Aug 9 2011: I agree that not everything that should be gamified, but that it is appropriate in the right context. I think the risk is that individuals become too reliant on game mechanics to incent them, then they'll be unwilling or unable to behave proactively in their absence.
The use of game mechanics in school is certainly territory ripe for exploration. I've not heard of it being implemented in grade school, but I did read that XP has replaced grades in some classes at the University of Indiana: http://gamepolitics.com/2010/03/18/xp-replaces-grades-indianan-university-classes
Aug 8 2011: Great question, Alexis. I believe that anyone who's even mildly enthusiastic about learning has come across this issue. My personal strategy as follows:
I subscribe to dozens of blogs in my RSS reader. Some are quite relevant to the topics I focus on every, while others I've added for mere curiosity. To filter through this content on a day-to-day basis, I create keyword searches that pull together the posts that are most relevant to me. Often this returns only 5-10% of new posts, and I can quickly find the content I need.
However, when I want to explore less related content, I will open up the full RSS feed, and invariably I come across something interesting but off-topic. For what it's worth, NetNewsWire is set up very well to do this.
If I were to offer a second suggestion, it would be to employ a similar tactic with the people one is following on Twitter. Hope that is helpful, and good luck with the book!
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A reply on Conversation: Can game mechanics lose their influence if they become overly pervasive?
The use of game mechanics in school is certainly territory ripe for exploration. I've not heard of it being implemented in grade school, but I did read that XP has replaced grades in some classes at the University of Indiana: http://gamepolitics.com/2010/03/18/xp-replaces-grades-indianan-university-classes
A comment on Conversation: Filter bubbles can help us as long as we control them.
I subscribe to dozens of blogs in my RSS reader. Some are quite relevant to the topics I focus on every, while others I've added for mere curiosity. To filter through this content on a day-to-day basis, I create keyword searches that pull together the posts that are most relevant to me. Often this returns only 5-10% of new posts, and I can quickly find the content I need.
However, when I want to explore less related content, I will open up the full RSS feed, and invariably I come across something interesting but off-topic. For what it's worth, NetNewsWire is set up very well to do this.
If I were to offer a second suggestion, it would be to employ a similar tactic with the people one is following on Twitter. Hope that is helpful, and good luck with the book!