Sales meeting between executives of a leading learning service provider and an organisation planning to outsource its learning content development.

Client: This year, for our Sales training program, we would like to have a game designed.
Sales Manager: What exactly do you want in the game?
Client: Just some simple achievement levels and awards maybe…
Sales Manager: Oh! You mean gamification.
Client: What is that? Is it a new type of game?
Sales Manager: No, no…It’s a concept of applying game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals.
Client: Oh! So, that’s like Game-based learning, right?
Sales Manager: Well…not really! There is a very thin dividing line between Game-based learning, Gamification and Games. I could explain it to you, if you want me to.

Does this give you a sense of déjà vu? If yes, that’s because every now and then we come across these three terms – Games, Game-based Learning and Gamification – that sound similar but are different in their own ways.

So what are Games, Game-based Learning and Gamification?

The simplest definition of games would be ‘activities in which participants take part for enjoyment, learning or competition’, sometimes they can even discover promos for these games. The chief advantage of games in learning is the drive and engagement they create, and the fun-factor they bring in, that makes a boring task interesting. So, does that mean all games are a part of learning? Probably not. But, games can be designed in a way to deliver learning content, which essentially is Game-based learning.

Confused? Let’s break it down into simpler terms using an example.

Most of us are acquainted with the game Hopscotch. Wikipedia describes Hopscotch as a popular playground game in which players toss a small object into numbered spaces of a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces to retrieve the object. This is an example of a Game.

Now, imagine the same game, but in terms of teaching odd and even numbers. Each rectangle contains a number, and players can use one-footed hops when landing on odd numbers and zeros, and two-footed hops for even numbers and symbols. The turn continues until they make a mistake, such as stepping on a line or hopping on an incorrect number. This is a classic example of Game-based learning.

Then, the next question might be, what is gamification? Take the elements of Hopscotch, and imagine it in an organisational level. For instance, the rectangles as levels, and the simple action of hopping as the task achievements. When an employee achieves a task, (s)he is given an award/badge and taken to the next level. In the simplest terms Gamification is the use of game elements, like rewards and achievement levels, in a non-game situation.

In context of eLearning, the differences are few and far between. Most of us recognise the name Minecraft, the video game that captivated thousands across the globe. The game has different elements, and allows building constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. The game also provides arena for exploration, gathering resources, crafting, and combat. Minecraft is a great example for games.

However, a few years back a New York City school teacher crafted a version of Minecraft for schools called MinecraftEdu. The elements of the classic game were enhanced to support the learning environment. Text blocks were added so that teachers could give students more context about whatever world that they created. Though the implementation has been restricted to few educational institutes, the power that Game-based learning possesses has been displayed and harnessed in real life too.

A popular example of Gamification is Deloitte’s Leadership Academy, which uses rank, rewards, missions and leader boards as one of the ways to encourage its employees and client companies to log on, take courses and continue corporate training despite busy work schedules.

To cut the long story short, here are the key differences:

#Note: Games can be directly used as learning modules for training on team work, and at times for mind exercises.

This is our understanding on Games, Game-based learning and Gamification. There might be some distinctions that we missed out on. What is your take on this? A penny for your thoughts.

The post Games vs Game-based Learning vs Gamification first appeared on The Upside Learning Blog.

Gamification is about ‘game mechanics’ – taking the principles that make games addictive and applying them in a learning context – to improve retention and recollection of knowledge, better application and practice of skills, etc. Properly implemented, gamification has the potential to make learning ‘stickier’, increase uptake of learning content and also provide a more comprehensive record of learning than is possible using conventional measures in courses. Digital games are vastly popular and they are only becoming more commonplace in our daily lives. As we see, ‘gen Y’ is rapidly entering the workplace, by 2015 they make up the bulk of the working population. These ‘digital natives’ tend to behave differently from those who came before them. They are less concerned about privacy, share openly, and are mostly mobile. It makes sense to leverage these characteristics to assist learning, possibly through gamification.

Humans use a concept ‘status’ to proclaim their accomplishments and rank relative to others; they need symbols of success that project status that can be acknowledged by other individuals. A reward system that involves points, badges, tokens of some sort are a familiar mechanic used by games to show player status. This sort of mechanic can also be used in learning strategy as well. Most games use ‘levels’, as an easily understandable but clear path of progress through increasing difficult and demanding better improved skills for each level. This is one of the mechanics that make games so addictive, individuals like to progress from level to level. Especially in situations where it is clear what that progression is. In games, while there is typically a large reward at the very end, there are numerous milestones that mark your progress towards that larger goal (finishing the game).

An important element of games that works in learning as well is competition. Using statistics, rankings allow the players to judge performance relative to others. Leaderboards have an implicit ‘status’ value as well, individuals typically strive to have their names up on these boards. A measure of status is ineffective unless it can be communicated to an individual’s peers and society at large. Providing social connections within a learning environment can also be a motivational factor – allow users to recommend the content/environment to others, check out each other’s performance using those social connections and also allow sharing in limited ways.

One of the simplest way to approach gamification in learning is to attempt to duplicate some of the digital game world’s media strategy. Engagement and consequently learning could potentially improve by using detailed graphics, fluid realistic animation and by providing an environment that allows the user a level of immersion that isn’t typically offered by conventional learning content. Another area learning designers can co-opt from games is to duplicate some of the scope for personalization that games offer; the ability to customize one’s representation within the digital environment (as an avatar) adds engagement hooks and is a fun element for users.

Just a few basic principles can drive gamification in learning:

1. Provide ways for users to ‘show’ status
2. Provide a way for users to compare and rank their relative performance
3. Provide clear levels for user progression
4. Include elements that encourage competition
5. Provide digital immersion to the best extent possible
6. Allow for sharing and personalization

The post Gamification In Learning first appeared on The Upside Learning Blog.