@inproceedings{3cb0100debbb4de2b89066d9b3b8f46d,
title = "The effect of game elements in a career awareness system",
abstract = "Student motivation is important to ensure success in their courses. A student{\textquoteright}s motivation towards their course can be negatively swayed if they feel forced to do it. This can be counteracted if students can make a connection between what they are learning and how it benefits their future. Providing students with information about the jobs available to them after they complete their course may help them maintain their motivation. Existing career counselling however is a limited resource with not many students seeking it for guidance. This study employs the use of game elements to increase motivation among students towards career awareness. Gamification has been shown to be an engaging and effective approach in teaching tools such as GamiCAD which demonstrated an increase in both completion time and completion rate. But very little empirical evidence exists on the use of gamification in a career awareness system and what game mechanics are viable to use. This study focuses on a specific game mechanic: avatars. Avatars were chosen as the most suitable game mechanic to represent the needs of the end user. Avatars were implemented into a gamified workplace simulator to answer the following research question: What effect does an avatar have on student motivation in a career awareness system? The gamified workplace simulator is designed to allow students to explore jobs available to them based on their course. This study utilised two versions of the system to compare the use of an avatar against a version without an avatar. Version 1 required the participants to complete objectives and answer questions on a job in their industry through the use of a dashboard interface. Version 2 utilised an avatar that the students embodied to complete tasks which allowed their avatar to earn skills necessary to apply for a job. In order for the avatar to apply for the job, the participants had to complete a quiz in the guise of a job interview. This paper explores and compares the viability of using avatars to increase motivation in a career based system.",
keywords = "Career awareness, Gamification, Student motivation",
author = "Adam McGuire and Broin, {Daire O.} and White, {P. J.} and Colin Deevy",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018, Dechema e.V. All rights reserved.; 12th European Conference on Game Based Learning, ECGBL 2018 ; Conference date: 04-10-2018 Through 05-10-2018",
year = "2018",
language = "English",
series = "Proceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning",
publisher = "Dechema e.V.",
pages = "836--844",
editor = "Melanie Ciussi",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Game-Based Learning, ECGBL 2018",
}