Gamification is a pedagogical practice that involves structuring a course as a game. It can include using computer or video games as part of the course, but it need not.

The office phone on Assistant Professor of Economics Benjamin Balak’s crowded desk has been shoved to the side, buttons facing the wall. The receiver is off the hook, dangling over the edge, just above the carpeted floor.

“I haven’t answered that phone in years,” says Balak, an associate professor of economics who uses video game techniques to teach economic theory. “A traditional office telephone is so archaic. I use more efficient methods of communication—like SMS, Facebook, and email. My students love it.”

Those gaming techniques stimulate the production…