the right window, the fungus
appears classified as being edible, in this case.
4.3 Webble Technology in Education
Webble technology encourages exploratory learning,
because it allows for manipulating digital knowledge
containers and trying out effects. When topics of
learning are involved, it is no surprise that learners
make mistakes. The correction of own mistakes when
writing down complex formulas, for instance, may be
tedious and error-prone. In educational settings, the
representation of knowledge is crucial. The use of in-
appropriate representations may result in boring, ex-
hausting, and discouraging learning activities.
Webble technology has been demonstrated, first
in (Fujima and Jantke, 2012) and subsequently in
(Arnold et al., 2012), to be useful for learning even
abstract content playfully in an exploratory manner.
Figure 3: Exploratory Investigations of Recursive Func-
tions.
The case study on display in figure 3 is borrowed
from (Fujima and Jantke, 2012), p. 39. The theory
of recursive functions (Rogers jr., 1967) is known to
be a nightmare to many students of computer science.
In the case study under consideration, building blocks
of recursive function theory are wrapped by webbles.
Those webbles may be plugged into each other, in this
way simulating the operations of substitution and of
primitive recursion. Whereas writing down senseless
formulas is–unfortunately–always possible, syntacti-
cally incorrect combinations of webbles do not work.
Figure 3 shows in the upper left part how some
learner drags a smaller webble over a larger one to
plug it in; the result is on display on the right. Due to
direct execution (Jantke, 2013a), the complete webble
executes itself immediately allowing for inspection.
TextbookGamification-TransformingExercisesintoPlayfulQuestsbyusingWebbleTechnology
121
In addition to the many aspects discussed so far,
the webble technology offers new opportunities of
explicating pedagogical patterns and related didactic
design (Jantke, 2013b).
5 TEXTBOOK GAMIFICATION
CONCEPT
The early draft of a textbook gamification concept
presented in this paper is based on a currently avail-
able textbook that is used for language courses in
the field of German as a foreign language in adult
education worldwide. The textbook studio[21]. Das
Deutschbuch. A1 (Unterrichtsmanager) (see figure 4)
represents the current state of digitalized textbooks
with quite limited interaction features: navigating,
change of view, taking notes/ highlighting/ covering,
choosing audio/ video, and taking screenshots. No
feedback is provided by the system.
Figure 4: The textbook studio[21]. Das Deutschbuch. A1
by Cornelsen publishing deals as basis for the concept draft.
5.1 Textbook Gamification Prototype
The textbook gamification concept is based on the
ideas of the DO-ID model by (Niegemann et al.,
2008). The present prototype provides a first outline
of the functionalities and a possible interface design
of the gamification application. The application is
meant to be an additional gamification mode that can
be started upon the textbook while using it. The text-
book itself remains the same. The gamification mode
uses the already existing textbook exercises and pro-
vides them transformed into mini-games.
Goal
The gamification mode shall initiate a self-organized
repetition and consolidation of skills that have been
imparted during lessons. The learners’ motivation
for more frequently dealing with exercises is raised
by the transformation of exercises into gamified tasks.
Figure 5: Textbook objects become part of the mini-games.
Context of Use
Because classroom training with a teacher will
remain one substantial factor of language learning it
is planned to use the gamification mode mainly in
the leisure time for repetition or homework. Thus,
the advantages of virtual and classroom training are
combined like in blended-learning (Mandl and Kopp,
2006) approaches. The installation of the software
on a PC or laptop
7
allows learners to play quite time-
and location-independent.
Basic Preconditions
As the target group consists of adults of different so-
cial and cultural origin, the application should not be
too much technology-dominated, but user-centered.
All interactions must be intuitive to avoid misunder-
standings because of language barriers. In order to
sustainably adopt the didactic concept of the textbook
the gamified quests follow the given exercises (see
figure 5) This way, it is also intended to generate
acceptance for the gamification application among
teachers because of the direct link to the textbook. It
should not be compulsory to use gamification in the
lessons. Teachers should decide on their own, how to
integrate the approach into their teaching.
The following conceptional decisions follow the
guidelines of the DO-ID model (see figure 1); webble
technology comes into play in interaction design.
Format
The application’s goal is reached by a combination
of structural and content gamification (cf. chapter
2.3) in relation with drill-and-practice exercises.
Concerning structural gamification game mechanics
like points, rewards, ranking, and levels are intro-
duced. Points are gained by solving mini-games and
7
The basic textbook software is only available for operating systems on PCs
and not yet for mobile devices like tablets or smartphones.
CSEDU2015-7thInternationalConferenceonComputerSupportedEducation
122
indicate the user’s progress. A leaderboard stimulates
competition.
Regarding content gamification several exercises
will be transformed to mini-games of the type quest -
input - feedback like in drill-and-practice applications
(Niegemann and Strittmatter, 2000). First, knowledge
transfer happens in the lesson, and afterwards some
repetition is done by playing.
Content Structure
Structuring and sequencing the content defines its
segmentation in appropriate units (Niegemann et al.,
2008). According to gamification the subdivision in
lessons is suitable. That is why the textbook lesson
units are taken over equivalent to the gamification
mode and become levels. The transformed exercises
are characterized by a repeatedly, but varying treat-
ment of the learning content. At the end of each level
the learner’s qualification is checked in a fitness test.
Multimedia Design
In language learning the usage of text is necessary.
However, the formulations must be comprehensible
and match the user’s language competence. As the
textbook studio[21] is developed for beginners, a
very simple and concise language is to be used. The
mini-games cause a repetition of vocabulary and rules
learned in lessons. Furthermore, long texts should be
avoided as reading on the screen will cause tiredness
and laps in concentration (Niegemann et al., 2008).
