Learning & Development Archives - eVULX

Best Employee Training Programs

eVULX Content Team — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 07:55:02 +0000

Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, you’re likely constantly looking for new ways to make your employees more efficient and productive. While there are many different ways to do this, a corporate training program is often considered one of the most effective—especially when ensuring employees are properly equipped with the skills they need to perform their jobs well. Luckily for businesses, there’s no shortage of options regarding employee training programs.

What does an employee gain from employee training programs?

Training helps employees grow and increases productivity, retention rates and career advancement opportunities like gamification. This excellent investment can be expected to generate positive future returns for your business.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the best corporate training programs out there so that you can choose one that fits your needs perfectly:

1. eVULX International: Business Simulations

Are you a small business struggling to get ahead? Are you thinking about making some changes but unsure what steps to take? Would you like to become a better manager or leader? Whatever problem your face, I’ve got good news. You can turn your business around.

eVULX Business Simulations teach your employees how to improve business acumen and raise the bar for decision-making. We’ll make them financially literate, so they have a strong grasp of the financial risks involved in any undertaking and help them build a business model that helps them make business decisions. We’ll get your employees to think critically, make well-informed decisions, and communicate results clearly and concisely across all departments.

Two different settings, each with its own VUCA experience.

2. Compliance Training: Safety Overall

Compliance training educates employees on the laws and regulations of their job function or industry. These laws aim to maintain the workplace’s safety and prevent employees’ poor conduct. A good compliance training program for companies helps to minimise risk, provide a better environment for employees to work in, and maintain a good reputation.
Compliance training examples:

Anti-Harassment Training
Workplace Safety (OSHA)
Workplace Violence
Workplace Substance Abuse
Information Security Training (HIPPA)
HR Law
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
Diversity Training

3. Onboarding Training: The Cycle

The Cycle is tailored for organisations that are interested in upskilling their hiring managers on what to look out for during the hiring process to recruit employees that fit into the culture of the organisation.

Features Highlight:

Talent Acquisition
Critical Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis
Time Management
Interview Etiquette
Decision Making

4. Soft skills development training

Soft skills in the workplace are essential for improving productivity and ensuring the smooth functioning of an organisation. Soft skills can be defined as personal qualities or behaviours that affect the way people work together, communicate and relate to each other, how to solve problems, obtain rewards and benefits, behave under pressure and handle responsibilities.

They are essential for a business, and although they may be called soft, they are hard to develop. But since research has found that 75% of long-term job success comes down to people skills and not technical knowledge, you can’t afford to lose such productivity from your employees.

Soft skills:

Ownership
Conflict resolution
Emotional Intelligence
Time management
Ethics
Adaptability
Business Etiquette
Commitment

5. Health, Safety and Security Training – HSSE

Health, Safety and Security Training are vital to keeping employees safe. But unfortunately, many organisations neglect the best training programs for employees to save costs. While they’re more concerned about their physical data/information security, they do not take measures to keep their employees safe.

6. Leadership Skills Training

Leadership skills training allows managers to improve their ability to inspire and motivate employees and teams to achieve outstanding business results. This program will give you and your team the tools essential for leadership, including how to inspire others, think strategically, overcome ambiguity and complexity, lead diverse teams and more. Leadership skills training is designed for managers working in various industries at all levels.

Benefits of Leadership Skills Training

You must be able to lead a team. This will improve your leadership styles and enable you to effectively implement leadership strategies. The program is designed to help you become a better leader whilst gaining self-confidence. It increases employee engagement and enhances your leadership skills.

These are a few of the best training programs for your employee training.

These training programs are designed to help your business grow. They include everything from learning how to manage your team to enhancing your employability skills and improving customer relations. We understand that not every employee is at the same place in their career, and with these programs, you can grow your employees into the people they need to be. Whether you’re a small business looking to grow or an established company trying to stay ahead of the curve, these training programs can help your business thrive.

