摘要：What “gamification” means and what it doesn’t has been addressed and described by many researchers from a variety of different perspectives in the past. Similarities and differences of the methods between “gamification” and “games” (as well as “gamification” and “game based learning”) have also been look upon up until now. However, “gamification” and “game” terms, are still being mentioned as substitutes for one another sometimes in many research articles. Although a mixture of methods are being used nowadays in the whole learning process (e.g. flipped learning together with gamification, mobile learning and infographics etc.), naming the “whole” learning methodology being used in an educational project/research only as “gamification” (or only as a game/GBL) – is yet another common issue that may lead us to misunderstand the gamification concept. These situations may be regarded as problematic issues in understanding the concept of gamification correctly. The number of educators and researchers keeps increasing in the world which are researching and trying to benefit from gamification applications in a variety of disciplines. Some of these disciplines (such as chemistry, health etc.) seems to be more benefitting and being more successful than others in their project states. Evaluating the level of success in various dimensions of learning may also differ from one to another largely in case of mixed learning methods being used in the research. Thus, in cases of using gamification method as well with others in a mixed manner of methods, the low level of success achieved may have been affected by a number of reasons. These reasons and conclusions have oriented the author to establish a research on articles and web resources on “gamificaiton” and its differentiations from “games” and “game-based learning” concepts. The intension is to better understand “gamification”, try contribute in drawing a clearer view of “gamification” for educators and researchers who are in the beginning stages of gamification/gamifying applications topic, or are planning to make use of them in the near future. With this perspective, a literature review was done, summerizing and commenting on the results which are reflected to this article aiming to clarify what “gamification” is, how it differs from “games” and “game-based learning”, familiarize with some successful gamification applications of today (in the education sector), underline how and why it is spreading in various application areas (including education) today and comment on the future of “gamification use”.
