The Learning Industry & Gamification

Gamification is rapidly gaining popularity as an effective and enjoyable method for promoting learning. It has also made its way into the workplace, providing employees with exciting incentives to enhance their job performance through competition and rewards. However, despite its increasing popularity, not everyone comprehends its purpose and origin, which unfortunately results in missing out on its significant benefits. This brief article aims to explain what gamification is, the history behind it, and its pros and cons to help you better understand its impact on learning environments.

What is Gamification?

Gamification incorporates game elements and design principles into non-game contexts, such as education and training. In the learning industry, gamification has the potential to make education more engaging and effective for learners of all ages and abilities. Let’s explore 5 ways that gamification can help or hinder the process.

Studies show that gamified e-learning experiences can improve knowledge retention rates by up to 10 times. [Source: eLearning Industry]

Here are five (5) ways gamification can help in the learning industry:

• Increased engagement: Gamification can make learning more fun and engaging, helping learners stay focused and motivated.

• Enhanced motivation: Gamification can provide learners with a sense of progress and achievement, increasing their motivation to learn.

• Improved retention: Gamification can make learning more interactive and memorable, which can help learners retain information better.

• Greater accessibility: Gamification can make learning more accessible to learners with different learning styles and abilities.

• Increased collaboration: Gamification can encourage learners to work together and collaborate, which can help them learn from each other as gamification fosters a sense of community among learners.

Gamified goal-setting approaches result in a 12-36% increase in goal attainment compared to non-gamified methods. [Source: Gartner]

However, it is important to note that gamification is not a magic solution, and it will not help in certain areas, such as:

• Complex concepts: Gamification may not be able to make complex concepts easy to understand.

• Learning style: Not all learners may be inclined towards gamified learning

• Lack of proper integration: Gamification will not be effective if it is not integrated well within the curriculum.

• Inappropriate games: Using inappropriate games can be distracting and may not be effective in teaching certain concepts.

• Lack of proper assessment: Gamification can lead to a lack of proper assessment of student's learning outcomes.

Gamification has been shown to increase task completion rates by 150%. [Source: TalentLMS]

When designing gamification for the learning industry, it is important to keep these five (5) things in mind:

• Align the game elements with the learning objectives: The game elements should be designed to support the learning objectives and not distract from them.

• Use appropriate game mechanics: The game mechanics should be appropriate for the learners' age and skill level.

• Provide feedback: Feedback should be provided throughout the game to help learners understand their progress and identify areas for improvement.

• Encourage collaboration: Gamification should encourage learners to work together and collaborate to solve problems.

• Assess learning outcomes: Gamification should be designed to assess learning outcomes and ensure that learners are mastering the material.

In summary, gamification has the potential to make learning more engaging and effective for learners of all ages and abilities. However, it is important to use it correctly and consider the potential drawbacks and challenges of using gamification in the learning industry.

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Igor Radić,

Funifier Partner & CEO