I am not the first, and I won’t be the last, to say that I wish gamification had a better name.
The reason I wish it had a better name is because the concept is brilliant, but it won’t get past the first hurdle with many of today’s key decision-makers. In another generation’s time that will be different, but right now the concept struggles to become a reality in many cases.
What is gamification? Essentially it is employing the techniques used in games in non-game situations to achieve a desired outcome. An oversimplification would be to describe it as the PBL trinity of points, badges and leaderboards, but there is more than a grain of truth in that…
Earning points for doing the right thing, getting a badge for being successful and seeing how you are doing compared to the others are all surprisingly motivating.
I strongly, strongly recommend a great Coursera programme if you want to learn more about this application that I believe will have an enormous impact on business and education in the coming years – click here for details.
Click on the image below to read about how students can become more engaged when tasks are gamified. What do you think? Mumbo-Jumbo and a passing fad? Or a really clever way to get people intrinsically motivated and enjoying themselves while learning?
