Stop just adding badges. Start driving real learning outcomes with gamification. 

You know gamification can make eLearning more engaging, right? But are your points, leaderboards, and shiny graphics actually helping your learners achieve their goals? Or are they just… distractions?   

Professor Karl Kapp, a leading expert in instructional design and technology and author of “Action-First Learning,” knows that effective gamification is more than just fun and games. It’s about weaving engaging experiences directly into your curriculum, offering meaningful challenges, and ultimately boosting learning retention and application.  

Ready to transform your gamified eLearning from a novelty into a powerful learning tool?  

Professor Kapp’s essential checklist will help you evaluate if your gamification strategy is truly driving learning and engagement. Ask yourself:  

• Is the “fun” integrated with the learning content, or is it just tacked on?  

• Does the experience offer replay value that reinforces key concepts?  

• Are the challenges progressively difficult, encouraging growth and mastery?  

• Most importantly: Is the gamified experience actually helping learners understand and apply what they’re learning?  

Don’t let your gamification efforts fall flat. Get your hands on this crucial checklist and ensure you’re building learning experiences that are not only engaging but truly effective. 

The post Gamifying eLearning appeared first on Learning Guild.

In this session you will:

• Discover common elements among technology across the years
• Learn what to look out for when a new technology comes around
• Anticipate how technology will impact learning in the future—based on discoveries of the past

The post Trends in Instructional Technologies over the Past 15 Years appeared first on Learning Guild.

In this session you will learn:

• How much interaction, fun, and learning occurs while participating in a game-based learning experience
• Three game elements that can be added to the design of online instruction
• How to create engagement by leveraging techniques from classic learning games
• Why game-based learning can be more effective than traditional instruction

The post Countdown to DevLearn: Lessons from Classic Games to Design Games for Learning appeared first on Learning Guild.

In our closing session of the Learning Leaders Online Forum,we have invited three Guild Masters for a conversation examining how to supportand improve the culture of learning in our organizations. You will examine thefactors that most shape an organization’s learning culture, and the associatedforces that most directly influence those factors. You will examine commonchallenges that exist in pushing your learning culture forward, and thestrategies that can be used to overcome them. Join us for a lively discussionthat will help you improve your organization’s learning culture. 

The post Nurturing a Culture of Continuous Learning: A Guild Master Panel appeared first on Learning Guild.

The post LeaderChat: Meet Members of the Learning Leaders Alliance Advisory Board appeared first on Learning Guild.

First, it’s important to understand that a game designer doesn’t actually create the game experience itself. Instead, she creates the conditions under which the experience occurs. The game designer chooses interesting game dynamics, creates the appropriate game mechanics, and determines the best mix of aesthetics and game elements to set the stage for a particular experience. The players then use those dynamics, mechanics, and elements as tools to create their own game-playing experiences. The elements of the game are always the same; however the experience is different each time.

For example: Monopoly is never the same game twice. Each time the dice rolls the numbers are different, the Chance cards order is different, you land on different properties, and, often who you play with is different. The game of Monopoly doesn’t change. The cards are the same, the pieces are the same, and the properties are the same; however the experience of playing Monopoly changes each time you play. The game designer doesn’t create the experience; she creates the conditions such as the cards, game board, and mechanics under which the experience occurs.

The same concept applies to learning. Instructional designers, online learning developers, and others who create instruction create the conditions under which learning can occur, but do not create the actual learning. The instructional elements enable the learning, but are not the learning itself. The actual learning comes from engaging with the experience, reflecting upon that engagement, and then applying the knowledge or performing the behavior.

Game designers go well beyond determining basic game elements such as badges or leaderboards. They create worlds to entertain people; drawing on the ideas of building a system, providing a compelling reason to participate, and forcing players to take action.

A learning designer can learn to think like a game designer, applying similar methods to create engaging and meaningful learning experiences that result in desired learning outcomes. Here are a few ways to think like a game designer:

Systems thinking

Systems thinking means the game designer takes into account how all the elements she’s assembled and created work together to bring about the desired experience and outcome. A good example of this is a game called Forbidden Island. It is set on an island that sinks as you play the game. The goal of the game is to gather treasure and get off the island before it sinks.

