Gamification: the natural evolution of ICT

After IBM build its first commercial scientific computer in 1952, it took about 25 years before computers entered our homes. Only a lucky few could afford those. Although the internet was invented in 1969 a decade was needed before it became really popular. At first the computer was nothing more than a calculator and not similar to the ones we hold in our hands nowadays. Not even close! Having...
read more

Minecraft, my son’s habitat. Education or play?

Recently I took a short virtual journey with my son. Afterwards I wrote a post about it: “Exploring my son’s habitat together; Minecraft!” The days after he kept asking me if I wanted to take a look at the world he created in Minecraft together with a friend. I was done with the subject, saw what the game could do, it was a nice experience. That’s it!! To be honest, I wasn’t in the...
read more

Gamification: use the F-word in your concepts!

I am worried, I see Gamification as the next big thing. The moment I got involved, learned what it implies, how it can improve our lives (yes, really improve our lives) and what the potential is, I was completely hooked! To me it all comes down to one simple word: “fun”. However, every time I use the F-word, people seem to doubt the story. Enough reason to write a second post about this...
read more

Exploring my son’s habitat together; Minecraft!

Ever since I saw the TED talk of Gabe Zichermann in which he encouraged all parents to go and play a games with their children. I was intrigued by this. I like games myself and still play a game now and then. Mostly casual games on my iPhone or iPad. The games that give me pleasure nowadays are easy to get a hold on and can be put aside any time. So called “snack games”. You could say that I...
read more

Gamification: what about fun?

Fun is such a difficult topic. At the same time it is the real power behind the success of Gamification, nothing else. Every Gamifier says it is an important ingredient of Gamification. Professor Werbach in his Gamification course mentioned explicitly: “Don’t forget the fun!” There seems to been done some research on the subject, but I can’t find much about it. In this interesting post...
read more