The year 2020, with the pandemic-induced distance learning challenge, has got educators striving for students’ engagement. While e-learning has helped educators in both K-12 and corporate sectors to keep up the learning process, it’s no secret that the online and hybrid format has had detrimental effects on students’ focus and the ability to maintain undivided attention.
Here’s when gamification can offer a solution. In a bid to help students concentrate on their learning goals, educators are increasingly leveraging gamification methods. In this article, we will talk about the benefits of gamification for boosting learning efficiency, and explore some of the existing approaches towards using game-play elements in education.
What is Gamification?
Gamification stands for the application of gameplay principles in order to create engagement. In the education industry, gamification aims to infuse the learning process with fun and excitement by applying game-play elements, such as point scoring, competition, teamwork, etc.
As it turns out, the efficiency of gamification has been proven scientifically: because it triggers basic human emotions such as accomplishment and excitement, it not just creates emotional well-being but also helps learners master new skills and memorize course content.
Gamification has proven so effective, 50% of startups in 2021 plan to integrate it into their strategies. Big brands like Nike and Starbucks are also leveraging gamification to attract and retain customers. Within the e-learning segment, services like Duolingo and Codeacademy are vivid examples of using gamification to drive learners’ engagement.
Why Use Gamification? Exploring the Benefits
Despite the proven effect gamification is having on the learning outcomes, some companies still need reasons why they should enhance their courses with gamification elements. Here is an outline of the benefits that gamification brings to corporate learning and development (L&D).
Benefits of Gamification in Corporate L&D
– Higher course completion rates: engaged learners are less likely to drop out and tend to complete the courses they find compelling. In other words: gamification creates higher retention rates and accounts for the so-called “sticky learning”.
– Positive impact on different learning layers: apart from helping learners memorize facts and information, gamification also helps master or improve concrete skills and can be used for on-the-job training.
– Mindset and behavioral change: in the long run, gamification creates deep changes in cognitive and behavioral levels, helps adopt a positive mindset and constructive behavior patterns.
– Better recall and enhanced learning outcomes: the knowledge and skills developed via gamification methods are more deeply engrained, so learners can better remember what they’ve learned.
Benefits of Gamification in K-12 Education
– Better motivation for learning: gamification creates engagement by adding a fun element to learning and by urging students to take ownership over their learning process and end results.
– Increased spontaneity: students are less likely to be self-conscious about making mistakes (after all, it’s only a “game”), and more likely to experiment and develop out-of-the-box thinking.
– Improved concentration and focus: gamification draws students’ attention, so they are less likely to get distracted, even if they are studying in the online and hybrid format.
– Teamwork and socialization: these are exactly what kids are missing when they study online, but the truth is – they may be missing out on peer communication even if they attend school in-person. Gamification promotes communication and teamwork.
– Better grades: better engagement has an immensely positive impact on students’ knowledge level.
Because of these advantages, gamification is now becoming an integral part of modern learning management platforms. For example, VARTEQ’s all-encompassing Prosvita platform integrates gamification and uses game-play principles to improve the quality of learning.
Game-Play Elements: What Makes Gamification Work?
Exactly how does gamification work? We all know what it looks like in a computer game, but how exactly do game-play principles apply in e-learning? Let’s now go through some of the examples of popular game-play elements that help create engagement for both K-12 students and corporate learners.
Progress indicators
These serve a double purpose – helping educators track students’ progress and motivating learners to perform at their best. May be presented in the form of scorecards, leaderboards, checkpoints, levels, etc.
Challenges
Splitting learning content in chunks that increase in complexity also engages students and motivates them to achieve.
Competition
You don’t have to make your course bluntly competitive: a simple demonstration of others’ results and scores may help create excitement and challenge.
Personalized progress reports
Providing students with detailed information about their strong and weak spots and suggesting areas for improvement can also act as a major incentive.
Setting goals
Setting personal learning goals and milestones can also be highly motivating and help students take responsibility for their learning and performance.
Surely, these are not the most sophisticated game-play elements, but we plan to devote more attention to gamification examples in our next articles on e-learning.
Conclusion
Globally, the adoption of gamification is growing at an impressive rate. The market of gamification services is predicted to reach $38.42 million by 2026, which means the trend towards the gamification of education is set to persist in the upcoming years.
Surely, using gamification to build learning courses, or updating your existing courses to include gamification requires technical knowledge and expertise. At VARTEQ we are proficient at building solutions for e-learning that include a wide array of game-play elements.
Looking to improve your e-learning outcomes via gamification? Contact us now for a consultation with VARTEQ professionals!