Gamifying Biology: Bringing Life to Life in Canvas!
Presented by Bessie RiveraAssistant Vice President of Program Development
Northbridge University
Date @ Time : Wed, Jul 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Room: M104
Session Description
Discover how Northbridge University transformed a traditional online Biology course into an immersive learning adventure using Canvas. Through gamification, interactive multimedia, adaptive learning experiences, and AI-supported instructional strategies, this session showcases how thoughtful course design can increase engagement, motivation, and student success without sacrificing academic rigor. Attendees will explore practical design approaches, examples of learning activities, and lessons learned from implementing a fully gamified undergraduate science course.
What this session is really about
Let's be honest—many online courses still ask students to read, watch, and take a quiz. While that approach delivers content, it doesn't always create memorable learning experiences.
In this session, we'll share how our instructional design team reimagined an introductory Biology course as an interactive journey where students explore, solve challenges, earn achievements, and actively engage with scientific concepts inside Canvas.
This isn't about adding points and badges just for fun. It's about intentionally using gamification, storytelling, multimedia, and learner-centered design to make difficult concepts more approachable while supporting persistence and academic success.
We'll also discuss what worked, what surprised us, and what we'd do differently after implementing the course with real students.
You'll leave with practical ideas that you can immediately adapt—whether you're redesigning one module or rethinking an entire online course.
This one's for you if…
- You're an instructional designer, faculty member, educational developer, academic technology professional, or administrator looking to increase student engagement in online courses.
- You work in higher education or workforce education and want practical strategies—not just theory—for using Canvas to create more interactive, motivating, and learner-centered experiences.
- You've been wondering how to incorporate gamification in meaningful ways without dramatically increasing faculty workload.
- You're looking for ideas that combine instructional design, multimedia, AI, and Canvas features to improve student success.
See you in Louisville!
We're excited to share not only what we built, but also the design decisions, successes, and lessons learned throughout the process.
If you're curious about gamification, instructional design, AI, or simply creating better learning experiences in Canvas, we'd love to connect.
Have a question you're hoping we'll cover? Share it in the comments—we'll do our best to address it during the session. We look forward to meeting you in Louisville!
