Gamification

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Gamification turns the entire learning process into a game. It takes game mechanics and gameplay elements and applies them to existing learning courses and content in order to better motivate and engage learners.  Examples of these mechanics include:

• Achievement badges

• Points

• Leaderboards

• Progress bars

• Levels/quests

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In theory, you can gamify any activity, not just learning ones. Indeed, everything from fitness apps to LinkedIn’s profile pages can and have been gamified to increase user participation and engagement.

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Examples of gamification in the classroom include:

• Separating students into groups to compete on assignments or activities.

• Enabling students to earn points for behavior or completion of assignments and allowing them to spend the points on rewards.

• Timed flash cards or worksheets.

• Badges to show completion of work or mastery of skills.

• Listening for certain keywords or situations to complete a bingo-type sheet.

• Using dice to generate random numbers for a worksheet activity.

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eLearning Gamification Examples

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There are a lot of great gamification examples out there, from Deloitte adding badges and rankings to their digital Leadership Academy, to DuoLingo’s usage of skill points when lessons are completed. Here are a few more examples to give you a taste for gamification in the real world:

• Quest to Learn: An entire, gamified school, Q2L uses game design elements like levels, missions, and quests to keep students engaged with learning material. “Boss levels” replace finals as a way to test students’ ability to apply acquired knowledge.

• IBM’s Kudos Badges: Used for IBM Connections, Kudos Badges can be awarded to users based on custom adoption behavior (did they use the tool?) and also include leaderboards for some friendly competition, and profile progress for a sense of “leveling up.”

• Duolingo: A good example of how far gamification can go to teach a challenging subject, Duolingo is a gamified language-learning website. By turning tests and lessons into challenges and keeping track of progress, Duolingo keeps learners engaged and motivated, even when they might otherwise be frustrated or bored.

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Gamification has come a long way since its inception. Rather than being a rare thing you might encounter on occasion, gamification is an increasingly default feature for multiple types of software, from learning management systems to performance tracking programs.

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One of the major changes in modern gamification is how subtle it has become. When it was introduced, you’d find system where gamification was the first thought, last thought, and most thoughts in between. Every piece of a gamified system had to be gamified. We’ve grown and learned since then. Now you’re more likely to see two or three gamified aspects of a system, without sacrificing the entire functionality at the altar of the cool new thing.

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