The game has many elements that contribute to the sinking process; these elements are part of an interrelated system. The game has tiles that turn blue, indicating they are starting to flood, and the tiles disappear altogether when they’ve sunk (the tile’s card is drawn twice.) The tiles flood when certain cards are drawn. The tiles that flood are based on what cards are drawn from the deck. The actual number of cards drawn from the deck is indicated by a Water Meter. The Water Meter moves up when a player draws a Waters Rise! card. Players interact within this system by determining which tiles to save from sinking. Each part of the system—the tiles, the Waters Rise! card, the Water Meter, and even the players interacting with tiles—is critical to the overall game system. If one piece is missing or changed, the entire game system changes.

The design of instruction needs to follow a systems-thinking process. Understand how each part of the system interacts with or influences other parts, analyze how seemingly unrelated elements of the system are actually related, and make an effort to look at the big picture. Rarely can one learning event influence a behavior or skills of a learner alone. Instead, as a designer of instruction, you must design a learning system.

Once a learner receives the initial instruction, how will you create reminders of the desired behavior or skill application? What reinforcement actions will you take? Is it possible to hang posters or in-office reminders of the desired behavior? Are managers aware of the desired learning outcomes, and what are they doing to reinforce the actions? Is something in the learner’s workspace preventing the application of the skills learned in the online module? If learning is treated as an event rather than part of a system, then the possibility of sustainable behavior change or skills acquisition is minimal at best.

Reason to participate

The video game Assassin’s Creed Origins is set in ancient Egypt. When logging on, players immediately begin exploring the environment and learning how to use the tools, weapons, and modes of transportation (a camel) needed for the entire game. Players figure out the environment as they learn to play the game. Every action reveals new information or capabilities, and each reveal draws the player further into the game. They want to participate because the game engages them with adventures, new places to explore, and new gear.

Entertainment games must be compelling; otherwise no one will play them and their designers won’t make any money. Game designers work hard to create a reason to participate. They design interesting stories, unique game elements, and mechanics that lead to immersion and engagement. Game designers add elements of chance, interesting player capabilities, and intriguing aesthetics and environments. They also create actions and activities to keep players returning. In games like Candy Crush, players can earn bonus points by logging in daily. In Assassin’s Creed, players are driven to participate because further on in the game they can obtain new outfits for their characters, gain new equipment, and see how the story unfolds.

When designing learning, think like a game designer and ensure that you are giving learners a reason to participate. Simply creating a game doesn’t mean learners will flock to the game or stay engaged, especially if it’s only based on points, badges, or leaderboards. In the same way a game designer finds innovative combinations of elements to keep players engaged, you need to create reasons for learners to participate in your instruction. Are you reminding them of the intrinsic value of the content? Are you giving them opportunities to apply the learning successfully? Are you challenging them to overcome obstacles? Are you providing surprising and new information the further the learner progresses in the content?

Like a game designer, create a personalized user experience and wrap the learning outcomes in the right context—such as a meaningful story or scenario—and have it unfold over time. Consider allowing the player to choose what his or her avatar looks like, give the player the ability to name him or herself, and/or provide daily incentives to log in and continue playing the game.

Action orientation

Games draw players in through action. Card games begin by dealing cards to all players, board games start by rolling dice and moving pieces on the board, and video games start by running a character from point A to point B. In games, players make decisions, move pieces, or do something immediately.

Thinking like a game designer means you start with action. Players rarely need to read a screen of instructions before playing a well-made game. They are carefully and deliberately eased into new variables and game elements that may arise. In The Legend of Zelda, you start with a black screen that tells you to wake up and come downstairs when you are ready. This gives you the chance to explore the room until you are comfortable with the movement and the way that you interact with your environment. Going downstairs, you are then given mini-trainings by being asked to locate an item that you then learn how to use. Before you know it, you understand the game mechanics without having to think about it because you’ve performed the requested actions!

Follow the same format when designing learning. Do not start with a list of objectives. Start with the learner making a decision, moving from point A to point B, or selecting a plan of action. Involve the learner immediately in the learning process. Have them make decisions and take action. Ask yourself: What action am I requesting of the learner? Is the action I am requesting related to the tasks performed on the job? What actions make sense to apply the knowledge from this learning module? What actions are different between successful and unsuccessful people in this position?

Conclusion

Thinking like a game designer is a little different than thinking like an instructional designer. A mistake many instructional designers make when trying to create learning games or gamified learning experiences is focusing on the points, badges, and leaderboards. These elements don’t require a great deal of game thinking. Thinking like a game designer requires you to think in terms of action, participation, and systems. The combination of these game-thinking elements applied to instruction ensures that you’ve created the conditions for an engaging and meaningful learning experience.

Glossary of game terms and terminology

To think like a game designer requires an understanding of basic game terms and terminology. Here are some frequently-used terms.

