• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Your eLearning World

Your eLearning World

  • ABOUT
  • COURSES
    • Instructional Design for ELearning Program
    • Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction
    • Becoming an ELearning Freelance Consultant
  • BOOKS
  • WORK WITH ME
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

ELearning Gamification Techniques That Work!

by Marina Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

As eLearning specialists, we always look for ways to make our courses fun and engaging. Many eLearning specialists find that by gamifying their courses they can achieve the desired outcome and increase content retention. In this article, we will look at some of the popular gamification techniques.

    1. Narrative – This is the key to successful gamification. Not only that narratives tell stories, but they also offer real life examples that help learners understand main concepts that games are trying to teach. The art of storytelling is the main challenge that instructional designers face here. Not only that they need to think of a plot relevant to what is being taught, but they also have to incorporate protagonists and antagonists to ensure proper flow of the game.
    2. Rules – Just like any other type of activity, games must have rules. Without rules, learners will not know what to do and what to expect. Instructional designers should make sure that all the instructions are clear and concise. Learners should not be wondering about their next steps. There are multiple ways to include rules in your game. For example, you may create an avatar who would provide step-by-step guidance and have him pop up on the screen as needed. You may also decide to have written instructions that learners can pull at any time to find out what to do next.
    3. Interactivity and Discovery – We all know that games are about actively doing something. To keep learners engaged, instructional designers should know how to incorporate discovery and exploration elements. One way to do that is to have learners hunt for a treasure, or ask them to put the steps of a linear process in order. Always be sure that your games stimulate mental and physical processes.
    4. Feedback, Levels, and Rewards – Just like with assessments, providing timely feedback is a crucial component of gamification. Your feedback does not necessarily have to be verbal or written. Instead, if the learners are doing well, allow them to proceed to the next level. You may also give rewards in a form of points or badges or simply show a progress bar.
    5. Time constraints and Competition – Most games use time constraints to pressure people to think quickly and develop a sense of competition. When creating a learning game, instructional designers should incorporate a timer, so that learners know that there is a time limit to complete the game.

While gamification is definitely an expensive and time-consuming task, if done correctly, it can pay off in the long run.

If you want to learn more about gamification in eLearning, or how to design instructionally sound eLearning courses, please check out the Instructional Design for eLearning: Essential guide to creating successful eLearning courses book. This book is also available in Spanish.

 

Related Posts

  • Launch of Instructional Design for ELearning Course
  • Instructional Design for ELearning book is now available on Kindle
  • New Edition of the Instructional Design for ELearning Book is Here!
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Gamification and Interactivity Tagged With: games and simulations, games in eLearning, Gamification, gamification techniques, instructional design, instructional design book, Instructional Design for eLearning course

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2023 · Your eLearning World · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy

We use cookies to customize content and give you the best experience possible. If you continue to use
our site, we’ll assume that you’re happy with it!
AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT