A miracle solution for engaging learners or just a fad? Gamification is the talk of the training world. In the midst of sometimes contradictory information, it is difficult to disentangle the true from the false. Alexandre Duarte, consultant, author and trainer in gamification for ORSYS, demystifies gamification and analyses its real impact on training.
It's a known global phenomenon: the lack of commitment is increasingly felt in companies, and this also affects training. Up to 60 % of company training managers would thus regularly be confronted with a lack of commitment from their training employees. In fact, one in two learners would be bored when following non-gamified training. The good news is that a method exists. Gamification is a solution of choice to better involve learners, drawing inspiration from cognitive sciences, design thinking and engaging elements from games (challenge, narration, collaboration, etc.).
So, how can training organizations, trainers and training managers successfully integrate gamification into their training?
Integrating gamification into training: where to start?
We sometimes hear that gamification involves creating games. In reality, it's much more than that. Gamification is above all a method to generate engagement. It uses playful elements according to specific objectives. A first step would then be to define the objective. For example: make training more punctuated. Depending on the objective pursued and the engagement issues encountered, gamification can therefore take many forms. Its success also depends on its design: you must choose the right gamification mechanisms.
Gamifi'cartes, a card game to gamify training
Created by Fidbak, the Gamifi'cards offer 90 gamification mechanisms in card game format.
These cards combine different playful mechanisms and cognitive biases. They identify possible tools to use to further engage participants. The idea is to guide trainers towards the gamification mechanisms best suited to the engagement issues they encounter.
Gamifi'cartes are also used for training courses in management and in project management.
Gamification in ORSYS training
Some ORSYS training courses also use various gamification techniques. As :
- Diverted games
For example: use the Timeline card game as a source of inspiration to create a project management game based on the order of priority of actions to be implemented.
- A progress bar on the training support
- Icebreakers
For example: use Story Cubes dice. The participant throws a die and introduces himself with an anecdote echoing the drawing on the upper side of the die. Or rely on the beautiful illustrations of the Dixit game cards to share your energy at the end of training.
- Random rewards for success (not every time or in different forms) or rewards to prepare for future exercises
For example: unlock tools, cheat sheets, save time to finish a practical exercise...
- Tough challenges to test skills
Gamification adapts to all profiles
The most stubborn prejudice about gamification is its use limited to children. However, according to a recent study by SELL (Syndicate of Leisure Software Publishers), the average age of regular video game players is 39 years old. And nearly 52 % of the population play it at least once a week.
Gamification, which subverts the codes of video games, is therefore entirely suitable for an adult learning audience.
Personalize gamification using 9 engagement levers
The success of gamification relies heavily on personalization. In other words, it’s about prioritizing the gamification elements. To do this, Fidbak has defined 9 engagement levers based on self-determination theory, flow and certain cognitive biases. These 9 engagement levers represent 9 categories which bring together motivation profiles.
To “engage” learners, we must first understand their primary motivation or even their motivations. Indeed, role-playing games will speak to the most creative when the rankings resonate with the competitors.
To refine this knowledge, Fidbak designed a online questionnaire, in collaboration with Julien Saint-Samat, doctoral student at the University of Montpellier. This tool allows you to determine an engagement profile.
Visual of a profile from the questionnaire
Having this knowledge then allows you to prioritize engagement levers.
In other words: on the one hand, integrate gamification mechanisms from the engagement levers most present among participants.
And, on the other hand, avoid levers of engagement that are controversial. Indeed, if only some of the participants are motivated by competition, integrating a ranking into the training risks disengaging the other participants.
Furthermore, the more personalized the gamification, the more effective it will be, because it will appeal to the learners' sources of motivation.
For example: if the participants are sensitive to two different levers, it makes sense to combine them. The combination of the two engagement levers “skill and mastery” and “immersion” is therefore ideal for creating challenges in the form of quests incorporating narration.
How can you go further to gamify your own training?
No need for an unlimited budget to design gamification!
It is mainly necessary:
- Observe to understand when training lacks engagement
- Discover certain relevant tools (test divertable games, generate ideas with Gamifi'cartes, etc.)
- Test a prototype with learners
- Observe again and collect their feedback
- Adapt (take into account recurring feedback, improve the content and graphics if the feedback is good)
Examples of games to divert:
Imagine: to help people guess the vocabulary of a specific profession with superimposable icons. Very easy to use!
Escape Cards: software to easily create escape game type games, with cards and an application. Ideal for learners who love immersion.
Of course, adapting the training also involves taking into account the feelings of the learners as well as, depending on the case, the trainer and the training manager. Doing regular tests allows you to go further and see bigger !
