Lets Keep Gaming

It's end of day on a Friday - lets play a game!

Gamification seems to always come up when talking about learning, especially remote learning.

If you're unfamiliar, gamification refers to (get ready) - introducing elements of gaming, into things that 'aren't' games - like E-learning.

The point? To help your learners actually engage with the content they're being taught. It's been shown in countless studies that people tend to learn more when they're actually participating in the learning process, rather than being a passive observer.

"The work we're doing doesn't really lend itself to games" ; "But how are we supposed to know people are taking it seriously?" or even "That's a bit cheesy though" come up all the time, but consider this:

Would you rather know that people aren't engaged, switched off, and falling asleep whilst you're giving a 'fascinating' lecture? We've all been in Teams meetings, with a room full of 'Camera off' and nothing happening in the chat. Or, would you prefer to get the room involved, contributing to the session and asking questions?

Competition, group-work and puzzles all work wonders to get learner buy-in, and it gives the instructor a much clearer picture of how effective their teaching has been in the session. You can track this over a whole semester and truly measure how well your learners are developing.

This doesn't just provide value for your business, but can make a genuine impact in learner's lives, so everyone wins. ( Not usually my favourite kind of game, but I'll make an exception this once!)

So, what are your best tips for keeping learners engaged? Are you a gamification guru, or a video-off-victim?