Conclusion

When all is said and done, the best employee training programs will be the one that fits into your overall business plan most seamlessly. If you’re just looking for a place to start, any of the five options mentioned above would be a great start—primarily if they can provide everything you need and more when it comes to practical training. Businesses and their employees are constantly growing and evolving, and there is no such thing as too much training.

So, if you own a business and are looking to provide your employees with the example of a training program, you have a few options. In this article, we’ve taken some time to outline the pros and cons of several different platforms to get a sense of which could be the best choice for you. Ultimately, there’s no best platform because it depends on your business needs. So reach out to each platform’s support team, research, and choose the right option.

The best corporate training program is the one that meets your needs and fits into your budget. We hope our list has helped you find the right option for your organisation! Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions for your employees.

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Online Learning vs Face-to-Face Learning: Which Is Best?

Arun Nagarajah — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 01:51:34 +0000

We live in a time of unparalleled access to knowledge. Never before have we been able to learn so much, so fast, at any age. The internet allows us to stream lecture videos by the world’s foremost thought leaders and educators. We can even debate with and discuss with strangers from all over the world. So, which is better: face to face vs online learning?

The answer is both. No one method of learning is better, but each has its place in our educational system. The most important thing is to make sure that students are exposed to both modes of learning so that they can decide which best suits their needs and interests.

“Technology is not a silver bullet. It’s only as good as the teachers … using it as one more tool to help inspire, and teach, and work through problems.” — Barack Obama.

You may have many questions about the difference between e-learning and face-to-face. That’s natural! Learning is an essential part of any business, and this article should provide a good starting point in helping you discover your options.

Traditional Education is Now a Thing of the Past

For many people, traditional education is now a thing of the past. Conventional education is now a thing of the stone age. Today’s learners are given access to online learning platforms and find that traditional teaching methods can be too restrictive. This is why online learning platforms are now being preferred more by students.

What is Online learning?

Online learning is any learning you can do at home, on your own time and in your own space. It gives you the flexibility to know when you have time and means that you can maintain your daily schedule to attend lessons. Do you know, what is the best part about online learning? You get to view learning materials whenever and wherever you want.

Face to Face vs Online Learning

Face-to-face learning is the most common type of learning and involves an instructor in a classroom or learning center who can give real-time feedback and answer learners’ questions. The advantage of this method is that there is time between lessons and you have access to the trainer’s expertise if you need it.

Face to face vs online learning

Whether the organization offers internal or external training, there is no question: your learners need digital. Organizations have to make the switch, often to survive. Online learning for employees is an expectation as the workplace becomes more virtual.

Your learners want digital because it’s convenient and easy. They want online learning because they can access their courses at a time that suits them, wherever they are in the world. A learning platform is quick to set up and easy to use and can track your learners’ progress through their learning path, guiding them along the way.

The Business Transformation

Managing corporate eLearning is a challenge. You need to ensure that your learning content is fit for purpose, meets compliance requirements and matches the needs of learners, for example, eVULX products provide the immersive experiences to indulge employees in effective learning. You have to make it accessible to employees at all times, on whatever device they choose to use – mobile, tablet or desktop. A corporate eLearning strategy designed for the future could offer online learning/training which managers need most: at home or on the move. This can help you increase productivity and save time by reducing travel costs and environmental impact.

Here are a few reasons why this transformation is taking place.

1. Flexible learning

Online learning is flexible. You can learn at your own pace and make the most of your time by fitting it around your life. No more taking two weeks off work to cram before an exam!

Many people spend hours commuting or travelling during their day, making even the thought of getting another qualification seem less than appealing. But with an online course, you can do all that extra studying where you want—and when you want. E-learning can be accessed on your learners’ terms – research shows that the modern learner spends 33% of their time in meetings already.

You don’t have to sit in lectures or travel across town every week to complete a lecture series anymore; instead, you can simply listen in on them from the comfort of home. If particular subjects aren’t relevant to your current career path, then just skip that section and move on with what interests you most!

2. You can learn at your own pace.

One of the main advantages of online learning is that it allows you to learn at your own pace. You can take as much time as necessary to understand the material, and there is no pressure to finish lessons quickly.

