MTU: eLearning Design & Development New Media Workplace

18th Nov 2025

My Guest Speaking role for the MA in eLearning Design & Development New Media Workplace

Thanks so much to the MTU team for inviting me back for (my near annual) guest speaking spot for the MA in eLearning Design & Development New Media Workplace. My objective has always been to share practical tips on including gamified elements to an app or game and how and when you need to start thinking about these processes in the dev process.

A Year of Transformation

When I spoke to this cohort last year, AI was a topic we discussed in abstract terms—a promising technology that might influence our workflows "someday." Fast forward twelve months, and AI isn't on the horizon anymore. It's here, embedded into nearly every stage of how we build digital experiences at Hexa Studios.

This forced me to essentially rewrite my presentation. The development cycle I present to students: Planning, Prototyping, Development, Testing & QA, Launch, and Iterate & Update—remains the same in structure, but the tools and approaches within each phase have fundamentally shifted.

Gamification Meets the Dev Cycle

My talk focused on how each stage of the development process can incorporate gamified elements, drawing from our work building educational apps and interactive learning experiences:

• Planning
• Prototyping
• Development
• Testing + Q&A
• Launching
• Iterate and Updating

The Speakers

I was fortunate to part of a lineup of speakers from across Ireland the recurring themes were clear: ethical and accessible design isn't optional; digital learning ecosystems must be human-centred and flexible; and AI is no longer a future consideration—it's a present reality demanding thoughtful integration.

Thank Yous

Thanks so much for Roisin Garvey for inviting me to present - I always enjoy engaging with the students and always leave with a new perspective on education and how to educate users in any part of the application.

Other Recent Posts