What is Gamification?
Gamification is the process of using game-like mechanics to engage learners by 14% or more. Gamification can be a simple as unlockable badges and leaderboards, or can be extended to full game-like experiences to be played on a computer, handheld device or in VR.
With gamification you can make any subject fun, increasing engagement with your elearning by 14% on average, which helps to improve the value your learning provides.
Common implementations of Gamification
- Simple gamification mechanics include
- Badges that can be unlocked upon achieving large milestones, such as the completion of a course.
- Points that can be awarded to encourage positive actions, such as reaching a high score on a assessment or interacting with the community.
- Users achieve levels based on the accumulation of points, encouraging users to hit more milestones to “level up”.
- Leaderboards for competitive gamification.
- Login streaks to encourage frequent engagement and to build healthy habits with your learning.
- Ability to “cash in” points for rewards such as physical or digital products.
- Interactive learning activities such as quizzes or card sorting
- Some more involved gamification examples include
- Virtual reality games for scenario-based learning.
- Games for desktop and mobile devices, such as Minecraft: Education Edition, which teaches history, maths, science and other subjects inside of a fun and familiar Minecraft experience.
Benefits of Gamification
- Boosts motivation and encourages higher-rate of course completions
- Improve engagement by 14% on average
- Encourages sharing of badges / achievements on social networks which can be a new marketing channel
- Competitive elements of gamification can further increase engagement of an entire group of learners
- Helps to increase retention of users who don’t want to lose their progress
- Attract new customers who enjoy gamification
Gamification considerations
- Gamification isn’t just for kids. Peloton, Duolingo and the military forces use gamification to keep their grown-up learners engaged.
- The most common gamification elements employees encounter are badges (71%), an app or software that scores their performance (59%), virtual or physical rewards (56%), and leaderboards (51%)