This also means that you don’t have to worry about missing lessons or classes if, for example, something urgent comes up in real life such as a family emergency or job interview. In fact, since most online courses have a flexible schedule, they’re ideal if you would rather take breaks when needed instead of rushing through everything at once. One thing’s for sure: Online learning has never been more convenient!

3. More topics to choose from

Online learning gives you more choices. Many providers are offering a wide range of courses, which means you have many options when it comes to finding the right course for you. The flexibility of online learning also makes it possible for students to access courses at times that suit them and their schedules.

Last but not least, when we talk about e-learning vs traditional learning, online learning is often more affordable than face-to-face learning as there is no need to travel or pay for accommodation costs.

Now, here we have Face to Face learning pros:

1. Improved Attendance

One of the biggest benefits of face-to-face learning is that students are more likely to attend school. When virtual learning is used, students may not show up for a class or may miss it altogether. This means that this absence could negatively impact their education.

There are other benefits as well. Virtual learning allows teachers to reach more students and make lessons more engaging by allowing them to use multimedia tools like PowerPoint and video conferencing technology. It also allows them to create a more diverse classroom experience by allowing students from different backgrounds and with different interests to interact with one another in real-time. This helps reduce the likelihood of bullying or discrimination based on race or religion because all students are present at once in their own physical space rather than just chatting online with each other without any visual cues about who they’re speaking with at any given moment.

2. Increased Social Skills

The benefits of face-to-face learning, in the online learning vs classroom learning debate, are numerous, and they apply to social skills as well. Face-to-face teaching can help kids develop important social skills that will serve them throughout their lives. When students learn in a classroom setting, they are more likely to interact with one another than if they were just sitting around at home watching TV or playing video games.

Studies have shown that students who attend school are less likely to get into fights with other classmates outside of school because they’ve already learned how to resolve conflicts while in class together!

3. More Brain Stimulation

Brain stimulation is important because it helps the brain grow, develop and learn. When you’re learning something new, your brain sends out a signal that it wants more information. This is why you might feel so hungry when you study or work on a project: it’s telling you that it needs fuel!

Conclusion

In the end, it’s essential to weigh your options so you can find the best fit for you! As we’ve seen, online courses are cheaper and more flexible than on-campus courses. But they require more discipline and self-motivation from students because there must be live instructors around to guide them through their learning process. So to answer traditional learning vs online learning, which is the best?

Do what suits you best; face-to-face classes also have advantages: teachers and other students can help keep each other accountable for completing their assignments or attending classes regularly. It’s up to each student what type of learning experience works best for them–and if you find out that neither side appeals at first glance, don’t stress too much about it! Just keep looking until something clicks! Visit eVULX for more information on gamified solutions.

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Why a High-Low Goal Range Works Better

Arun Nagarajah — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 01:23:02 +0000

If you want to achieve a goal, you first need a target. But how do you choose your target? What’s the best way to create that target? You can’t just shoot for something. You have to aim for something. That’s where range goals come in. They’re not as easy to set as target numbers, but they’re better at driving long-range success.

When you’re leading a team, it’s tempting to devise just one goal for everyone to shoot for. But if you want your team members to get the most out of themselves, you must give them many different targets rather than setting unrealistic goals for employees. This article will sort through all the jargon and show you the range of goals, the science behind why they work, and how to set them up in practice.

Using science to set goals:

The science of goal-setting shows that setting a one-size-fits-all numerical target for your employees can be a mistake. Too often, these goals are too high and leave an employee feeling lacking — or just demoralised if they fail to meet them because they are unattainable goals.

Recent research shows that people are more likely to re-engage (i.e. decide to continue pursuing a goal over a while) if the goal is a range and not a single number. How we set goals influences our behaviour, and feelings of accomplishment drive this.

Read more on the science behind game-based learning and gamification.

Goals can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Once you’ve set them, goals can become self-fulfilling prophecies. A classic example of this phenomenon is the story of Dr Temple Grandin and how she overcame her autism to become an accomplished professor and author in animal sciences. As a child, Temple had many sensory issues that made it difficult for her to socialise or focus on tasks.

