Gami +, a Google Classroom Add-on developed by a Chula faculty member is designed to help instructors create an online learning environment that’s as fun as playing games. Over 6,000 classrooms have been opened with as many as 120,000 real users.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has finally abated and onsite classes have resumed, the trend towards online learning continues with the key challenge of keeping learners’ focus on learning activities. “From our research experience on online learning, we found that learners are often distracted and bored, so their learning efficiency is reduced,” said Associate Professor Dr. Prakob Koraneekij from the Department of Educational Technology and Communication, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University.
Having been selected by Google Asia Pacific to research Google Solution that promotes proactive learning for students in the 21st century, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prakob and Professor Dr. Jintavee Khlaisang had the opportunity to study Google Workspace for Education thoroughly and later used the insights gained to design and develop Gami+, an add-on application for Google Classroom to help modern teachers manage online classes more efficiently.
“Gami + will help transform a regular online classroom into a challenging game, showing learning progress, and leading to competition, and motivation for learners,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prakob said.
The work has won several international awards, including a silver medal from The International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN 2022, an International Special Award from the International Federation of Inventors Associations – Focal Point Middle East, and a Canadian Special Award from the Innovation Co-operative Initiative, Inc. “The Inventors Circle”.
Gamification of Learning
Gami + (or GamiPlus) is an add-on application for Google Classroom — a worldwide educational platform with more than 150 million users worldwide. In Thailand, 50-60 percent of the users are in elementary and higher education levels.
The principle of gamification does not refer to the game itself, but to the techniques, mechanisms, and elements of the game, such as giving missions, collecting points, advancing levels, giving badges or achievements or leaderboards, creating an environment, and driving fun learning. For Gami+, there are gamification for teachers to choose from, namely digital badges, progress levels, leaderboard, and linking learners’ workloads and scores from Google Classroom to determine the conditions for the promotion. These elements motivate learners to enjoy and take ownership of self-learning.
Currently, there have been 11,777 Gami+ downloads and installs through the Google Workspace Marketplace, and more than 4,500 teachers and instructors have created a gamified environment in more than 6,000 classrooms.
In the future, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prakob plans to develop Gami+ Intelligence using artificial intelligence technology to guide teachers and instructors to offer gamification that’s more attuned to learners’ needs.
Interested persons can download Gami + for free! via Google Workspace Marketplace or the Gami + website at https://gamiplus.edii.in.th.