Gamification Can Change the World

One of the best known examples of Gamification that is making a difference worldwide is Khan Academy. Khan Academy was founded in 2006 by Salman Khan, an MIT and Harvard graduate, after trying to help his cousins on their math homework. The key here was that he was in Boston and his cousins were on the other side of the country. He decided to help them by creating YouTube videos for them to review the material. These videos began to become more and more popular and after people began to request more, Salman Khan decided to create the non-profit Khan Academy.

                                       

Now Khan Academy is using Gamification to try to educate the world by keeping kids and adults alike engaged in their learning process through their free website. All of the subjects taught through the website are shown on a visual Google Maps constellation called the Knowledge Map which allows anyone to see the relations between them. Rewards and badges are given each time you surpass a higher level. This allows kids to feel like they are playing while learning. 

"We're full of game mechanics. As soon as you log in, you'll start earning badges and points for learning. The more you challenge yourself, the more bragging rights you'll get.

We've heard of students spending hour after hour watching physics videos and 5th graders relentlessly tackling college-level math to earn Khan Academy badges. Some of the smaller badges are very easy, but the most legendary badges might require years of work." - Khan Academy Website

How Khan Academy works:

These are Khan Academy's numbers so far:
+4100 videos
297,944,321 YouTube views
Faculty: 1

But Khan Academy is not the only example of how Gamification is changing the world. Opower is helping utilities and households track their energy consumption. This new tool uses Gamification in a way that allows energy consumers to be able to compare their consumption with that of their neighbors and set milestones to better manage their energy use. Click on the image belowe to learn more about what Opower is doing:

There are many more examples of people using Gamification to change the world. The following example is helping feed many hungry people around the world. FreeRice is a website from the World Food Program which has partnered with sponsors who have agreed to help by donating 10 grams of rice for every right answer of an online quiz they have created. Try it out! You will have fun and at the same time help others by providing food to those who most need it. Check out the following video to see how it works:

As we have analyzed through our blog, Gamification is a great tool that helps companies and organizations engage their customers or users towards achieving a certain goal. In this case we have seen great examples on how this technological tool has been used to make a difference in the world. There are many more which you can explore from our sources and we encourage you to be creative and use this fun tool into making this world a better place!

Sources:
http://www.yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/top-10-gamification-examples-human-race/
http://www.gamification.co/2011/05/26/quests-skill-trees-for-learning-with-khan-academy/
http://www.revenews.org/gamification-changes-the-nonprofit-world-in-2012/