Still, as she grew up, she learned to motivate herself through robust visualisations that helped her overcome those obstacles. She says, “I would see myself walking down the school corridor with a crowd around teachers and me telling me how well I was doing… That sort of thing repeatedly happened until it became a reality.”

Setting employee goals:

When you give your team a goal, make it a range.

Research has shown that this approach is much more effective than having one idealised target. First, it helps to motivate people to work harder and smarter. Second, it creates an environment where teams can collaborate effectively because they know there’s no time for infighting about who gets credit for what. And finally, it allows managers to understand their strengths better to provide support where necessary without feeling threatened by the accomplishments of others (or vice versa).

Range Goals – SMART Goals

Range goals are SMART Goals; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. They can be set for a shorter period, allowing you to adapt your goal based on feedback from the range goal. This makes it easier to achieve your range goal because there is no pressure to meet an exact deadline, and you don’t have to worry about falling short of the original target if things don’t go as planned.

You can also use range goals in conjunction with other types of targets—for example, setting unrealistic goals for employees will only create a pressurised work environment. How to set high goals or setting a high-end goal (e.g., $100K) while keeping a low-end (e.g., $50K).

This provides even more flexibility when evaluating how well you’re achieving your overall objective by allowing you to focus on specific areas where improvement may be needed rather than feeling like everything has gone wrong if one area doesn’t meet expectations!

Goals Motivate Us to Stretch

When you set a goal, you select a target to achieve something. It is important to remember that not all plans are created equal; some are more challenging than others. Your mindset significantly impacts your ability to achieve success and set ambitious targets for yourself.

The best way to think about this is through the lens of range- goals versus specific ones:

Range goals allow us to set challenging targets without feeling like we’re aiming too high or low. They help us stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zone while staying within reachable parameters to improve and grow as individuals. Read how gamification affects motivation.

Specific goals can be great for achieving short-term results, but they only allow a little room for growth – which can lead down an endless spiral of frustration if things turn out differently than planned!

Encouragement of Behaviour

By setting a range for team members to aim for, you can encourage many kinds of behaviour that will help them boost their performance.

You’ll allow them to show off their best work and creativity. They’ll get a chance to play with ideas and experiment with new ways of doing things and they may discover something that makes your product or service better than ever before.

You’ll also allow them to show off their flexibility and leadership skills by deciding how best to meet this goal within your set parameters. They might decide that every team member, including themselves, needs more resources to achieve improved results, than initially planned; in turn, they may need support from other departments or teams at your company (or even outside it). That kind of problem-solving is critical in today’s business environment!

Finally, when people set goals as part of a team effort instead of individually, they’ll have additional opportunities to collaborate on projects directly or indirectly toward reaching those goals, further enhancing teamwork skills while achieving those objectives!

Teams often do better if they focus on achieving multiple goals

A team’s collective focus is a powerful thing. If you give your team one goal, they’ll work hard to achieve it. But if you give them multiple goals, they’ll find ways to allocate their time and energy more efficiently and often do better at the prescribed task.

Teams can have both long-term and short-term goals at the same time. When they work on different types of goals at once, it gives them more flexibility in how they approach those tasks; instead of taking one road toward “success,” different parts of the organisation can take different paths toward achieving similar ends.

For example, A sales team might have a weekly quota of five deals they need to close each week (the short-term goal) while also having an annual revenue target of $25 million (the long-term goal). This allows them to see how their day-to-day activities align with their company’s overall mission, which helps them make smarter decisions about where they should invest their time and energy daily.

Conclusion

We think it’s clear that there isn’t one goal-setting template; goals of all kinds can accomplish big things. It’s not just companies that win the race by setting goals and sticking with them. The same approach is effective in our personal lives, too.

Ultimately, range goals are used to motivate people. The purpose of a goal is to provide challenge and support in reaching it. When you set a range as your team’s goal, its success may be hit-or-miss at first. It has to be large enough to be challenging but not so large that it overwhelms the program. The process is like wading into the ocean: You can wade straight into the waves or dip your toe first.