Game goal —What the player(s) must achieve to win the game. Some examples might be collecting all the Pokémon, capturing all the zombies, or taking over the world. The game goal leads to the win state.

Core dynamics—Activities or actions players must perform to achieve the game goal. It might be completing a task faster than any other player, outwitting an opponent, or collecting or matching items in a certain sequence. Many core dynamics can be applied to learning games.  Read Core Dynamics: A Key Element in Instructional Games for more examples.

Win state—A situation, condition, or state within a game that designates successful completion of it.  The win state of Pokémon GO is to capture every Pokémon. The win state of Pandemic is to cure every disease on the game board. The win state typically ends the game. 

Lose state—A situation, condition, or state within a game that designates a failed attempt at reaching the goal of the game and ends the game. The lose state of Forbidden Island is that the players do not leave the island before it sinks, or that one of the four players “drowns” in the game. Some games have more than one lose state. For example, in Pandemic, if there are more than eight outbreaks or you run out of player cards or disease cubes, all the players lose.

Learning goal—The desired learning outcome of playing a learning game. It is separate from the game goal. For example: the game goal might be capturing all the zombies or getting rid of all your cards, while the learning goal might be applying the right sales opening in the right sales situation.

Mechanics—This term is another name for rules. There are rules the players must follow, rules that are inherent in the game (i.e. the rule of physics in an online world,) and rules of chance, such as rolling a dice.

Game elements—Features that immerse players in the game play, such as the element of chance or the aesthetics and artwork of the game.

The post Think Like a Game Designer to Create Meaningful Learning appeared first on Learning Guild.

As Juan eased his motorcycle into traffic, all was well. Heconfidently flowed with traffic, obeyed traffic laws, and was making good time untilhe noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a man tenuouslyholding on to an enormous bunch of brightly colored balloons, some in the shapeof animals. Juan only looked at the man and his balloons for a second. When helooked back to the road, he was seized with panic. A large truck pulled infront of him. It was too close, he couldn’t turn. His heart rate increased, hispalms instantly became wet, and he involuntarily screeched as everything wentblack.

Fortunately for Juan, this was a virtual reality trainingexercise and, although he was safe, the physical and emotional reactions he hadwhen he saw the truck were as real as if he’d been on an actual bike in theactual streets of Mexico City.

Presence and immersion

One of the reasons for Juan’s visceral and emotionalresponse, or that of any learner in the above scenario, is due to whatresearchers call “presence” and “immersion.” While the two terms are often usedinterchangeably, as related to virtual reality they are two different concepts.Researchers Chris Wilson and Alessandro Soranzo describe the two differentconcepts this way: “Immersion is anobjective description of the technical capabilities of the VR system thatdescribes the level of detail with which a virtual environment can be rendered,while presence describes the user’spsychological response to said environment” (emphasis ours). Another way to think of it is thatdifferent learners can experience different levels of presence in an environmentwith the same level of immersion, depending on a range of factors such as stateof mind or previous level of learning (see Wilson and Soranzo in References).

While a great deal of effort has gone into ensuring that technicalissues with VR are addressed from the hardware and software perspective, thebigger issue for those who design instruction is to help create the sense ofpresence necessary to make the virtual environment feel real to the learner. IfJuan is not caught up in the sense of actually being on the motorcycle andmaneuvering through the streets of Mexico City, his reaction to the suddenappearance of an obstacle might not be as visceral or memorable. The learningopportunity would be lost. In fact, as Julia Diemer and co-authors write: “Presenceis commonly regarded as a necessary mediator that allows real emotions to beactivated by a virtual environment” (see References).

In thepsychological literature on the subject of presence, there appear to be two differentgeneral approaches or models for creating a sense of presence. One is adescriptive model and the other is a structural model. The descriptive modelfocuses on the individual elements that create the sense of presence. Theseappear to be spatial presence, involvement, and realness. The structural modelattempts to explain the sense of presence through an understanding of how theexperience of presence is generated in a person’s mind. Structural models ofpresence focus on cognitive processes and suppose that directing attention tothe VR environment and creating a mental representation of the environment arenecessary processes that enable a person to experience the sense of presence (seeDiemer, et al, in References).

In either case,designers of instruction must work to design an environment and a situationwith the VR scenario where the learner feels they are actually participatingmeaningfully within the VR learning environment.

