Eighth Annual Better World Day - Cultivating Gamification for a Better World 2024

Blog Date

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Author(s)

Stuart O. Smith, Jr.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 - Cultivating Gamification for a Better World 2024

TOPIC: GAMIFICATION

Gamification, the integration of game elements and mechanics into non-game contexts, has emerged as a powerful tool across various industries. By harnessing the intrinsic motivations of play and competition, organizations can drive engagement, enhance learning, and foster desired behaviors among their audiences. Whether applied in education, healthcare, or workplace settings, gamification offers a dynamic approach to motivate and incentivize users, making tasks more enjoyable and meaningful. From earning points and badges to unlocking levels and competing on leaderboards, gamification taps into fundamental psychological principles to captivate and inspire participation.

. . .

CANDACE BENSON

She is the founder of CampTechOnline.com, a pioneering platform that combines STEM education with gamification to create an engaging, hands-on learning experience. With a passion for making technology accessible and fun, Candace has focused on integrating game-based learning techniques to help learners develop critical tech skills, from coding to digital literacy.

Her mission is to bridge the gap in STEM education by providing innovative, interactive training that empowers individuals and organizations to succeed in the digital age. Leveraging her expertise in both education and technology, Candace champions the use of gamification to make learning more dynamic and enjoyable, helping people of all ages and backgrounds build confidence in their tech abilities.

Through her work at CampTech Inc., Candace continues to inspire a new generation of learners, fostering creativity and curiosity in the rapidly evolving world of STEM.

TOM NEUMANN

He is the Executive Director of Marketing at the Cleveland Clinic in Enterprise Creative Services & Emerging Marketing Technology. He leads enterprise-wide creative arts services in the development of branded multi-media products to meet the diverse needs of multiple audiences. Areas of responsibility include project management, writing/editing, graphic design, medical illustration, video, photography, and print production. His work in emerging marketing technology initially focused on developing the use of Voice for health information through an Alexa skill and Google Assistant action. He was instrumental in the development of the Cleveland Clinic sonic brand (earcon) and the creation of Zen Quest, A Mindful Retreat.

Zen Quest is an interactive experience that combines tools used in gaming and in mindfulness to support wellness. Users of any age can benefit from these practices that help find calm within the chaos and is available on the Roblox platform.

Neumann joined the Cleveland Clinic marketing team in 2017, following the acquisition of Akron General Health System by Cleveland Clinic. He previously served as Chief Marketing officer at Akron General, which also included developing the system-wide strategic plan and overseeing the daily operations of the Akron General Foundation.

Prior to joining Akron General, Neumann directed marketing at Kent State University, Summa Health System and Medical Mutual of Ohio. He began his career as a video producer/director. He is a graduate of Ohio University with a degree in Communications and has an M.B.A. from Kent State University.

JARED BENDIS

He is a technologist, artist, teacher, and game designer from Cleveland, Ohio who specializes in game design, virtual & augmented reality, photography, and interactive & new media. He serves as the Creative New Media Officer at CWRU, where he serves as the senior media expert for the Kelvin Smith Library’s Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship. He received his MFA in Contemporary Dance with a focus in Performance Media from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), his MA in Art Education from the CWRU and Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) joint program. From 2021 to 2024, Jared was Associate Professor and Chair of the department of Game Design. Jared also owns ATBOSH Media Limited a publishing company that specializes in traditional print media (books), game design, web design, and app development and design for iOS and Android platforms.

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Here are some of my photos, followed by my notes from the event, and additional information I found while writing this blog post:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts and to scan the "Play Zen Quest" QR code in the slides!!

My notes are rough, but I decided to include them here, since they give you both an idea of some of the points to think about regarding gamification, and information about the presenters:

Hyland's Tech Outreach program members (students) were in attendance for the first 30 minutes of the program to hear the keynote talk by Jared Bendis.

