In: Operations Management
I have heard there is a trend where many companies are developing training that uses games or elements of games. Question 6: What are the potential benefits and problems with using games and gamification for training?
Gamification is top of mind for many instructional designers lately, as this practice has become commonplace in many organizations. Even industry experts such as the Association for Talent Development cite how gamification is a proven effective educational strategy. In additional praise of gamification, the US News & World Report cites Andrea Eberly, an instructional designer at the New England College of Business, who claims, “Gamification allows students to become more active learners by inserting themselves into different scenarios, rather than passively listening to lectures and reading course material on their own.” It’s clear the advantages of this practice are numerous; gamification offers learners exciting and enriching learning environments, and allows designers’ creativity to flourish. However, despite the many advantages, gamification may also pose some risks and challenges. Here are a few factors to consider:
Advantages
Increase Learner Engagement
Games appeal to our basic instinct to play. Games can transform
dull content into engaging and interesting experiences, can
encourage friendly competition among colleagues, and can lead
learners to feel pride in completing a course after a series of
gamified challenges and tasks. Learners who are cognitively active,
are enjoying the learning process, and who feel genuine emotions in
response to the outcome of an educational game will enjoy higher
retention of the content. Physical and mental activity make for
more meaningful experiences than passively scrolling, clicking
next, and listening to long lectures, and this activity correlates
to more engagement and higher productivity on the job. Gamification
is one way to lead learners to want to achieve the learning
objectives of a course.
Provide Instant Feedback
One necessary feature of games is the delivery of feedback, whether
positive or negative. Educational games allow learners to progress,
not by chance, but by having the right knowledge or correct
response to a question or scenario. Similarly, the lack of
knowledge or an incorrect response does not allow learners to move
forward. By incorporating instant feedback into gameplay and even
tying this feedback to the game’s outcome, learners can monitor
their progress throughout the game and may even feel intrinsically
motivated to complete the game successfully. Leaderboards and
scoreboards offer an additional feedback mechanism, allowing
learners to see how their results compare to their peers.
Boost Motivation with Features Such as Badges
Badges in gamified learning content can be as simple as virtual
ribbons, stickers, or prizes that learners earn for the completion
of modules or tasks within the game. These badges can be displayed
in several places, from inside the game, on the company’s intranet,
or even externally in places such as LinkedIn. According to Medium,
badges are crucial “because they make the user feel important and
skilled.” Badges give learners a sense of completion as well as a
sense of authority, as they are a tangible symbol of the learner’s
accomplishments.
Disadvantages
High Cost of Development
Creativity may not be the only limit instructional designers face
when creating gamified learning. Game development tends to lead to
longer development time than traditional instructional design, as
each phase of the design process (everything from explaining the
concept to project stakeholders, to storyboarding, to designing,
developing, and testing the course) has additional demands when
gamified. In the business world, time is money, and the extra
investment of time alone can drive a project over-budget.
Additional resources such as music and sound effects, stock content
such as photos and videos, and even custom animations and graphics
that enrich the game all come at an additional cost of time, money,
or both.
Diminished Value Over Time
Games can be costly to develop, and costly to maintain. Games that
looked sophisticated when they launched may look dated even a few
short years later, and in the workplace, this may give employees
the impression that the content is similarly out of date even if it
isn’t. A second disadvantage also related to the game’s value over
time is that learners who wish to review portions of the content
may not wish to repeat the entire game, when they have already
exerted time and effort completing it once. They may prefer having
content available outside of the game for quicker reference. Even
the most captivating of games may not have a high replay value.
Games That Are Only Poorly Masked Quizzes
Games are meant to be fun, and it’s safe to say most people don’t
enjoy tests and quizzes. In the workplace, employees seldom
encounter traditional assessments such as multiple-choice quizzes
outside of mandatory training, so it can take effort and creativity
to create games that are educational, truly enjoyable, and don’t
feel like quizzes masquerading as “games.” Furthermore, from an
instructional design standpoint, the assessment mechanism of the
game should ideally connect to the learning objectives, just as it
would in any other course. Any tokens, badges, or in-game prizes
should ideally hold meaning for the learner. The concept of
completing a game by simply collecting five stars or one million
points may not be enough to motivate adult learners in the
workplace, but successfully navigating a series of workplace
challenges presented in an eLearning course could be. Games that
present learners with real-life scenarios, situations, and
challenges offer interesting gameplay, and may be much more
effective and motivating than traditional quizzes and tests.