What are the most effective uses of Gamification in Learning?

Increased user retention is key to any effective application of Gamification. When users remember the learning material, apply it to their real lives, and come back to learn more, you know your project has been successful. This is the ultimate achievement for any educator or business professional looking to take full advantage of Gamified training.

Our team at Designing Digitally, Inc. has had the opportunity to work with an extensive variety of clients, and whether our clients are business professionals or are attached to a university or government agency, they all are looking for ways to ensure users take what they’ve learned away with them and apply it to their daily lives. Through my own experiences, I’ve found that the best way to achieve a project’s learning goals is by leveraging the benefits that game mechanics provide, particularly mechanics that promote social interaction and competition.

One of my favorite examples of this is from our own team’s work. Using Gamification and the Microsoft Kinect, we developed a tool that enables patients recovering from strokes to practice relearning the skills they’ll use at home. By simulating the actual tasks they will perform in a safe virtual environment, they are able to return more easily to their usual daily routines. All of this is wrapped up in an immersive, engaging platform with a competitive social scoring system where users can earn badges and compare their performance to both to their own past results and to other users’ results.

Gamification can transform your material into something meaningful that users will carry with them long after they’ve finished your training. Try it out in your own projects. I guarantee the results are worth it.