The game drive is one of the best motivators for people of all ages. We explain what the buzzword “Gamification” means exactly – and how you can make proper use of the game drive in further education so that your training participants learn with fun and motivation!
What is Gamification?
Gamification is not only interesting for further education but has also been a well-known term in other areas for several years.
Gamification means the transfer of game principles into a non-game environment. (…) Gamification uses our natural game drive to increase motivation, so that monotonous, unpopular, or complex tasks can still be fun.”
(Source: SWR. Gamification: How the game drive captivates us)
This principle works not only with children: The game drive is also lost in adulthood and shows up everywhere in everyday life. Social and computer games are typical examples. Perhaps you collect bonus points for rewards when shopping, or accolades in sports? Wonderful, that too is Gamification!
Not only children like to play: Adults can also be motivated to learn through the game drive.
How does learning through Gamification work?
There are two types of motivation to learn something new: Either the motivation comes from outside, for example from school or from the employer, and you have to learn. Or you want to learn because you have benefits from it, such as good grades or a higher professional position.
Gamification aims to provide people with certain incentives and thus promote the wanting to learn. Incentives can include:
Gaining experience points to fill a progress bar.
Unlocking new challenges and levels.
Receiving awards for individual performance.
To receive the incentives, new skills must be learned or solution strategies developed. In short: The player learns quickly, effectively, and purposefully – and has fun doing it!
Games are not just a pastime. We learn strategic thinking, problem-solving, and continuously improving our own abilities through games.
How do you implement Gamification in further education?
How Gamification can be effectively used in further education is explained by Martin Röhsner in an interview for the magazine “Training Aktuell”. I summarize the examples of incentive systems in corporate further education for you:
Offer participating employees a small reward when they correctly answer questions in the classroom seminar, for example, a piece of chocolate.
Promise a special gift when the content has been well learned and retained, for example, a book on the seminar topic.
Expand in-person training and offer matching online games or tasks.
You can read the entire interview with Martin Röhsner here: Interview on "Gamification in Further Education"
Gamification in Online Courses
Especially in online extensions, I see many opportunities to integrate playful components: I think of online courses with
“Awards” at the end of a quiz on the learning material.
“Learning levels” with increasing difficulty of the content.
“Bonus content”, which is released after passing difficult exams.
Motivate your participants in the online course with very special incentives and awaken their game drive!
Such offers awaken the child in every learner and bring fun into the seriousness of professional learning. And, let’s be honest: “Final boss” also sounds much more exciting than “final exam,” right?
By the way: Creating online courses with playful elements can be very easy. Quizzes, exams, learning chapters, and diverse content can be created with blink.it in just a few clicks. Try it out now easily and for free!
