What sounds better
than gaming and learning at the same time? Setting up your eLearning courses is
just half the battle. Getting learners to engage with your content is what
ultimately defines the success of your training courses. Gamification has
become an inevitable arsenal of eLearning content creators since the past few
years to get learners motivated and pay attention to the L&D
programs.
What exactly does
‘gamification’ mean in the sphere of L&D? In the simplest form,
gamification involves introducing fun gaming elements in the learning content
such as badges, leaderboards, and rewards to engage and motivate learners to
achieve certain training goals.
Gamification can be incorporated in an LMS through different gaming mechanisms. The most commonly used mechanisms include Points, Badges, Levels, Leaderboards, and Rewards. Let’s deep dive into what these gaming mechanisms actually entail.
Points: Points make up for the most primary scoring mechanism. Learners can earn points by completing certain tasks or through certain achievements. Points can be traded to unlock new course levels or to level up, earn badges or make way onto the leaderboards.
Certificates/Badges: In order to receive a certificate or a badge, learners must reach certain training milestones. These are more tangible rewards. Badges are generally awarded to learners when they reach minor milestones and are usually used to track their learning progress. Certificates on the other hand can be given on completion of online courses such as compliance training. Learners receiving a badge or a certificate earn the right to display it besides their username. A gamified LMS has the provision to display the badges on leaderboards or in any social messaging forums.
Levels: Levels are progress
steps that users can benefit from after gaining sufficient points, reach
strategic stages in the game, or complete certain milestones. Levelling up
usually indicates that game-based learning is going to get tougher and
interesting. In a way, it presents opportunities to unlock new levels of
learning. With a gamified LMS, learners can progress through different levels
and gain access to new learning resources.
Leaderboards: Leaderboards serve as a more extrinsic motivation mechanism than
intrinsic. They are one of the most competitive gamified mechanisms for those
who wish to be recognized and praised publicly. It is an ideal gaming element
to encourage learners to achieve the ‘top position’ by surpassing their peers.
Leaderboards in a gamified LMS is basically a webpage that offers visual
representation of the learners ranking in comparison to others.
Rewards: Learners can be rewarded in the form of points, badges, levelling up, or appearance on the leaderboards. LMSs that have the provision for ecommerce transactions can reward learners by offering course discounts when a learner reaches a certain level or earns enough points. Companies can also offer branded merchandise in the form of rewards. On one hand, rewards are a great way to acknowledge the achievements of some learners and on the other hand, rewarding for smaller milestones can encourage struggling learners to navigate through the training successfully. Using an LMS that supports gamification can offer you the flexibility to set rewarding rules as per your needs.
Why Gamification?
Effective gamification increases learner engagement which is the ultimate goal of gamification. Engaged employees are highly motivated to be more attentive to what they are learning, progress through the training material swiftly, and achieve their set training goals. Besides increasing learner engagement, gamification also makes learning more enjoyable, creates healthy competition, and encourages cooperation between peers. By using a gamified LMS, you get a chance to motivate and engage learners thus increasing the adoption of the learning platform and the learning course that it offers.