Situated cognition

Meaningful participation is a hallmark of the instructionaltheory known as “situated cognition.” Situated cognition is a theory ofinstruction that suggests learning is naturally tied to authentic activity,context, and culture (see Brown, et al, in References). And, of course, one canuse virtual reality to create an authentic activity, context, and culturalexperience using computer-generated techniques. The idea behind situatedcognition is that the person and the environment in which they are learningcannot be separated in any analysis of learning. They are each part of amutually constructed whole, and a person’s knowledge is embedded in thecontext, culture, and tasks where the knowledge is learned.

If any learning is to take place, it needs to be conductedin the environment in which it will be applied. This is because it’s believedthe environment and the person’s perception of the environment are part of thesame learning process (see Gredler in References). To grasp information andknowledge, learners need much more than abstract concepts and self-containedexamples; they need to be exposed to the use of the information and cognitivetools in an authentic activity. Authentic activities provide learningopportunities in a way that textbook examples and declarative explanationscannot (see Gredler). This makes VR a near-perfect medium for the applicationof the learning theory of situated cognition—because any environment or contextneeded can be digitally created.

Situated cognition supports learning in a domain by enablingthe learner to acquire, develop, and use cognitive tools in an authenticactivity. Adhering to the theory, the designer of instruction would attempt toenculturate the learner into authentic practice situations through activity andcontext-related tasks and outcomes. With a VR environment, the learner would havethe opportunity to rehearse behaviors and obtain feedback from within theenvironment in which they are applying the skills. The challenge for thedesigner of VR instruction is to create a learning environment as similar tothe actual work environment as possible while not losing sight of the conceptsof immersion and presence.

Conclusion

As designers of instruction working within the deliverymethod of virtual reality, we must strive to create meaningful instruction tohelp learners assimilate new ideas, concepts, and skills within the realitieswe create. If we want the experiences we create to lead to positive learningoutcomes, we need to keep in mind the concept of presence, the role ofimmersion, and the need to think about situated cognition and how context,culture, and authentic activities play a role in learning. It’s not just thetechnology, but also the careful application of the theories and researchbehind the technology that creates effective learning.

Note: The contentfor this article is drawn, in part, from Karl Kapp and Tony O’Driscoll’s book Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration.

From the Editor

Presence, immersion, and the current and future use of virtual,augmented, and mixed realities will be covered in depth at The eLearningGuild’s 2017 Realities360 Conference, July 26 – 28 in San Jose, California. Dozens ofsessions and over 40 expert speakers are scheduled. Seating is limited, so registertoday!

References

Brown, John Seely, Allan Collins, and Paul Duguid. “Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning.” EducationalResearcher, Vol. 18, No. 1. January – February 1989.

Diemer, Julia, Georg W. Alpers, Henrik M. Peperkorn, YoussefShiban, and Andreas Mühlberger. “The impact of perception and presence on emotional reactions: a review of research in virtual reality.” Frontiers inPsychology, Vol. 6, No. 26. January 2015.

Gredler, Margaret E. Learningand Instruction: Theory into Practice, 6^th edition. London, UK:Pearson, 2008.

The post Four Essentials for Effective Learning Using Virtual Reality appeared first on Learning Guild.

Macro-inequities

A large problem with micro-inequities, among many, is thatthey eventually add up to macro-inequities, such as the unintended but veryreal inequity that kicked off this entire series of articles when The eLearning Guildrecorded a number of conference sessions but only one of the sessions was presentedby a woman.  

In fact a recent article on the “digitally native news site”Quartz, titled “This mathematical formula shows that all-male panels are sexist,”put forth the assertion that “underrepresentation of women on speakers’ listsdoesn’t ‘just happen,’ despite many conference organizers’ claim that it does.”Instead it is a hidden bias that comes to a point when it visibly shows up asan assembled all male (and often all white) panel. The micro-inequities thatoccur prior to assembling that panel often involve bias toward willingness tosubmit, submission review, career opportunities, publications, language aroundthe field, graduate school opportunities, and other elements that prevent womenand historically underrepresented populations from rising to the level of beingconsidered for the panel. Or that prevent highly qualified women andhistorically underrepresented populations from being chosen for a panel or tohave their sessions recorded.

Ironically, of all the fields I’ve worked in, my perceptionis that eLearning has a high proportion of women in leadership roles. In ourfield, it’s not hard to point to examples of female CEOs, CLOs, well-knownconsultants, entrepreneurs, published authors, influential government employees,and leaders in virtually every area of eLearning, instructional technology, anddesign. All of which makes it more frustrating and puzzling that women areunderrepresented in panels, recorded sessions, and other highly visible venuesand that this gender bias is not always seen by members of our field.

