Gamification is a new buzz word that is gaining traction but at the same time is being questioned by business professionals. The uncertainty is partly due to the fact that gamification is not thoroughly understood by educators and facilitators.
So what is gamification?
Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts. Let’s look at in context of an example. Brainly.ph is a website available to students across 35 countries, providing support for conventional education. A student would go onto the website, create an account for free and then becomes part of a collaborative community where information is shared. The game elements used on the site is rewards and points. Every time a student asks a question, they spend points. When a student answers a question, they get points and the best answer will receive bonus points. The usage of the simple game element, rewards and points, now suddenly creates competitiveness among students, and within oneself, knowledge sharing, social media interaction, and gives the player or student a feeling of being part of something greater, contributing to something more.
In today’s digital generation, gamification has become a tool used to encourage specific behaviours and increases motivation and engagement. The use of game elements such as the points and rewards are one of many game elements that can be used in creating learning experiences that ultimately cause behavioural change. Gamification should be part of a greater learning programme which finds the balance between achieving the objectives of the educator or facilitator and that of the ever evolving student.
