Gamify eLearning Experience Through Popular Themes and Fantasies

Boosting learner engagement and knowledge retention

In today’s digital era, Learning & Development teams are looking for innovative corporate training strategies which boost employee interaction, collaboration and retention levels.

Game-based learning has become the most popular buzz to deliver a continuous and highly personalized training experience. It is heralded as the widely adopted e-learning trend to engage maximum audiences and attain diverse organizational goals. Online training courses are connected with popular themes, TV shows, movies and even fantasies to ensure the delivery of fun-filled e-learning experience.

Modern organizations adopt a self-paced training approach for the workforce to enable them to learn at their own pace of time and convenience. It is sometimes a daunting task to deliver custom e-learning content to cater to the bespoke learning needs of diversified audiences. Therefore, a game-based learning approach is followed where real game tactics are used to teach skills and knowledge. Gaming elements such as scores, badges, themes and fantasies are embedded with e-courses to offer learning which is fun and engaging. To promote the same level of knowledge and boost collaboration between the learners, fantasies and themes are introduced during game-based learning scenarios.

By fostering relationships between varied topics, themes provide a common platform for better training delivery. Themes and fantasies help to connect the participants during the game and keep them engaged from the start till the end. For instance, a game comprising of different levels can be associated with multiple themes such as car racing, treasure hunt, stone age, ship wreck and more. Such themes are very popular among the new-age learner, thereby leading to better engagement and knowledge retention.

On selecting a particular theme, the learner has to perform some activity which could take them to the next level, followed by earning some points on the leaderboard. Undoubtedly, the world of fantasy is more exciting and engaging in a way that the real world is not. Therefore, popular themes that take learners to another world of fantasy results in improved learner participation, teamwork, fun and retention.

Apart from adding themes and fantasies, organizations also provide short quizzes and buzzer rounds to boost employee morale during the game-based approach. Sometimes, it may happen that learners lack good scores which makes them feel demotivated during the entire game. So, multiple-choice question answers and scenario-based questions are added as an opportunity for players to buck up and earn some extra points. Three important elements that optimize the success of a gamified e-learning program are outlined here:
 

Most technology-inclined learning enthusiasts are eager to dive into game design for an effective corporate learning experience. Game-based learning has proved to be a powerful workplace training tool to convert boring text into interactive content. In the nutshell, game-based aids to enhance the overall training uptake with an increased level of motivation, interaction and fun. Whether you are sitting in a classroom or attending an online training session, games hold the potential to provide a plethora of ways for modern learners to learn better, engage better and retain for long.

Additional Resources: Game-based Learning Might be the Next Big Thing by Bryan Austin