GAMIFICATION IN EDUCATION Gabriela Kiryakova 1 , Nadezhda Angelova 2 , Lina Yordanova 3 Abstract Today's learners are digital natives. They grew up with digital technologies. Teachers have to solve important issues related to the adaptation of the learning process towards students who have different learning styles and new requirements for teaching and learning. Gamification is one of the educational approaches and techniques that increase motivation and engagement of learners. The aim of the current work is to study and present the nature and benefits of gamification and to provide some ideas how to implement it in education. Key Words: e-learning, gamification, LMS, Moodle 1. INTRODUCTION Today's learners are digital natives and have new profile. They grew up with digital technologies and have different learning styles, new attitude to the learning process and higher requirements for teaching and learning. Teachers are facing new challenges and have to solve important issues related to the adaptation of the learning process towards students’ needs, preferences and requirements. Teachers have to use different teaching methods and approaches that allow students to be active participants with strong motivation and engagement to their own learning. Modern pedagogical paradigms and trends in education, reinforced by the use of ICT, create prerequisites for use of new approaches and techniques in order to implement active learning. Gamification in training is one of these trends. The aim of the current work is to study and present the nature and benefits of gamification and to provide some ideas how to implement it in education. 2. NATURE OF GAMIFICATION 2.1. Definitions According to Kapp gamification is “using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems.” (Kapp, 2012) Gamification is the use of game thinking, approaches and elements in a context different from the games. Using game mechanics improves motivation and learning in formal and informal conditions (GamifyingEducation.org). Various definitions overlap and can be summarized as follows: Gamification is an integration of game elements and game thinking in activities that are not games. Games have some distinctive features which play a key role in gamification:  users are all participants – employees or clients (for companies), students (for educational institutions);  challenges/tasks that users perform and progress towards defined objectives;  points that are accumulated as a result of executing tasks;  levels which users pass depending on the points;  badges which serve as rewards for completing actions;  ranking of users according to their achievements. 2.2. Differences between Gamification and Serious Games There are some terms and concepts that have similarities - gamification, game inspired design, serious games, simulations and games. The boundaries between them are not clearly defined. Game inspired design is the use of ideas and ways of thinking that are inherent in games. Game inspired design does not express in adding game elements, but rather in using of playful design. Gamification is the use of game metaphors, game elements and ideas in a context different from that of the games in order to increase motivation and commitment, and to influence user behavior (Marczewski, 2013). Serious games are games designed for a specific purpose related to training, not just for fun. They possess all game elements, they look like games, but their objective is to achieve something that is predetermined. Simulations are similar to serious games, but they simulate real-world things and their purpose is user training in an environment resembling real life. Games include everything mentioned above and they are designed for entertainment. All the above-mentioned concepts have one thing in common – they use elements that are inherent in games and their purpose is to support learning and to improve users’ engagement. 3. GAMIFICATION IN EDUCATION – WHY? According to Gabe Zichermann, cited by (Giang, 2013), the use of game mechanics improves the abilities to learn new skills by 40%. Game approaches lead to higher level of commitment and motivation of users to 1 Trakia University, Faculty of Economics, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, gabriela@uni-sz.bg 2 Trakia University, Faculty of Economics, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, nadja@uni-sz.bg 3 Trakia University, Faculty of Economics, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, lina@uni-sz.bg