Gamification: Could It Work In Your Environment?
A trend that seems to be gaining greater and greater attention these days is that of “gamification.”
Karl M. Kapp, author of the recent book The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education, is a major promoter of the movement. Kapp’s name is popping up in many of these gamification articles. Recently, in the Open Forum article Gamification Coming to a Workplace Near You, Kapp says, “I realized that certain elements of games could be applied to traditional e-learning and classroom instructional design…I don’t really want to create a full-scale Halo-type game, but I do want elements of Halo like characters, challenge, story, and feedback in my instruction.”
In the same Open Forum article, Rajat Paharia, Founder and CPO of gamification company Bunchball, says, “I think five years ago, most organizations were reluctant to embrace gamification because of the ‘games’ concept. Gamification applies game mechanics to non-game experiences, but the goal isn’t gameplay, it’s ongoing engagement. Organizations are now realizing that gamification doesn’t make business more ‘fun,’ it just helps change the way people perceive their work in a positive way.”
As organizations become more open to the idea, and instructional designers and T&D professionals start figuring out the most effective ways to implement it, I believe gamification of training will become a mainstay of our industry.
Check out Karl M. Kapp’s book: The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education
