Gamification
(GAYm-IF-ih-KAY-SHUN)
GAS-LIKE
What is Gamification?
Gamification is an instructional strategy that combines intention with a coherent collection of game elements to produce an engaging learning experience connected to objectives and outcomes.
Other Common Names
Other common names for gamification include:
- Game design
- Game mechanics
Key Properties
There is a difference between element 42 (games) and element 21 (gamification). Games—as you’ll read in chapter 5, “Radioactive Elements”—are something you play, and are often isolated activities within a larger learning experience. Gamification, on the other hand, is an intentional design strategy applied to some or all of a learning experience.
If you’re curious whether your learning program has truly “gamified” the
experience for your learners, you may want to ask whether it has any combination
of these gamification properties:
- Engages learners by carrying game-based elements throughout the design of a learning experience
- Balances content delivery and game play in an ongoing basis
- Introduces or reinforces new knowledge, skills, or abilities
quotes from what's your formula about gamification
- "What are these “game-based elements”? Points are perhaps the most commonly used—get an answer correct, you get points; get it incorrect, you lose points. Once you’ve reached a certain number of points, or perhaps if you have the most points at the end of the game, you (and your team) win. Another commonly used game-based element is the leader board. You keep accruing points over time and see how you stack up against colleagues, peers, co-workers, people in other offices, and so forth. Points can be carried over a multi-day in-person session or can be tracked in a learning management system that shows a leaderboard over time."
- "These three game elements can offer incentive and create new streams of engagement for learners, especially those who thrive on competition and achievements, and those who like to play games outside work. However, relying on points, leaderboards, and badges in an overall gamification strategy is a bit like relying on hamburgers, tacos, and pizza for a nutritional strategy. They’re easy, but relying exclusively on them means you’re missing out on a lot of other effective game elements; eventually you and your learners may get tired of what you’re serving up."
- "Badges are yet another commonly used game element. Accrue enough points, complete enough courses, or hit a certain score on an end-of-course test and you’ve earned a badge. Can you collect every badge offered across our training offerings?"
Elements that Bond with Gamification
Lesson Plan
A game is something you play, while gamification is an intentional design strategy. Using a lesson plan (or for e-learning, a storyboard) to map out that design strategy can help you connect the dots and envision how a completely gamified program could work.
Quiz Software
Using quiz software such as Kahoot during a training session can be a fun way to introduce topics or engage learners in review activity. The system does all the work when it comes to keeping track of points and leaders, all you need to do is fill in the questions and the content. To bring this beyond a game into the realm of gamification, you can use quiz software as one element in a series of challenges whereby your learners must achieve a minimum threshold score to continue their quest for knowledge and new skills, only unlocking the next piece of content once the threshold has been reached.
Video
There are several ways video can play a part in a larger gamification initiative. First, presenting your learners with a challenge to generate learner-created content and share during a session or post as part of an online program can be a way to earn points or complete a challenge that unlocks additional content or feedback. Video can also be used to allow SMEs (or even actors) to present content as a clue or part of a game component that learners need to piece together to uncover important content or be exposed to new skills.
Elearning
Using a comprehensive narrative to help a learner navigate an overall learning experience can bring relevance to individual games and activities throughout an e-learning experience.
Assessment
Not only can you learn a lot about the answers and choices a participant makes during a gamified experience, but you can assess a lot about the learner and their ability to work with others and problem solve as well.
Augmented Reality
When you think about the gamification of learning programs, there are a variety of technologies that can be helpful; encouraging participants to use their devices can broaden their learning opportunities. Integrating the element of augmented reality allows your participants to see things that aren’t actually physically present in the training environment, which can add a unique touch to your training program. Take advantage of software tools like Zappar and send your participants on an augmented reality–based quest or scavenger hunt as part of a broader gamification initiative.
Games
It would be very difficult to generate a gamified learning experience without the use of games. However, you need to remember that games—even if you put a series of games into one learning experience—are not synonymous with gamification. The games chosen, the game-like elements integrated, and the comprehensive nature of a learning experience are the pieces that need to be combined to create a truly gamified experience.
Learning Objectives Taxonomy
The whole key to success for a gamified learning initiative—and the element that will help differentiate between a fun, engaging experience and a valuable, effective experience—is the learning objective taxonomy that’s used, and specifically the learning objectives that have been defined for the program. If the activities don’t align with the best way in which to accomplish the learning objectives, then gamified or not, it’s not an effective learning program.
Books On Gamification
