Basic gamification knowledge is essential to eLearning creators and their managers today, and it becomes more so with each passing month. The eLearning Guild’s new white paper, Gamification Knowledge Check, provides you with an opportunity to quickly review your knowledge of gamification concepts and approaches.

In an interview in 2012, two university professors who are also pioneers in today’s gaming industry—Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter—talked about their book, For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business (2012). During that interview, Werbach said, “We have these extraordinary capabilities of digital platforms and analytic systems to manage and implement gamification.” Hunter added, “Games are the future of many businesses, [so] every manager needs to understand gamified thinking.” Those statements are even more accurate today than they were four years ago.

What do we need to know about gamification?

So if we are already past the point (since 2012) when industry experts such as Werbach and Hunter were advocating that rank-and-file business managers must understand basic concepts of gamification and “gamified thinking,” what does that mean for us as learning leaders and practitioners? What does our knowledge level need to be?

To some extent, the answer to that question depends upon the extent to which you are involved in the design of detailed learning curricula that employ elements of gamification. Or it may depend on the degree to which you are responsible for making executive decisions about the acquisition of game-authoring tools or other types of technology enhancements required for effective gamification.

Are you game for a quick knowledge check?

The Gamification Knowledge Check contains 20 multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge of basic terminology, best-practice approaches, and gamification theory. Also provided is a link to a more in-depth discussion of each correct answer, together with other gamification resources for further reading, including our recent eBook, The Art and Science of Gamification.

After finishing the knowledge check and tallying your score, you should be in a better position to answer these questions:

  • How many basic gamification terms can you successfully define?
  • Which areas of basic gamification knowledge do you need to work on for optimal effectiveness in your current job role?
  • Which areas of broader gamification knowledge do you need to master for success in achieving your longer-term career goals?

Gamification knowledge is essential for today’s learning practitioners

It seems clearer than ever that gamification is an essential tool in the knowledge and expertise “toolkit” of today’s learning professionals—leaders as well as hands-on practitioners.

Given this reality, we believe that there is no longer any excuse for practitioners and learning leaders to be without a solid understanding of gamification: what it is, what it can do, when you should incorporate it into your learning solutions, and perhaps more importantly, when you should not gamify.

Use our Gamification Knowledge Check as your first step toward achieving a solid knowledge of the gamification basics.

Join us for the Games & Gamification Summit online

On May 18 – 19, The eLearning Guild will host the online Games & Gamification Summit, in which participants will explore the big questions associated with games and gamification. During this summit, developers in the games and gamification field will provide examples of game-based learning and gamification that will bring clarity to many of the questions surrounding these topics. Register here for the summit! Registration gives you access to the live online event, plus any associated handouts and recordings, for one year after the event. eLearning Guild members at the Member-Plus and Premium levels can attend summits as part of their member benefits. Organizational and Group discounts are available for qualified attendees.

References

Knowledge@Wharton. “‘For the Win’: How Gamification Can Transform Your Business.” Podcast, December 5, 2012. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/for-the-win-how-gamification-can-transform-your-business/