One possibility to integrate dialogs is linking the
text to already existing audio files coming along with
the textbook. The learner can choose to listen with
the help of hypertext. Sounds serve as language-
independent feedback and indicate right or wrong so-
lutions (Broecker, 2011).
Illustrations are very essential in language learn-
ing. Complex issues can be shown in a simple way
by using video or pictures (Salzer and Schulz, 2011).
The gamification mode makes use of pictures that
students already know from the lessons. Reusing
video material is also possible. A varied usage of
computer-based media in combination with game
mechanics will have motivating effects. Another
advantage is the activation of different communica-
tion channels and, thus, learning styles (Salzer and
Schulz, 2011).
Interaction Design
The interactions need to be intuitive and should
be reduced to a minimum for not distracting the
learner from learning. The webble technology uses
the advantages of direct manipulation to transfer
interpersonal interactions to interactions with the
computer. In this way controlling the system is sim-
plified and cognitive load is reduced (Hawlitschek,
2013). This technology behind also encourages
experimenting with alternatives. Because of the
simple handling, e.g. via drag&drop, the user will
be encouraged in finding variants of solutions which
means explorative learning in the end. Monotonous
exercises can be made playful by using compound
webbles and the peeling-off functionality.
A hierarchical navigation is planned that starts from
a home page (layer 1) that offers an overview and the
choice between the lesson mode and the gamification
mode. In the second layer (layer 2) the learner can
access the levels, the profile, the rankings, and other
functions. The third layer (layer 3) provides access to
the submenues and the gamified exercises.
Motivational Design
Within the gamification mode interactive elements
like crosswords, clozes, multiple-choice or matching
tasks are connected to game mechanics (cf. chapter
2.2) in order to address human motives (see figure 5,
7, 8, and 9). Points and rewards give information on
the progress in gaming. And the progress illustrates
the personal language skills development process.
Challenge is provided through the lesson’s dif-
ficulty as well as through time limits, deduction of
points for wrong answers, and a limitation of trials.
Originating the mini-games from the textbook exer-
cises is a precondition for the right challenge and,
thus, feelings of flow.
To enhance intrinsic motivation a pedagogical
agent (Hawlitschek, 2013) shall be implemented
who individually gives instructions and feedback to
the user (see figure 5). This might be a well-known
German personality, e.g. like Goethe, or a character
that enables some kind of personal relationship.
Graphic Design
The studio[21] Unterrichtsmanager forms the basis
of the layout and graphical user interface of the sup-
plementary gamification mode. However, it requires
the integration of new elements (see figure 6) that
are graphically fitted into the existing application.
The chosen game appears in a separate window in
the middle of the screen. The colors of the game
elements clearly stand out from the rest of the
application. A control area contains links to profile
and ranking. An information area provides details
about the level points, the status, and the next reward.
Gamification and Game Play
The goal of the overall application is to finish levels
with a maximum of points in order to enhance the sta-
tus, to increase skills (see figure 7), and–in the end–
TextbookGamification-TransformingExercisesintoPlayfulQuestsbyusingWebbleTechnology
123
Figure 6: The structure of the gamification mode.
to result in an adequate level of language competence.
Figure 7: Overview of earned skills.
One level consists of five mini-gamesto be solved.
For collecting at least 80 percent of the available
points the user is allowed to finish a level completing
a fitness test. The player is rated differently according
the amount of points (see figure 8). In the following
levels the difficulty is increased, e.g. by adding a time
count down and a simultaneous reducing of points.
Figure 8: Overview of level progress.
The user profile can be individually created and
functions socially reinforcing. Learners can present
themselves and might find similarities with others. It
is possible to establish contacts and socialize.
Figure 9: Overview of the user profile.
5.2 Potentials and Limitations
The strength of the textbook gamification concept
presented in this paper lies in its close relation to text-
books in use. Precious didactic considerations taken
from the originating textbook are reused in the gami-
fication mode which provides a novel experience to
the learners. By transforming exercises to mini-games
and implementing an overall-gamification framework
learning is getting more joyful.
Still, exercising on language matters is mainly ex-
trinsically motivated in this concept. There is more
work to be done in refining the concept and devel-
oping further gamification ideas. Besides training
for repetition and consolidation of knowledge it is
highly desirable to focus more on approaches regard-
ing knowledge transfer. These would be very helpful
for introducing new lessons and supporting curiosity
and explorative learning.
Because of its functionality and modularity the
webble technology is one approach that perfectly
meets the requirements of such gamification applica-
tions. The countless possibilities of combining sev-
eral functionalities lying within the memes opens up
a playground for the development of even more crea-
tive gamification concepts.
6 CONCLUSIONS & OUTLOOK
Publishers are currently searching for solutions for
next generation learning materials. There is a lot di-
dactic knowledge in stock, but nowadays it is evident
that learning urgently needs more play and challenge.
Gamification approaches like this are only one first
step towards future.
The concept presented serves as a first proposi-
tion. Continuing the development of suitable textbook
gamification concepts is now indispensable. The ap-
proach shall be extended, for instance, to using differ-
ent game mechanics to widen the concept regarding
CSEDU2015-7thInternationalConferenceonComputerSupportedEducation
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motivational aspects and user preferences. User gen-
erated content might also be considered.
To conduct some further evaluations it is neces-
sary to implement a functional prototype that uses
the webble technology. There is already some on-
going project work in the field of webble standardiza-
tion to advance the webble approach. Use cases like
textbook gamification applications have to be further
elaborated and tested.
It might be that one day textbooks will be replaced
by different learning materials. Webble technology
then is a flexible solution to cope with the digital ele-
ments in manifold ways.
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