Gamification

Gamification is the use of game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning and solve problems. Basically it’s the use of gaming technology to solve problems outside of the games sector. Games are created to draw people   in,   to   keep   them   playing,   to   keep   them interested, entertained and involved.     And it’s much more than just adding rewards, points, and badges to processes to motivate people – it’s the instructional method, and not just the delivery system, that provides the  elements  for  learning  in a game situation  i.e.  we must ask what pieces in games makes them engaging such as interactivity, content, story
Impact of gamification

A study done by Traci Sitzmann, an assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business  School,  found  that  “employees  trained  on video  games  learned  more  factual  information, attained a higher skill level and retained information longer than workers who learned in less interactive environments.” She found that games provided a high level of instruction, but she also noted that it wasn’t just dependent on the game per se, but the interactivity or the  elements  that make  the  game  engaging.  In  other words, the engagement of the learner in the game leads to learning.

Gamification is taking elements of gaming and adding them to traditional instruction. Instructional designers have been using some elements for years, like stories, case studies, or interactive activities, but gamification is more about taking into consideration interactivity and engagement first, and objectives second.

Enterprise gamification

Companies are now also “gamifying” various business processes to motivate employees, fundraise for causes, and market products Tech-industry research firm Gartner estimates that by

2014, “some 70% of large companies will use the techniques for at least one business process. Market researcher M2 Research estimates revenue from gamification software, consulting and marketing will reach $938 million by 2014 from less than $100 million in 2013.”

Companies need to make sure that the games are not just doling out meaningless awards or badges. Overuse will cause gamification to be trivialized and non- impactful.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The future of e-learning

E-learning is here to stay. As computer ownership grows across the globe e-learning becomes increasingly viable and accessible. Internet connection speeds are increasing,   and   with   that,   opportunities   for   more multimedia training methods arise. With the immense improvement of mobile networks in the past few years and the increase in telecommuting, taking all the awesome features of e-learning on the road is a reality with smartphones and other portable devices. Technologies such as social media are also transforming education constantly. Generally speaking, learning is expensive, takes a long time and the results can vary. E-learning has been trying for years now to complement the way we learn to make it more effective and measurable. The result now being that there are a number of tools that help create interactive courses, standardize the learning process and/or inject informal elements to otherwise formal lea...
Read more

The history of e-learning

Image
The term “e-learning” has only been in existence since 1999, when the word was first utilized at a CBT systems seminar. Other words also began to spring up in search of an accurate description such as “online learning” and “virtual learning”. However, the principles behind e- learning    have   been   well   documented   throughout history, and there is even evidence which suggests that early forms of e-learning existed as far back as the 19th century. An e - lea r ning t i mel i ne Long before the internet was launched, distance courses were being offered to provide students with education on particular subjects or skills. In the 1840′s Isaac Pitman taught his pupils shorthand via correspondence. This form of symbolic writing was designed to improve writing speed and was popular amongst secretaries, journalists, and other individuals who did a great deal of note taking or writing. Pitman, who was a qualified teacher, was sen...
Read more