However, there may be a scientific answer for why the biasexists and is hard to combat. A study about men’s perception of gender bias inthe sciences indicated that the men “would really rather not believe there isany sort of gender-bias problem in science, even when confronted with evidencein support of said problem’s existence.” (Melissa Dahl, New York Magazine’s The Science of Us column: “Men in Science Would Rather Not Believe There Is a Gender-Bias Problem in Science”). So evenhelping the field see the gender gap related to eLearning can be an uphillbattle.

As Judy Katz points out in her article “Gender Representation in eLearning,” maybe we need all female panels and allfemale recordings because we often see nothing wrong with all male panels orrecordings.

Proper coaching

So one of the things we need to try to do as a field is toavoid micro-inequities but we also need to do a better job of coaching womenwho want to enter the field and help them to see that they need to seek “reach”positions. My small contribution in this area is coaching students in a master’sprogram of instructional technology at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg,Pennsylvania.

I’ve learned through the years that when a female student visitsmy office and tells me she doesn’t think she is qualified to apply for acertain position, the right answer is not “of course you are, go ahead andapply. You need to be more aggressive.” While it may seem like a right answer,it’s not. Although not everyone agrees with me—see Clay Shirky’s 2010 blogpost, “ARant About Women.”

Helping a person obtain a position needs to be based onevidence of her ability to do the job; telling her to simply be more aggressivedoesn’t help her to defend herself in the interview or when talking to thepotential employer. To me that is just code for “be more like a man.” I thinkthat is a micro-inequity and it doesn’t help. Women can be forceful, confident,and successful without having to resort to “be like a man” to be successful. Theimplication is that if you “act like a woman, you won’t be successful.” Womencan be successful without having to “act like a man” and I know because I’veseen female students and colleagues being successful by just being themselves. Tobe human means we all have a mix of what society calls female or male traits.We need both to be successful in life and business. People who are all one wayor another tend not to be successful. Now all this doesn’t mean women shouldn’tbe aggressive or can’t be aggressive, but a blind dictate of “be moreaggressive” is not helpful.

In fact research indicates that the answer is more nuanced. Aresearch study found that for a woman to be ultra-successful, she needs to simultaneouslypresent herself as self-confident and dominant while tempering these qualitieswith displays of communal characteristics. (See “Researchers: How Women Can Succeed in the Workplace.”) This means coaching women to be aggressiveat all times isn’t good counseling. Studies do show that “all-female traits”are not helpful for promotion or leadership either, so again, the answer is amixture of traits.

Therefore a better recommendation to a woman entering thefield and unsure of her qualifications is to build her confidence in her ownskills by saying “let’s look at your resume and past accomplishments and seewhere you are qualified.” So she can be confident, assertive and, yes, evenaggressive when defending her qualifications.

A careful review with a female student about herqualifications and skills tends to lead to an “Aha” moment where she sees thather skills do align with what is being requested and she can apply withconfidence to the job. Then when talking to the potential employer, she can beaggressive in those areas where is has a strong foundation and can feel thatshe can be successful. This highlighting of skills and abilities canshort-circuit to some degree the “imposter syndrome” which Julie Dirksen talked aboutin her article “Women in the eLearning Field: Beginning a Conversation.”

The linking of skills to the needs of the employer mightseem obvious to an outsider but is not always obvious to someone who has livedher life with micro-inequities. Making links and connections for women in thefield has helped to provide confidence to many of my female students who havethen gone on to do great things.

Conclusion

The post Women in eLearning: Micro-inequities Add Up to Macro-inequities appeared first on Learning Guild.

In Using Stories forLearning: Answers to Five Key Questions, Karl Kapp, author of The Gamification of Learning andInstruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education,explores why stories are so valuable for learning, describes how to matchlearning objectives to four powerful learning story types, and offers guidanceon how to compose learning stories. He examines the elements of a good storyand provides a storytelling worksheet to make designing your own learningstories easier.

The post Using Stories for Learning: Answers to Five Key Questions appeared first on Learning Guild.

Today, Cricket Communications serves more than 5.8 million wirelesscustomers in the US, nearly double its subscriber total in 2006. Third-partyagreements with Walmart and Radio Shack allow it to serve customers in areaswhere it does not have stores. In 2011, Cricket introduced MUVE Music andbecame the first US wireless carrier to offer customers unlimited music as partof a rate plan.

