On an average, men around the world spend thousands of hours in gaming. They dive into this unrealistic community where they are free to be what they have always wanted to be, such as a soldier, a racer or even an architect etc.
The reason why most games exist is to provide people with a virtual reality phenomenon which helps them convey their emotions, the feelings that may not display in a real social environment – anger, frustration, sympathy, atrophy, conscience etc. This is the reason why several platforms these days are using gamification in eLearning. There are many operational advantages to this method of learning.
Let’s introduce the top effective uses of gamification in eLearning
Dynamic Learning Experience
It is obvious that learners will be automatically attracted to gamification as an approach because it is simply ‘fun’ for them. The dynamism of this particular learning environment is unreal in ways that they enjoy being in it. This builds up their focus more and allows them to digest in more information comparatively to an online text document. Images, graphics, sound, and most importantly, their ability to control the scenario themselves is a very big characteristic.
Practical Learning Environment
The core difference that can be highlighted between gamification learning and text learning is the absence of practical solutions. It’s like learning all the codes, but never being able to program anything – it makes information irrelevant. Through gamification, the student or learner is placed in a situation that allows him to place all the learning concepts in front of him. Above all, he will have a taste of what will be expected of him when he completes his course and is hired by a firm. Gamification eLearning is knowledge mixed with experience.
Better Knowledge Retention and Feedback
Being part of a game allows the students to gain feedback as soon as they make a mistake. They can easily decipher what is right and what is wrong at the spot, which does not happen with any other method in online learning, unless you are actually engaged in a conversation with someone over chat or video. The fact that the feedback is of an instant nature, helps the learners retain more knowledge, compared to if they learn their mistake after they have learnt everything and start a practical exercise in the end.
Enables Friendly Competition
Learners can be allowed to compete with each other on certain tasks, which monitor their performances through leaderboards or different kinds of title, just like any normal racing game for instance. This creates a sense of competition to achieve better score, thus, having a direct impact on their learning and knowledge retention, as these gaming memories will create prompts for their brain, helping them at a later stage.
Behavioural Change
Through this process of gamification, the learner is subject to go through a behavioural change in terms of tactics and learning comprehension. This happens through two main processes – repetition and retrieval. Games are played in a loop, it is not a one time thing, which causes the person to retrieve that specific piece of information every time he faces a situation in which he has to apply it. This retrieval is solidified with the process of repetition. Overall, through this, gamification can be definitely considered as effective as any other method used in eLearning.
Impact On Business
It is necessary to evaluate gamification as a method of learning to impact not only the learner, but the organisation as well. Since, this method can be applied to a variety of learning needs such as awareness, customer support and product sales, it is bound to have a positive impact on the productivity levels of the business as they can benefit from the rapidly developing skills of the learners that are adaptable to the practical environment and not just formal learning.
According to research, successful learning needs to consist of at least 70% of practical skills or on-job training. Thus, it can be said that gamification as an eLearning method is definitely worth a try, as it succeeds in engaging the learner into something exciting as well as full of knowledge.
I am a Freelance writer by day and sports fan by night. I write about tech education and health related issues (but not at the same time). Live simply, give generously, watch football and a technology lover. Active member of Zeolearn.com community. Find me on twitter.
