10 Essential Elements Of Gamification In eLearning
10 Essential Elements Of Gamification In eLearning
10 Essential Elements Of Gamification In eLearning
By Ashish Gupta ashish@learningeverest.com
June 1, 2023
Gamification in eLearning programs is fast emerging as an effective technique to engage learners. 71% of employees believe that gamification leads to an increase in energy levels, and 66% say that gamification at work reduces their stress levels Learners who were educated with challenge-based gamification raised their performance by up to 89.45% compared to those who only received lectures (ScienceDirect, 2020). Gamification in eLearning has found its place for meeting specified learning outcomes.
What is Gamification in eLearning?
Gamification in eLearning uses gaming principles and critical elements to meet the required learning objectives. Gamification techniques leverage people’s basic desires for interaction, learning, mastery, competition, achievement, rank, self-expression, altruism, or closure. Gamification uses rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks or competitions to engage players. Types of rewards include points, badges, levels, progress bars, or providing the player with virtual currency. Making the achievements for accomplishing tasks visible to other players or providing leaderboards encourage players to compete.
Elements of Gamification in eLearning
Gamification in eLearning uses some of the following elements:
Challenges: Challenges are given to map the learning objectives or learning goals of the overall training.
Levels: These map the learning journey, and as the learner goes through each level, it represents a step up in proficiency for them.
Instant feedback: This helps learners know how far they are from their learning objectives, so they can adopt the necessary measures to improve their performance.
Scores: They are indicators of learners’ performance and are closely aligned to offering gratification and a sense of accomplishment.
Points and Badges: As the learners go through the learning path and certain clear levels, they are given badges. These reflect affirmations for their significant achievements.
Storytelling: This involves presenting the eLearning material in the form of a story. The learner’s decisions determine the outcome of the game, making it an interactive and immersive experience.
Leaderboards: They provide a visual representation of the overall progress, including against other learners. The analytics helps the learners to stay connected to the learning journey and aligned to reach their initial goals.
Competition: This can also be leveraged effectively as it helps the learners to assess where they stand against their peers.
Collaboration: This feature not only facilitates a team-building environment but also enables learners to leverage the support of their peers or guidance from others to reach their goals.
2D/3D Avatars: 2D/3D avatar-based games are games where players create and control a character or avatar in a virtual world. These games often feature social interactions, exploration, and gameplay mechanics such as quests, battles, and customization options for the avatar. You can develop 2D/3D games and create interactive avatar games to make them real-life-like.
You can blend all these gameplay elements with complex workplace scenarios and create immersive and interactive gamified training environments.
Moreover, gamification goes beyond physical rewards and promotes a mindset of constant achievement. It is a way to motivate employees when taking an eLearning module and ensure they are engaged.
Example of Gamification in eLearning Training Programs
Gamification in Articulate Storyline can enhance learner engagement and retention, making eLearning training programs more effective. Here is an excellent example:
One idea for adding game elements could be a basketball-themed game where the learners have to answer quiz questions related to the eLearning module, and for each correct response, they earn points for shooting the basketball to the basket.
The game could include a background of a basketball court, a scoreboard where the learners would get instant feedback, relevant background music, as well as the option to choose their avatar to make the game more immersive and enjoyable. Sounds interesting, right?
To make your basketball-themed eLearning game even more engaging and effective, consider the following tips:
Use storytelling and characters to create a narrative that motivates and guides the learner.
Provide immediate and constructive feedback to encourage progress and mastery.
Incorporate social and collaborative elements, such as leaderboards, team challenges, or peer feedback.
Consider the aesthetics and usability of the game interface, such as font size, color contrast, background, music, and navigation.
You can view more such eLearning games here.
To Wrap Up
Adding gamification in eLearning offers a learning journey to have fun as you learn, and the learners welcome it. However, L&D teams who invest in gamification in eLearning still have reservations about the value, impact, or ROI of this training. However, the success of any training strategy is determined by the effectiveness of its application. Gamification in eLearning is a good strategy to ensure learners’ engagement. It also challenges and encourages them to complete the training, thereby reaping the desired results.
References
Legaki, N. Z., Xi, N., Hamari, J., Karpouzis, K., & Assimakopoulos, V. (2020). The effect of challenge-based gamification on learning: An experiment in the context of statistics education. International Journal of Human-computer Studies, 144, 102496. Retrieved May 6, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102496
Sharma, A. (2021). Back To Basics: How Gamification Can Improve Employee Engagement In 2020. eLearning Industry. Retrieved May 6, 2023, from https://elearningindustry.com/how-gamification-improve-employee-engagement-2020
Pandey, A. (2021). 6 Killer Examples Of Gamification In eLearning (Updated In 2020). eLearning Industry. Retrieved May 6, 2023, from https://elearningindustry.com/6-killer-examples-gamification-in-elearning