I am working on setting up an engaging online course and came across this site. I read about its developers some 3 years ago. Jane McGonigal did a thesis on Gamification and how high-school kids spend the equivalent of 10,000+ hours, the same amount of time youth spend in high school instruction.
Please check this out and let me know what you think. SuperBetter Everyone has heroic potential
The backdrop to this is every electronic game we play has psychological applications built right in. Consider your phone. Every time you hear a peep, a chime, and hear a jingle, you respond. Same with games. We respond to your last rating. We respond to the competition. We respond to an engaging environment. Take a look at her TedTalk – Jane McGonigal How GAMING Can Make A Better World TED Talk
(After years of research Jane McGonigal names the important skills that can be learned during gaming such as gaining confidence, building teams, taking intelligent risks, and solving epic problems… exactly the kinds of problems facing humanity at this crucial time. The http://startover.xyz game adds the next step in gaming by bringing the learning into real life. This video is dedicated to the Creative Commons CC BY SA by TED Talks February 2010)
Make your day Epic!