Why Gamification In e-Learning Is Important

Gamification has become popular in elementary and secondary schools to engage students and make learning fun. But adults can benefit from it too!

Gamification in e-learning is a great way to make your corporate training program more effective, leading to more qualified and productive employees. Keep reading to see why gamification in e-learning is important and how you can use it to improve your training program.

Related: How Gamification Can Improve Training

Clicking through slides or traditional corporate training materials can be draining and dull for many learners. When learners are bored, they are likelier to tune out and stop learning. This means that the entire process is ineffective.

However, gamification is more engaging. Gamification allows you to present content in a fun and exciting way. To proceed and advance, employees must be active and participate in the game. Doing so ensures that your employees are actively engaged rather than zoning out and absorbing nothing.

If you choose the right game elements, you can design a game that keeps them engaged in the activity the entire time. This means they will not miss anything you have planned. This increases the likelihood that they will reach the desired learning goals.

You can pair gamification with other e-learning techniques to make training more engaging and accessible. For instance, you can turn micro-assessments into short games. This has the potential to make employees happier while also keeping them engaged.

Timely feedback is essential as it allows learners to understand where they are at in their learning and make changes accordingly. For example, if a learner takes an exam and aces the first section yet has difficulty with the next, they will know to focus their study on the second section.

When you incorporate gamification into e-learning, you also gain the benefits of instant feedback. Learners can see immediately what was incorrect and what they need to relearn. By including this information and the possibility of relearning right away, you can help learners rewire the information in their brains correctly.

Learning sessions are essentially useless if learners do not retain the information long-term. This new information needs to be stored in long-term memory and be able to be retrieved when needed. Gamification improves a few factors that together help increase retention rates.

The hippocampal area of the brain is the part responsible for information recall. Studies have shown that games activate this area, making recalling information learned through games easier.

Gamified learning makes the learning process more enjoyable, thus increasing engagement. When this happens, learners are more likely to pay better attention and remember the content later on. A combination of feedback and rewards also helps encourage learners to continue learning, revisit topics when needed, and overall do a better job retaining the information.

Looking for ways to help your employees retain their training? Schedule your demo with Emeraude Escape today

When learners are engaged and actively working on their learning, they will be more productive at completing their learning tasks. Providing gamified training can help boost employee productivity during the learning sessions.

Some leaders may worry that using gamified learning will take up additional time. But, gamified training does not require more time than traditional methods while providing other benefits.

In addition, long-term employee productivity will also benefit. Learners will better grasp the information they have been learning, making it easier for them to apply it on the job. You can also track the performance of your employees to identify those who are high-performers. This will allow you to provide additional training if you want to give them additional learning opportunities.

Related: How To Create Diversity And Inclusion Training That Works

Employees may already have some motivation to complete their training. For instance, they will need to learn the content if they want to pass a certification. But, there is not as much motivation to retain and dive into the information. Gamification provides another source of extrinsic motivation that can push progress forward.

Learners receive a reward after performing an action. This could be a reward as simple as points. When this happens, the reward triggers the brain that this is a good action to take because something good happens afterward. Learners are more likely to repeat the action to get the same results.

The fact that this reward is instant plays a big part in this process. Very specific knowledge and information may take a while to pay off on the job. However, with the game, it pays off right away.

Over time, this process strengthens behavioral changes in the employee that can make them more prepared to complete their job. It also keeps employees hooked on the learning activities in a fun way.

Failing is a critical part of learning. By trying and failing at something, learners understand what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately, traditional classroom learning doesn’t leave much space for this. Many people are reluctant to say or try something if they think there is a chance they will publicly fail.

Gamified learning provides a safe space where learners can try something, receive feedback about it, and try again. Getting the wrong answer in a classroom setting is upsetting because it makes individuals feel like they aren’t smart enough to get the question right. However, no one expects to be a chess wizard, a basketball star, or the master of any other game right off the bat. By simply switching the thinking behind the process, it becomes more comfortable.

This is especially important when it comes to task training. It may take a few times for someone to learn how to complete a task correctly. They will undoubtedly deal with disappointments and will have to find a way to work past those disappointments. By working in a gamified system, they can do that without stress.

Related: How To Gamify Your Corporate Training

Gamification can make your e-learning more effective. Learners will feel more engaged and motivated while having opportunities to learn and receive instant feedback. Incorporating games into your corporate e-learning plan doesn’t have to be difficult, but it can transform it in a way you never thought possible.

Looking to transform your corporate training program? Contact Emeraude Escape to gamify your e-learning program.