Online learning has gone through unprecedented changes following the profound advances in technology. Today, industries are skeptical about the viability of gamified learning to motivate and engage new-age learners. Gamification is a robust tool used to innovate, boost learners’ skills, craft desired behavior and improve learner engagement. It is the concept of applying gaming elements to non-game applications to make them more fun and entertaining.
Gamification- Learning from the Gaming World
Today, it is important for organizations to understand the psychology of their employees while accessing gamified learning courses. This study can be depicted through Fogg’s Behavioral Model used to understand the significance of gamification in e-learning. Basically, there are three prime factors underlying learner’s behavior- Motivation, Ability and Trigger.
1. Motivation-The learner wants to play to drive specific behavior (because of hope, fear, acceptance and rejection).
2. Ability- It enables the learner to carry out that behavior due to factors such as time, effort, resources, social deviance.
3. Trigger- The learner is triggered through reminders, cues and actions, to do the desired behavior.
All the above factors should occur at the same time when the behavior happens.
Gamification has carved a strong niche when it comes to improving learning efficiency and workplace productivity. The amalgam of instructional design and multimedia has encouraged the incorporation of interactive games for engaging learners with ease. Learners can play and access the same course multiple times, which helps them to retain information for a longer span.
As per the survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 53% of people said that by the year 2020, the trend of gamification in e-learning will be widespread.
E-learning has been the backbone of today’s corporate learning scenarios and its enhancement to cater to the diversified learning needs. The introduction to engaging games blended with the existing training curricula offers an experience which is motivating as well as fun filled. Gamification has proved to be an efficient tool to convert boring text into dynamic and interesting content. It encourages self-reliance in terms of employee’s ability to progress in today’s ever-evolving environment. Whether it is a classroom or training area, games excel in the delivery of the right kind of information at the right time. Consequently, the implementation of games has helped improving learner engagement and participation in online training programs. In the nutshell, gamification will uptake your learning experience to the level of motivation and interactivity that the modern world is looking for.
