Motivation is a game: Massively multiplayer online games as agents of motivation in higher education

Stakeholders in the education arena are seeking effective and affordable ways to integrate technology in curriculum. One technology integration approach that has received attention is using commercial digital games as technological tools in the curriculum. Massively Multiplayer Online Games or MMOGs are a sub-genre of commercial, made for entertainment games. While there is considerable evidence that such games provide robust, stimulating and motivating environments for users, there are gaps in examinations of how learners perceive their experiences when immersed in MMOG based curricular environments. As learners are the focal points of designing instruction, understanding their conceptions is crucial for effective instructional design. Using a Phenomenography approach, this study highlighted the experiences of 95 students in English and Business courses that used an MMOG based curriculum. A key finding is that participants approve of game related contents such as information on game sites, game wikis and YouTube tutorials, with or without experiencing gameplay. This suggests a possible paradigm shift in the way MMOGs may be infused in the curriculum, as teachers and instructional designers may find it easier to implement and adopt MMOGs in their classrooms if complexities such as mandatory gameplay are not necessary. Researcher and practitioner implications are also discussed.