What is Gamification?
We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard”, but what if your hard work was as fun as playing a game? That’s the goal behind the concept of gamification, and it’s taking the world of education by storm.
Gamification is defined as adding elements commonly found in games to a non-game activity, making the work process or execution more interactive and captivating. This notion has grown in popularity in recent years as people of all ages and backgrounds have become more invested in virtual gaming. In fact, the Global Video Game Consumer Segmentation report estimates there are close to 3 billion people around the world who play video games; this accounts for nearly one third of the world’s total population.
As video games continue to grow in popularity, the idea of gamifying education does too. Through gamification, students are given new, exciting ways to interact with educational material, while picking up new skills and learning critical concepts in a manner that allows for longer term memory or better application of those skills and concepts. A study conducted by ScienceDirect found gamification in education increased student performance by more than 34%.
In this blog, we’re taking a deep dive into how gamification is used, why it works, and what INE is doing to gamify our student’s learning experience.
How It’s Used
While many of us may not realize it, gamified learning and skills-development experiences have been around for more than 100 years. One of the most well known establishments that put gamification into practice can be found in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts organizations. After completing a task or learning a new skill, troop members are awarded badges to indicate their newfound knowledge. And with the technology-driven world we now live in, both organizations have begun integrating tech-based badges into their programs to better prepare members for the future ahead. By establishing clearly defined goals and rewards for achieving them, boys and girls around the world are able to become educated on valuable life skills while participating in a fun and rewarding gamified process.
With the evolution of technology also has come the evolution of gamification. This is evident in applications many of us use on a daily basis. Although we still receive badges, we no longer display them on a sash or vest, but instead on our social profiles and mobile applications. Applications such as Duolingo, Apple Fitness, and Chick-fil-A have all incorporated gamified elements into the user experience. Features such as virtual leaderboards, streaks, points systems, and social connectivity have all helped drive application engagement while also encouraging users to learn new skills, achieve new milestones, and return for more fun.
Why It Works
While traditional methods of education have successfully taught students for thousands of years, the shift towards a gamified approach has had outstanding results. ScienceDirect found students who were presented with challenge-based gamification in an educational setting increased their performance by up to 89.45% compared to students who participated in lecture-based education. But why?
When rewards, competition, and fun are involved, students are more engaged with the material they’re presented and motivated to learn it. Instead of being asked to read a textbook, watch a video, or complete an assignment, they’re presented with new ways to build knowledge, engage with the content, and accomplish goals along the way. As a result, students are still able to learn the information and skills needed to succeed without the monotony of traditional, standardized education.
In addition, the introduction of a narrative helps make the learning process easier to follow and complete. Not only do narratives allow students to play a part in the learning process with clear calls to action and decision-making, but they also help segment material into more digestible pieces of information as opposed to reading pages of text, which stifles critical thinking and engagement.
What It Means For You
In a recent Forbes article, INE CEO Richard McLain discussed how gamification can transform the learning process into a competitive cultural experience for students of all backgrounds, skill sets, and ages around the world. He also discussed the importance of coming up with new ways to get students involved in their learning, while still keeping the content relevant and not taking away from productivity.
As we look to the future, we’re constantly evaluating how we can best optimize the learning experience of those who use our platform. From transitioning to browser-based labs and refreshing our content weekly to building a community dedicated to INE, we’re committed to creating a platform and culture that makes learning fun, accessible, and affordable, and the recent changes you’ve seen are only the beginning.
In the coming weeks, we will be announcing several exciting updates that will transform the way students interact with our content and each other. Stay tuned for more information!
About INE
INE is the premier provider of technical training for the IT industry. INE is revolutionizing the digital learning industry through the implementation of adaptive technologies and a proven method of hands-on training experiences. Our portfolio of training is built for all levels of technical learning, specializing in advanced networking technologies, next generation security and infrastructure programming and development. Want to talk to a training advisor about our course offerings and training plans? Give us a call at 877-224-8987 or email us at sales@ine.com.
