Quest-based learning (QBL) is a fundamentally different approach to course design where lessons are built around a series of individual quests that the learner moves through at their own pace, earning experience points and leveling up as they move ever closer towards a target goal (e.g., 2000 points) associated with a target status (e.g., Expedition Leader) and ultimately, a target letter grade. This is a digital “board” presentation about QBL and its foundation in video gaming.
Work description:
Summarized concepts discussed in Tom Chatfield’s TedTalk and related them to quest based learning, sourced Creative Commons images and created Storify story.
Learner target:
Educational professionals
Technology employed:
Learnist, YouTube, Flickr, 3DGameLab
Personal experience:
With my Boise State EdTech course Learning and Teaching in Virtual Worlds, I had the opportunity to experience quest based learning first-hand including the use of a gamified learning management system (3DGameLab). Quest based learning aligns well with the burgeoning idea of competency based learning, is solidly anchored in motivational theory and aligns well with connectivist and constructivist pedagogies.
Related:
For more on the topic of gamification, check out my Gamification of Higher Ed Flipboard
