5 Best Practices For Incorporating Games Into Training Courses

5 Best Practices For Incorporating Games Into Training Courses
Summary: Engaging and motivating your learners can be achieved through successfully gamifiying your e-Learning course. But just adding any game into your course may not benefit your learning at all; in fact, it could steer away from the key messages you are trying to portray. There are many aspects to consider when incorporating a game into your online training to guarantee that your course will not only engage your learners but also motivate them to learn.

5 Best Practices For Including Games In Your Online Training

Take a look at these five best practices for including games in your online training:

  1. Go Beyond Traditional Learning.
    During a training course, learners expect to read through information and take a test at the end. Think outside the box, and consider how you can challenge your learners to not just breeze through the course but instead take the information and apply it to something that interests them. There are many types of games to choose from, so really think about the audience you are targeting. This will help you decide on the style, look and feel of the game.
  2. Make it Fun!
    What is a game without a little bit of fun? There are plenty of ways you can balance fun and engagement while educating at the same time. Maybe add in an incentive to complete the game or a competitive angle to finish the course. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it does not take away from the learning experience but adds to it.
  3. Collaborate With Others.
    What you may think to be an engaging, educational game may be perceived differently by others. If you are the developer of the course, take a step back and get someone else to engage in your course that may have a different background. If you are working as a team, collaborate and share all your ideas. One great tool to use if working with designers, developers and subject matter experts is Lectora Online. This easy-to-use tool allows your team to interact with each other wherever they are to review, edit and update the e-Learning content. You can even exchange feedback through instant messages, emails and comments all right inside your authoring tool.
  4. Add in Positive Feedback.
    There is nothing learners like more than getting a pat on the back for a job well done. Throughout the game, add in a “You are doing great” or “You are almost to the finish line” to motivate them to finish. You can even add in encouraging awards for completed steps like badges and trophies. Who doesn’t like an award to show off?
  5. Learn By Example.
    If you are new to gamification or need new ideas, go to the experts. Several e-Learning experts out there have blogs, examples and tutorials that can help you get started or offer inspiration. Lectora University is a great resource to help inspire your next gamified course. One blog to check out is Applying Gamification to e-Learning.

As gamification begins to grow in the e-Learning industry, more ideas and trends will emerge to make your organization’s e-Learning even more engaging, interactive and exciting than ever before!