Could you imagine a world without games?
Without your favorite board game, you always pull from the drawer in the company of your family? Or what if you should live without your PlayStation or Xbox? And what about all your time passing little game-apps on your smartphone?
Life as we know it would be quite dull without games. That's why we see game elements in new constellations today than in the usual social context or when we release ourselves in front of a screen.
The definition of gamification is “the use of game mechanics in a non-game context,” and it is something we use in Learningbank when we design useful and engaging learning for our customers.
The phenomenon might not be new to you, but even so, the Chief Learning Officer, Anders Juul, from Learningbank, often experience misconceptions, when it comes to the use of gamification in learning. Here is the three most common:
1. A medal when the users have completed - that's enough, right?
Gamification is a giant spectrum of e.g. storytelling, interaction, goals, progression, and psychological factors as inner and outer motivation.
That's why it's not enough to give the users a medal when they have completed an eLearning module and to call it gamification.
The whole spectrum must be filled to create high-impact learning.
2. Yes! Then we can play something, that looks like Candy Crush!
Learning games must have a deeper purpose, and not just be a game for the sake of the game. If users think, that this could be something, they can use to pass the time on the train, it is good for nothing.
Learning has to be in mind when creating the game - from the beginning.
3. That looks easy; I think I could create it myself.
It takes a lot of effort to create the ultimate learning game. And that's why it's a great misconception, that you could quickly create a learning game on your own.
For creating a full experience with a learning game, you would need a skilled team, e.g., Project Managers, someone with knowledge on the target group, game designers, graphic designers, and learning experts (e.g., a psychologist) - which we have here in Learningbank.