After the program, I talked to the Hyland's Tech Outreach organizer, Joseph Maxwell, and got an update about the new Hyland Software Training Center that is opening in Cleveland across from the Cleveland Foundation in the new Midtown Collaboration Center. He let me know that it is expected to open in 2025. You can learn more about the MidTown Collaboration Center in my blog post about the grand opening of the Cleveland Foundation's new headquarters building in 2023.
Candace Benson, Camp Tech Inc. CampTechOnline.com // Founder. Teaches web design; does web design consulting for companies; she has a degree in marketing with emphasis on fashion design; she is an author. Candace Benson uses gamification to engage youth.

Camp Tech was birthed out of a request to develop programs for a state of the art technology center designed in 2001. After designing the tech center for a newly built Community Center, the owner then asked what classes can we offer in the lab.

In 3 days, I came up with the ideal to create a summer camp for youth based on my background in IT & web development.. In the summer of 2002,, Camp Tech was launched with 12 students.

Camp Tech has grown from a summer tech camp to a educational technology curriculum that is now being requested around the world.

Camp Tech is a walking testiment to our mantra and mission to help youth of all ages create endless possibilities utilizing interactive technology.

Camp Tech Promo.mov

Our Vision

Camp Tech® aims to prepare its students to excel as young leaders of tomorrow by combining an exclusive technology collegiate-game based curriculum tailored specifically for children with enhanced, emphasis in interactive technology and aligned with S.T.E.M., national and state education standards.

Unlike our competitors, we offer advanced technology programs, after-school programs, summer tech camps, and creative activities such as game base learning and development, graphic arts, and web design, filmmaking, digital media, 3D Animation, Cyber Exploration, Young Entrepreneurship, Investing and S.T.E.M based fieldtrips and curriculum.

Vision
This vision of Camp Tech is to allow youth of all ages the opportunity to experience, embrace and explore the endless possibilities that interactive technology creates.

Mission
To provide the alternative to traditional learning that not only meets the needs of youth and connects them to the world that they love so much.
• Interactive based learning environment
• Facilitated by a community of experts
• Enhanced early social, motor and language art skills
• Advanced studies in the technology found at institutions of higher learning
• College, Career and Entrepreneurial readiness
• A game base learning curriculum tailored specifically for youth, taught in a fun, nurturing care giving environment.

After the panel presentation, I let Candace Benson know that I enjoyed learning about her web development, since she was the type of speaker I used to line up when I ran the Web Development SIG -- WebSIGcleveland.org for ten years.
Tom Neumann Cleveland Clinic ClevelandClinic.org. Executive Director, Marketing - creative services - oversees photography, videography; he is in marketing for the hospital; the Cleveland Clinic website gets billions of hits a year — one of the largest in the world.

I talked to Tom Neumann before the panel presentation, and learned about the new Cleveland Clinic’s Zen Quest, which provides "mindfulness challenges" and is available on the Roblox gaming playform at: https://www.roblox.com/games/15617394043/Zen-Quest

Learn more by reading this June 13, 2024, article I found on the hospital's website: Cleveland Clinic Enters the Metaverse to Support Mental Wellbeing - "Interactive Zen Quest experience helps promote relaxing behaviors"

(Note: If you search for the words "Zen Quest" and find the YouTube video Zen Quest Announcement Trailer and the Zen Quest mindfulness game on the STEAM gaming platform, this game is not the Cleveland Clinic's mindfulness game.)

When I talked to Tom Neumann, I let him know that, when I have done searches on health-related issues or for my "Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy" blog posts, the search results always list the Cleveland Clinic's website. Since I use a VPN (virtual private network), which makes my device appear to be searching from overseas, and I am using DuckDuckGo privacy search engine and browser which doesn't track my searches, my search results indicate that the Cleveland Clinic has very highly rated search results with an international reach.

