Is it possible to make boring lessons as well as tedious tasks a little more fun? 

The answer is YES! 

Today, forward-thinking organisations are rapidly exploring how to use gamification to improve their learning programmes. Gamification is the process of incorporating gaming elements into non-gaming context, such as websites, content, or campaigns, in order to increase participation and engagement. 
Gamification is not just a gimmick! In fact, it triggers real, powerful human emotions, such as happiness, curiosity and excitement, leading to a more positive experience. It’s a perfect way of taking the boredom out of learning for your students and to take on the process of learning in an entirely different light. To help you get started, you can try incorporating the following elements:

1. Avatars

Avatars are characters created to narrate, guide, and engage learners. They are useful in the introductory part of the session to set the mood and discuss what learners can expect from the course. Avatars can also highlight and reiterate key points that are often covered in discussions. The inclusion of an avatar increases your student’s trust in the information presented, and makes your course less intimidating and easier to navigate.

2. Simulations

It’s been proven that real-life experiences are the best way for people to learn. That’s why simulations are great for gamifying your learning content! Integrating virtual reality and augmented reality into a training programme is a fantastic approach to providing learners with a gamified experience without putting them at risk. Since the learning experience is in a simulated environment, learning occurs through trial and error. It allows the student to experiment with various strategies, and, as a result, learners can learn about the implications of their actions without having to face any real-life consequences. 

Simulations encourage the development of practical skills that may be utilised in real-world scenarios. So, why not make the most of it?

3. Leaderboards

Some learners aspire to be at the top of the leaderboard or to be seen as a good performer by their peers. In this case, a leaderboard can be a powerful motivator  because seeing where they stand in comparison to your colleagues can make them more competitive! It can also serve as motivation to improve their performance if they are aiming to become the highest-scoring learners in the class.

Leaderboards can be a great feature to include in your programme, as it fosters your  learners’ desire to compete with others and to show off how well they’re doing.

4. Progress Bars

While progress bars are already visible in a learning management system to show learners how far they’ve advanced in their course, they take on a completely different dimension when it comes to gamifying learning courses.

Gamified progress bars are more visually appealing than your usual progress indicators.  It includes positive feedback to praise learners for their hard work, as well as animations and music to make the presentation more engaging. From there, learners will be more inclined to keep track of where they are in the activity and how far they are from the finish line. By integrating gamified progress bars into your courses, it can spark ideas for accomplishment and growth.

5. Badges

Whether it’s a pat on the back for a job well done, or an employee of the month award, everyone likes to have a sense of pride in their accomplishments. It’s in everyone’s nature, and everyone is wired to enjoy them!
One way to recognise and reward learners for their achievements in a gamified system is to use badges. Whether it’s for completing a challenge or for making it to the leaderboard, learners receive badges as a symbol for their efforts and achievements. By giving this incentive, it gives learners a sense of euphoria, and motivates them to keep learning and reaching extra milestones.

Ready to Play?

Whether you’re developing basic skills and memory muscles for your learners or just enhancing your outdated courses, gamification elements have a strong place among pedagogical approaches.

These elements are able to appeal to our basic human desires for success and recognition for accomplishments. 

By adding these features to your courses, your business can bring out the joy of learning! At the same time, they can help develop an effective learning method that enables students to practise real-world scenarios, resulting in a more engaged learning experience and better knowledge retention. 

Interested in gamifying your training and learning programmes? At SSA Innovations, we’re committed to ensuring instructors’ success by helping them implement the most effective learning strategies. Ranging from e-Learning development to implementing learning management systems (LMS), we can help you turn your companies’ learning initiatives into great learning outcomes! 
Contact us today and start getting more out of your learning and training programmes!