Challenge

Cricket Communications was seeking improved and more innovative ways toreach the sales professionals working in its retail locations by introducingmobile-enabled learning games to their existing platform.

The initiative, coined Mobile Cricket University (or “Mobile CU”),launched in summer 2012. John Moxley, Cricket’s director of leadershipdevelopment, spearheaded the launch. John is an avid mobile-device and app enthusiast.He has 20-plus years of experience implementing next-generation organizationaldevelopment and sales training programs across a variety of industries. He isalso heavily involved in the evaluation and use of popular content authoringtools and methods for producing mobile-friendly courseware to supportuntethered learning communities.

The central learning objective for Mobile CU was to deliver and measurethe effectiveness of product, service, systems training, and professionaldevelopment without requiring Cricket’s sales professionals to leave the salesfloor. Cricket’s leadership team also believed that introducing game mechanicswould improve representative engagement and knowledge retention, and reinforcekey principles and behaviors. The gamification platform was CellCast, createdby OnPoint Digital. This platform has the tools and incentive features learnersneed to quickly complete assignments, gain points, and advance their status inan ongoing competition.

Gamificationsolution

Learnerscomplete assignments across a wide range of ever-changing products, pricingplans, and wireless innovations. The game awards points associated with thelearning assignments and tests at the most basic level of play (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: A listingof active games, learning assignments, and course materials are available fromthe mobile device

Pointsearned for completing certain formal learning assignments are called“completion points.” Finishing other formal learning assignments delivers“bonus points” calculated according to the score attained on an associated quizor module-level assessment.

Learnersalso receive “acceleration points” for completing assignments within a definedtime period. This incents them to complete their learning tasks earlier tobenefit the organization and customers by compressing the time to proficiency.

Earnedpoints serve as the overall performance gauge for each game-enabled learningprogram. The system tracks progress for each individual learner in a database. Aninteractive leader board accessible within the Mobile CU native app, as well asdashboards accessible to all managers, supervisors, and learning administrators,shows a dynamic listing of the top five learners (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Severaldifferent types of leaderboards are available so learners can compete at the levelwhere they feel most comfortable; they range from individual to group

Achievementlevels depend on the aggregate number of points attained, or for completingspecific formal-learning assignments or informal learning interactions. CricketCU awards digital badges for attaining each pre-defined level, and digitaltrophies to each of the top point earners at the end of the game play.

Agroup-based leader board displays the overall score of each individual retailstore (e.g., Store 213 in the Las Vegas region). The overall score for a storeis the total of the points earned by every individual learner assigned to thatstore.

The systemalso awards tangible prizes to leading finishers who place in the top threepositions for each competition based on the combination of completion,retention, and acceleration points earned during the game period. Typicalprizes are gift cards and gift certificates.

Allparticipants can see individual progress within a game via the various leader-boardoptions as well as via automated messages delivered when they attain specificachievement levels. These message streams serve as a “call to action” orreminder to all participants by encouraging them to stay involved and tocomplete their assignments. Cricket defined all game mechanics inside the gamificationplatform.

Learning impact

Cricketconducted the inaugural game-enabled learning program in late fall 2012 and theL&D team conducted a survey of participants to measure their new approachand offering. Survey questions measured reactions to the game-oriented learningapproach, how easy it was to launch and understand the various game elements,and how effective the process was for sellers. When asked, “What was the MAINmotivation to complete the game,” participants responded as follows:

• 42.2 percent: “I want my store andmarket to win”
• 18.18 percent:  “I wanted to be on the leaderboard”
• 39.39 percent: “I wanted to see what Iremember from the training”
• 0 percent: “I wanted to please mymanager”

Whyit works

The CellCast platform provides methods help to make learning motivational and the use of points,badges, and friendly competition provide the means to easily measure and rewardprogress. The game elements motivate learners to move through the material andto obtain mastery of the content they are learning.

Conclusion

A mobile gamification platform allows thelearner to access the content from anywhere and provides a portablegamification experience that learner’s access when convenient. The combinationof mobile and gamification is helping to educate sales professionals withoutpulling them from the all-important job of selling.

Editor’sNote: This is the third and final article in this series highlighting theimpact gamification can have on organizations from a learning and developmentperspective. These case studies were gathered by Karl Kapp as he researched hislatest book, The Gamification ofLearning and Instruction Fieldbook: Ideas into Practice. The series illustrates real-world application of gamification and theresulting business impact.

The post The Gamification of mLearning (Part 3 of 3) appeared first on Learning Guild.