As I was writing this blog post, I saw that an advanced search of my sosAssociates.com website for the phrase “Cleveland Clinic" nets 15 of my blog posts, including a 2012 blog post about my attending a tour of the Cleveland Clinic as part of a Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals' Association meeting about the hospital's website: Cleveland Clinic's First UX Study
Jared Bendis, Case Western Reserve University. Jared Bendis used to teach game design at the Cleveland Institute of Art. During the break, I told Jared Bendis how I toured the Cleveland Institute of Art game lab many years ago when I was a board member of the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group. He let me know that the program has developed a lot since the early days when I was on my tour.

The Creative Endeavors of Jared E. Bendis . . .

Jared Bendis is an artist & teacher from Cleveland, Ohio who specializes in game design, virtual & augmented reality, photography, and interactive & new media. He received his MFA in Contemporary Dance with a focus in Performance Media from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), his MA in Art Education from the CWRU and Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) joint program, and his BA in Psychology with minors in Music and Art Studio from CWRU.

Jared is the Creative New Media Officer at Case Western Reserve University, where he serves as the senior expert for the Kelvin Smith Library, designing digital media strategies for content digitization, creation, and use, by researching and developing New Media applications for education and digital scholarship simultaneously weaving together cutting-edge technologies with proven, innovative pedagogical strategies to create rich media experiences.

. . .

From 2021 to 2024, Jared was Associate Professor and Chair of the department of Game Design at The Cleveland Institute of Art where he taught courses on Tabletop Game Design, Arcade Game Design, Serious Game Design, Virtual and Augmented Reality, with an emphasis on the design of experiences and was one of the faculty champions on their Interactive Media Lab.

. . .

Jared has extensive experience in the Museum world digitizing collection materials from: The Cleveland Museum of Art (where he served as their Virtual Reality Specialist), The Cleveland Botanical Garden, The Western Reserve Historical Society, The Cleveland Natural History Museum, The Cleveland Zoo, The Cleveland Police Museum, The musée des beaux-arts Dijon (in coordination with the French Regional American Museum Exchange), and the Isparta Museum in Turkey.

While writing this blog post, I was interested to see that Jared Bendis worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art, since I have written about attending several of the tech-related events at the museum over the years: 2021 Technology and Ancient Culture; CMA honored at OHTec 2019 Annual Cleveland Best of Tech Awards; 2017 ArtLens Crash Party; 2013 CMA's New Interactive Gallery Opens; and 2012 GalleryOne Crash Party.
Marc Majers asks how to get started in using gamification?
● Jared Bendis: what is the value of downloading your app? Be sure to address the needs of who going to your site.
● Tom Neumann: stay focused on what your brand is.
● Candace Benson: think who will use your product and then gamify it. She used QR codes. Gamify your idea.
Marc Majers asks how are we going to measure your gamification?
● Jared Bendis: he is making a game for a group to stop lead in Cleveland- the target audience for the game is the donors; nonprofits try to raise money and raise awareness.
● Tom Neumann: working to get Cleveland Clinic game.
● Candace Benson: look at Google analytics.
● Jared Bendis: look at screen size so you know if mobile view or older people who need larger screen.
● Candace Benson: AI can help with analysis of Google analytics.
Marc Majers says is there an easy way to start using technology?
● Candace Benson: you must invest time to learn the technology to help use; Take the time to learn.
● Tom Neumann: likes working at Cleveland Clinic, since the clinic is about growth. Tom Neumann hires out to get external expertise as needed.
● Jared Bendis: be sure game is selling what you are selling.
After the presentations, I talked to a nonprofit leader who was attending, and let them know that Cleveland GiveCamp provides FREE tech solutions (such as "website, database application, mobile site/mobile app") to local nonprofits. Cleveland GiveCamp has taken place at Hyland the last few years. Learn more at: ClevelandGiveCamp.org
It was great to be at Hyland, since it brought back great memories of the evening tech Meetups and all-day tech conferences that I attended over the years at Hyland's Westlake, Ohio, location.

Eighth Annual Better World Day - Cultivating Gamification for a Better World 2024

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 - Cultivating Gamification for a Better World 2024

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