Gamification is a very useful tool to make the eLearning process exciting and motivational for the learners. When designed correctly, gamification has proven to be very successful in engaging people and motivating them to change behaviors, develop skills or solve problems. Leveraging and applying some of the features used in real games, ‘gamification,’ is being used in many software applications from sales force automation to learning management systems and eLearning. Gamification should not be applied to follow a fad. The business objectives must be identified, and an analysis done to understand the suitability of gamification to achieve those objectives. Gamification can be added at two levels: 1. At the learning management level or the overall learning environment 2. At the course level Some core features of gamification in Learning Management Systems (LMS) include: – Assigning points to the learners as they interact with the learning management system. For example: Clicking on a course in the catalog on completing a course – Rewarding the learners by assigning them badges for completing a certain assignment or course. Each badge displays an attractive image and short description. Badges act as rewards and are presented on the LMS dashboard. The learners can also get information on how to go about earning more badges. In addition to points and badges, the learner can also achieve different levels. For example, from Novice Level to Expert Level. They can complete all the levels by accumulating a certain number of points within the LMS. Similar to the LMS level, at the course level, the learner can win points based on completing certain milestones within the course. This may include completing certain topics on modules within the course or they might win points for participating in the course-related discussion forums. In addition to this, leader boards can be assigned to all the users. The leader board is designed to present top- ranking learners in the overall learning community. Learners can do comparisons with their peers, too. It can be used to show group level or departmental level ranking, so that it can encourage healthy competition at the group level as opposed to the entire learning community and all the users. The leader board assists in keeping track and recognizing the learners for their participation achievements and performance. This makes the participants feel inclusive to the learning process, which develops a feeling of inclusion. Organizations may want to convert the points and rewards to tangible awards or rewards. For example: a day off or physical gifts or discounts or other products and services. The rewards or incentives should be meaningful to the participants for them to be engaged. With millennials forming a large part of the workforce, learning organizations can benefit from gamification by keeping the learners engaged through the gamification process. With a desire for quick results, gamification makes learning fun and engaging. Instancy provides a Learning Management System that includes a comprehensive gamification engine that allows one to create multiple games for various learning activities. These games can be organized for the entire learning community or might be focused on a specific job role or group. In addition, Instancy provides a comprehensive content management and authoring system that allows access to course content and awards points, badges etc. It creates a leadership board that encourages and provides incentives and creates a learning community, too. To learn more about the Gamification in Instancy Learning Management System and the Instancy Authoring System, contact us here
