The emergence and advancement of technology have made eLearning an invaluable tool in training, education, and development. This modality offers numerous advantages, including cost reduction, easy access, flexibility, personalisation, and global reach.
As more captivating technologies and activities vie for learners’ attention, various trends and innovations have evolved to enhance eLearning and educational technology. Prominent among these trends are micro-learning, immersive technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), mobile learning, and, notably, the integration of gamification.
Gamification in eLearning
Gamification incorporates fun (game) elements and concepts into a non-game project, setting or context. It involves integrating gaming elements into e-learning development and programming in this context. Some gaming elements are rules, feedback, points, badges, characters, timers, levels, sound effects etc.
Adopting gamification in eLearning can be ascribed to several human factors that are evidence-based and proven by different educators, eLearning specialists and even psychologists.
Some of the human factors behind the integration of gamification into eLearning are:
- The Human Attention Span: Research has proven that recently, the average human attention span has dropped from 21 seconds to 8.25 seconds (Applied Behavioural Analyst, Judah Schiller, 2023), and several factors are responsible for this drastic reduction. In a podcast with the American Psychological Association on Why our Attention Spans are Shrinking, a professor of psychology and informatics, Gloria Mark, PhD, revealed that “the greater the sleep debt, the shorter the attention spans.” When attention is diverted from an active work project, refocusing on that task takes about 25 minutes. (Attention Span by Dr. Gloria Mark.) The addiction to technology and social media contributes to reduced attention span for lesser entertainment engagements. These have inspired educators and learning specialists to integrate gamification and entertainment into e-learning.
- Love for Fun and Entertainment: Little to no entertainment contributes to the short attention span. Humans lose focus and interest in any engagement with little to no fun. Hence, making learning fun and enjoyable has been one of the goals of educators and learning specialists, which is to retain attention and learners’ interest through gamification.
- Love for Competition: Humans are attracted to competitive activities for fun and entertainment. The need for a sense of accomplishment, resilience, and determination also makes humans engage in games of chance and enjoy competitive settings. The human desire to perform and emerge excellently, among other things, has since contributed to the adoption of gamification, where learners are motivated to progress to the next level, earn points, and attain the badge of excellence.
- The Expectations of Reward for Achievements: The principle of punishment and reinforcement attached to behaviours (B.F. Skinner) has been applied to e-learning for a long time. Attaching rewards to desired performance motivates humans to repeat the behaviours that resulted in the performance or outcome. It does the same for attaching a punishment to an unpleasant performance that is avoided. This knowledge has contributed to integrating gamification into e-learning by attaching rewards like coins and points to lessons.
- Insatiable Curiosity: Humans’ insatiable nature has motivated constant innovation and incorporation of new experiences into training and education. Learners can quickly get bored when constantly presented with similar experiences. The need for new experiences, curiosity to know the result of every action and performance, how a puzzle turns out, what happens in the next phase, etc., have always been driving forces for humans to proceed in life endeavours. Hence, integrating innovations and learning experiences like gaming elements is crucial to encourage learning and development.
As previously highlighted, several trends have been integrated into eLearning, but the impact of gamification must be noticed and addressed under the waters. Learning and training in a playful environment have improved learning outcomes and eLearning in general. Some of the impacts of gamification on eLearning are:
Improved Learner Engagement: Gamification is an exciting new method to engage learners. Gamification makes learning enjoyable and increases the motivation to proceed and finish till the end. Integrating gaming elements like points, levels, storytelling, and feedback makes the learning materials or course more attractive, giving learners a sense of being a “player” competing for points, having fun and still learning while at it.
Introductory eLearning courses with low interactivity are usually less engaging than high-interactivity courses, typically characterised by gamification integration.
Knowledge Retention: Learning does not have to be boring. Any education intervention aims to stimulate learning, meaning that students retain the most important information even after the training. Gamification has storytelling elements such as background, characters, plot twists, etc., and the human brain quickly processes stories rather than strings of facts.
Learning also becomes exciting by integrating sound effects, characters, fun and gaming activities, etc. It is always easier to remember what you enjoyed than what you found tedious or painstaking. Gamification is a training and education strategy to improve knowledge retention, and since its adoption, it has proven effective in enhancing learners’ knowledge check performance. With gamification, learners find learning enjoyable.
Improved Learning Outcome: There are usually goals and objectives for every training. Instructions, strategies and activities are implemented to achieve the learning objectives. The learning outcome is generally measured at the end of every training session to determine if the learning objectives were achieved. Research has proven that courses with gaming elements are more effective than courses without gaming elements because learners are more engaged, and information is quickly processed.
Improved Learning Culture and Habits: Many people avoid training because of the poor learning culture, especially in Africa. Learning is often perceived as unnecessary and boring and popularly described as a ‘scam’ because of the widespread belief that education doesn’t guarantee success. Manos Antoninis, the Director of the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, said. At the same time, every child is born to learn, and they can’t do so if they are hungry, lack textbooks, or don’t speak the language they are being taught. The poor learning culture in Africa can be attributed to the poor economy and educational system. Hence, with the growth and improvement in these two sectors and the emergence of technology, learning and education have improved. With the integration of gamification, making learning enjoyable, exciting, and fun, the learning culture and habits keep improving as people are encouraged to learn.
Improved Creativity and Innovation: When individuals are engaged with challenges, puzzles, sound effects, and rewards, all gamification elements, they are more likely to explore different solutions and think creatively to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Motivated learners explore new ideas and strategies or approaches. Training and education with gamification encourage creativity and innovation.
Several gamification tools can help integrate game mechanics seamlessly into an eLearning course- software like Phaser, Adobe Animate, Articulate Storyline, Construct 3, Unity 3D, Twine, etc. E-learning developers and experts can always utilise the best tools and technical expertise to suit their learning needs.
In conclusion, gamification can significantly increase learner engagement, improve learning outcomes, enhance knowledge retention, and foster creativity and innovation. By integrating gamification into eLearning, educators can design learning experiences that appeal to today’s learners and unlock the full potential of digital education. pcl. can provide the expertise and tools to implement gamification effectively, ensuring successful eLearning training and delivery.
Contact us at enquiry@phillipsconsulting.net for more on how to level up your learning experience.
Written by:
Aderonke Ayooade
Instructional Design Analyst
