People love games. If you apply games to your learning and training programs, your learners can learn and have fun at the same time. By taking full advantage of this trend, your organization can develop L&D programs that include gamification as part of the course content to achieve multiple results: increase learner engagement, build measurable challenges into your learning management system (LMS) and understand learner performance.
What is Gamification in online learning?
Gamification incorporates the elements of a game to better engage learners. By designing LMS modules to function more like games, training professionals can tap into the same instincts that inspire people to participate in sports or play games on their phones. Gamification in eLearning motivates users by appealing to their desires to compete, earn recognition and gain a feeling of accomplishment.
Gamification is an effective way to create measurable goals that engage learners. Users enjoy LMS platforms that incorporate gamification elements like avatars, scores and progress through different levels, and 80 percent claim that their productivity would improve if they receive the content in a more game-like format.
When participants experience training as a game, they benefit from several different positive reinforcements. Training modules that use gamification have a natural flow that encourages learners to continue progressing through the lessons. Games typically provide instant feedback on the user's performance, which satisfies the need for recognition. By constantly quantifying and rewarding learners' achievements, gamification inspires learners by capitalizing on their competitive instincts.
Here is a short video on what is gamification and its components, explained by Paula Yunker, Managing Partner & Instructional Designer at Limestone Learning:
Using Gamification to Engage Participants
Flexible LMS platforms like Lambda Learn provide several options for organizations to implement the principles of gamification in eLearning. Here are some ways to begin incorporating gaming elements into your existing programs.
- Create challenges. By incorporating an increasing level of difficulty into your modules, you can motivate users to continue participating. The most engaging courses leverage storytelling techniques and a variety of challenges to capture learners' attention.
- Implement learner-focused features. Make each participant the driver of their own training experience. With personalized feedback and self-directed learning, your organization can make users feel more invested in your programs.
- Track learners' progress. By using a robust learning analytics tool like Lambda Analytics, your LMS can provide managers with access to all the real-time data. This data will highlight their strengths and weaknesses and can help your team identify areas for improvement.
- Recognize participants' achievements. Organizations have many different options to reward learners for acquiring new skills, demonstrating proficiency or completing a course. Depending on your training objectives, you could recognize users with a points system, digital badges or trophies.
Implementing gamification in eLearning improves training outcomes by making modules more fun and rewarding for users. In addition to increasing motivation, providing instant feedback gives learners the information they need to manage their performance better.
Lambda Solutions works with our clients to design eLearning platforms--Lambda Suite--to effectively collect and measure your learning data and feedback, try Lambda Analytics--a powerful reporting and analytics solution--to gain actionable insights from your own data. Contact us to start getting more out of your training programs!
Need More Insights on Gamification?
Watch our on-demand webinar, Gamification 101 – What It Is and How to Get Started:
Originally published on October 15, 2018. Last updated on May 13, 2020.
