[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-597854-105":59,"doc-detail-597854-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","from-candy-crush-to-catan-one-students-perspective-on-the-benefits-of-gaming-in-academia","From Candy Crush to Catan: One Student’s Perspective on the Benefits of Gaming in Academia","","A college student reflects on enrolling in a course titled “The Rhetoric of Gaming” in spring 2015, beginning with strong prejudice against gaming shaped by stereotypes and personal assumptions. Through Syllabus Day and subsequent gamified classroom design, the student describes XP, quests, avatar-based identities, a leaderboard, and collaborative board-game creation. The narrative argues that structured game mechanics can motivate productivity, enhance engagement, and support meaningful learning outcomes.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":53,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/lifestyle/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/from-candy-crush-to-catan-one-students-perspective-on-the-benefits-of-gaming-in-academia/597854/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/from-candy-crush-to-catan-one-students-perspective-on-the-benefits-of-gaming-in-academia/597854.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"SANS","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-09","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What was the student’s attitude toward gaming before taking the class?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The student entered with dismissive views, believing games had little value beyond entertainment and that gaming culture reflected harmful stereotypes.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What key elements did the gamified classroom introduce?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Assignments earned XP, students completed quests through game-night field notes, created personalized avatars, and tracked progress on a leaderboard.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did the class design affect student motivation and learning?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Game mechanics were described as intrinsically motivating students to work harder, leveraging strengths while encouraging better results and collaboration.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},597854,1792667610,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":52,"category_name":53,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962090760505,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","From Candy Crush to Catan: One Student’s Perspective on the Benefits of Gaming in Academia  \nMorgan Ebbs  \nPittsburg State University  \nIn the spring semester of 2015, I, a fresh-faced sophomore in college, made the bold decision to take a class called,“The Rhetoric of Gaming.” Having only really played games during my childhood, this choice was perhaps a bit naïve of me. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was the definition of what some like to refer to as a “casual,” “plebe,” or even “newb,” depending upon the decade in which you spent your teen years. In fact, I was even below that. I truly had absolutely no business being in that classroom. I was a hater, actively dismissive of gaming and the surrounding culture as a whole. Not only did I feel like games were solely for entertainment, but I also thought that, even as modes of entertainment, gaming ultimately had little to no value. Even worse still, gaming, in my mind, was a boy’s club in the most detestable way imaginable. When I imagined gamers, I saw horrifying scenes of men hurling violent, sexist insults at one another over Xbox live. Even though I typically think of myself as an open-minded person, everything I knew of gaming and gamers was based completely on harmful stereotypes. Putting all this aside, when you consider that my peak gaming experience occurred when Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was released, it was abundantly clear that I had a deficit from the moment I walked into the classroom. I had absolutely no idea what to expect and no way to relate to my peers regarding gaming. When they spoke ofFPSs and MMOs, I responded with WTFs and IDKs. Considering all of this, enrolling in the Gaming class was probably one of the  \nmost foolish decisions I’ve made during my academic career. However, much to my surprise, it also became one of the most rewarding ones as well.  \nWhen I took my seat on that first day of class, the first thing I did was curse myself for my stupid decision. Looking around and gawking at my fellow students in horror, my suspicions were being confirmed right before my very eyes: every preconceived notion I had about gaming was absolutely, undeniably true. Every negative gamer stereotype must have been seated in that classroom. As I stared in disgust at the almost 30 year-old male in front of me while he chugged his bottle of Mountain Dew like it was his life force and shoved fistfuls of nacho cheese Doritos into his gaping maw, I knew I had made a dire mistake. Always one for dramatics, I leaned over to my neighbor and declared,“This classroom is literally all 9 circles of my personal Hell.”Nightmares of socially-inept, unkempt, Gamergate bros danced through my head as I imagined what was to come for the rest ofthe semester. I, as the bra-burning Feminist I am, pictured myself in heated exchanges over whether or not Ubisoft was sexist and shuttered. What had I gotten myself into? Would I even survive this semester without giving myself an ulcer? Or a felony? As I weighed the pros and cons of dropping the class, the professor walked in and I decided to table the discussion for a later date. But, as a listened to the professor that first day, hanging off of every word, I knew that later date would never come. All it took was once class period—Syllabus Day, at that—to convince me that the gamified classroom was an infinitely unique, innovative, and effective alternative to the traditional classroom. Even if I couldn’t resolve my distaste for gaming, I quickly understood that this experience was one I would regret missing if I chose to drop. So I didn’t.  \nOn Syllabus Day, as the professor detailed what was in store for us that semester and explained the interworkings ofour gamified classroom, I felt absolutely mesmerized by this totally ingenious way of designing a classroom experience. Instead of traditional grades, we received XP (experience points) for assignments. We went on “Quests” and wrote about our experiences, which essentially involved taking","cbCaid8u4Mkzzu4x","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaid8u4Mkzzu4x","pdf",267435,12,"English","# Stereotypes and Initial Resistance\n## First Impressions and Classroom Misgivings\n# Gamified Learning Design\n## XP, Quests, Avatars, and Leaderboards\n# Motivational Impact and Collaboration\n## Designing a Final Board Game","[{\"question\":\"What was the student’s attitude toward gaming before taking the class?\",\"answer\":\"The student entered with dismissive views, believing games had little value beyond entertainment and that gaming culture reflected harmful stereotypes.\"},{\"question\":\"What key elements did the gamified classroom introduce?\",\"answer\":\"Assignments earned XP, students completed quests through game-night field notes, created personalized avatars, and tracked progress on a leaderboard.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the class design affect student motivation and learning?\",\"answer\":\"Game mechanics were described as intrinsically motivating students to work harder, leveraging strengths while encouraging better results and collaboration.\"}]","From Candy Crush to Catan: One Student’s Perspective on the Benefits of Gaming in Academia | PDF",1792085837,18]