Gamification in Education – Everything about LMS Reward System

Gamification in Education

Gamification – The word that has recently started to come up when you search for engaging learners in an online education environment.

But most of us, especially the non-techie individuals, who are still accustomed to the changing mechanics of online education do not fully understand this element of game-ful-ness and its role in positive learning. Gamification itself is not a new term and has originated in the digital media industry dating back to 2008.

This blog will build on the most basic gamification in education techniques used by efficient consumer educational software. Let’s begin by elaborating on the term.

Gamification Mechanics in Learning

Gamification, as the name indicates, came up from the world of gaming where the technique of light competition, incentives, and rewards have been used to make the experience more appealing.

But It’s not all about Money!

Gamification in Education has proved itself to be a valuable tool as it taps into the world of achievement & fuels progression. While in the gaming world, there are pecuniary motivators, the facets of the reward system in educational setup focus on users competing for points, and badges, and improving rankings on their progress boards.

Online Gamification in Education Makes E-Learning More Palatable

Offering rewards have adapted the students to a better learning environment that facilitates higher academic performance for many years now. However, more recently, every industry is rotating on the axis of a digital bang – pun intended. Keeping user engagement steady seems like a challenge where even smaller educational setups are forced to build an online presence.

This is where gamification via e-Learning & technological programs came to the rescue: to achieve customer success and minimize the significant learning curve!

Quite frankly, the practice of applying game mechanics in distance learning – or e-learning –  has actually borne fruit among institutes to motivate users and entice success at the same time. Several case studies vouch for the fact that online learning platforms that use reward systems with gamification mechanics, saw a rapid proliferation of intrinsic student motivation.

So we can all agree that online gamification became the “frosting on the cake” for several online education establishments as they embarked on management systems that focus on user productivity.

Now let’s discuss how the concepts of gamification foster eLearning success.

The best way to get productivity in a virtual establishment is to:

a.  measure the parameters of your educational strategy

b. set expectations based on student evaluating and measuring training.

c. get on board with a gamified solution that automates e-learning

d. ensure that the new platform offer the right tools to incentivize learning outcomes.

Ideally, several applications offer tools that are used to evolve gamification success in an online setting. identifying and opting for the right learning management software for such an engagement will be the best option to gamify e-learning in your institution.

Gamification in Education Success via Learning Management Systems

Rest assured, an effective or well-designed educational system will innovate around gamification mechanics to facilitate users and bring better learning outcomes!

Most learning management systems offer key drivers to anticipate student participation and online classroom engagement while promoting positive interactivity. If you are able to entice learners to get excited about learning online, you are going to have better chances of success.

For the effective implementation of gamification in the learning process, it is vital that the selected LMS system takes into account the following tactics (detailed with system illustrations):

1)     Increased Productivity with Challenges

The backbone of gamification, challenges (including tests, assignments, and quizzes) will help to engage users with content and will make it more likely for them to retain information. Challenges in a learning management solution should not be generalized. In fact, the game of testing and rewarding must be based on the learner’s level.

An e-learning system that provides the capability to add tests and challenges at an individual level, at the team level, or at a course level can leverage the reward game mechanics in your institution, manifolds.

2)     Promotes Power of Feedback

In an internally connected learning system, where content is kind, feedback is the queen!

From administration to instructors, instructors to students, and students/parents to institutes management feedback works wonders in augmenting player performance.

Feedback can be given in the form of comments on challenges, tests, and assignments, to any student or the whole class within the online management system, or the LMS system also integrates a chart system where feedback is offered via a complete picture of the student progress (in a defined term).

3)     Involves Point Based Strategies

Gamification is the 4th most wanted feature in any LMS and 89% of users will be more engaged in a LMS application if it features a “point system”!

Here is an example of how an effective LMS platform revolves around gamification mechanics to bring learning engagement into the system (Source: Calimatic LMS).

Since the transfer of knowledge in an online setup is tricky, such “point-based learning” methods via leaderboards bring urgency among the users to achieve better scores, thus improving engagement.

Another simple way to bring more attraction to your LMS is by offering a “redeem point” system that works as an “internal gift card” where earned points can be redeemed for student facilitation.

4) Creates Fun in Badges and Certificates

By implementing a fun, interactive, and engaging platform that appreciates users with badges and certificates never fails to make its mark among its users and other stakeholders.

Successful Learning management systems have advanced their gamified approach with badges and certificates that indicate more tangible rewards – where the students have something to show for at the end of the day.

5)     Place to Fuel Community Collaboration

Where the tools to praise and entice learners to achieve higher levels of success are justified, the importance of community collaboration in a system cannot be emphasized enough as a gamification technique offered by advanced e-learning structures.

 A learning management system that is focused on human behavior and its advancement will offer equal opportunities for users to progress via collaboration.

Since the gamification concept is to bring productivity to an educational dais, community collaboration (student-student/student-teacher) has so much to add to it. That’s why, idea sharing, internal communication, student interactive boards, and other such features must be inclusion in any learning application to make it whole.

6)     Maintains Transparency for Improved Engagement

The mechanics of measuring success via challenges can only be put to use with the help of proper navigation within the platform.

A fully compatible LMS system will focus on making the assessments front-line for the users, reflect the organization’s learning goals and offer transparency to evaluation activities. This will help to give a better understanding of how far is the progress and what the users must do to get there.

You can know more about gamified learning solutions integrated into online learning software by opting for a Free Demo or Trial version of the application and ensure that the gamification solution is designed on the basis of your institute’s needs.  

Are you prepared to get your content ready with a reward-based enriched environment?

Even though gamification might not be your first concern when looking for a learning management system if it is that one layer that can help you increase user engagement and activity in your virtual institute, it is better that you start to turn your head in that direction.

Summing up,

Online Gamification in Education, unlocks wider demographics for e-learning by offering possible elements to extend staff as well as learners’ engagement, productivity, and awareness, whilst taking the corporates to an infinite journey of discovery.

Hire a team of professionals today, that will guide you to measure learning outcomes and constantly improve system progress!