Not sure where to start? Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions for your business.

The post Why a High-Low Goal Range Works Better appeared first on eVULX.

Why Does Productivity Feel Fantastic?

Arun Nagarajah — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 12:02:29 +0000

We all have days when we feel like we’re not getting as much done as we’d like. But what if productivity wasn’t just a buzzword? What if being productive actually made you feel good about yourself? That’s the theory behind a growing body of research on what psychologist’s call “flow,” or the feeling that you are so deeply immersed in an activity that everything else seems to disappear.

As it turns out, flow is associated with higher self-esteem and lower stress levels—and it might even help us live longer! For example, eVULX products make learning and training fun and hence productive. So why does productivity feel so good?

Productivity is associated with a sense of accomplishment

The sense of accomplishment we get from completing tasks has a lot to do with feeling good about ourselves.

Accordingly, productivity research is also associated with a feeling of self-worth and competence. A sense of achievement can make you feel more confident in your abilities, which might make you want to keep going and tackle bigger projects in the future.

This is especially true when a task involves learning something new or working on a skill that’s already been challenging for you—it feels even better when you conquer those obstacles!

Productivity might be associated with increased self-confidence

This is a great question. There are many theories about why productivity feels so good, but one of the most popular is that it might be associated with increased self-confidence.

For example, if you demonstrate productive behavior at work or school and complete tasks efficiently and effectively, it can make you feel like you’ve got your life together. You might also feel confident enough to take on more challenging projects that will help you grow as an individual (and perhaps even lead to recognition).

Or maybe it’s not about confidence at all—maybe this feeling is just a byproduct of being good at what you do? Either way, we should all strive for more productivity in our lives! For more understanding read How does Gamification affect motivation?

Productivity increases feelings of autonomy and a sense of control

Productivity is a state of mind that results from the feeling of autonomy and a sense of control over your life. You feel empowered when you can make your own decisions, act on them, and see the results of your actions. As a result, productivity increases feelings of autonomy and control over your life.

The benefits are numerous: increased productivity leads to less stress, increased self-confidence (because you’re doing what needs to be done); greater employee engagement; lower levels of burnout (which leads to higher concentration).

Productivity can help you feel more hopeful about the future

You’re no stranger to feeling hopeless. You’ve probably felt that way at least once or twice in your life, and if you’re like me, it can be a pretty depressing experience. But productivity isn’t just about being efficient! It’s also about helping you feel more hopeful about the future—a feeling that could be especially helpful now.

Productivity is all about showing how your actions are making a difference and helping you achieve your goals and dreams—and when you see this happen, it can help increase your optimism for what lies ahead for yourself.

The more productive you feel, the less stressed you might feel

So why do you need to be productive? The answer is simple: when you are productive, your mind focuses on the task. And when you have a clear head and can focus on what’s happening at the moment, it helps reduce stress. When we think about all the things we need to do, we start worrying about them—so much so that our brains can become overloaded with information and then shut down completely! But if you stay focused on just one small thing at a time (like emailing back a colleague or making coffee), your brain will be able to handle it without stressing out.

This leads us to another benefit of productivity: feeling like we are in control of our lives. Productive people often feel more in control over their time because they don’t waste extra energy worrying about things that could happen later down the road. Still, they spend all their mental energy on getting things done right now. So if there’s an important meeting coming up next month? Don’t worry about it! You’ll get there eventually!

The world seems more straightforward and more manageable when you have a system

Productivity is a feeling. The world seems more straightforward and more manageable when you have a system. You can do more with less, focus on the essential things, see the big picture, know where you are going, and see how you are progressing toward your goals. This is why productivity feels so good: it means that everything is going according to plan.

There’s nothing like crossing something off a list.

“There’s nothing like crossing something off a list,” says wise! It might feel like the world is going to end if you don’t get something done, but once it’s checked off, there’s no better feeling than being able to cross another task off your list—especially if it means that you can finally relax or do something fun. It’s a tangible reward that gives you a sense of accomplishment and progress.

The reason why we love productivity so much has everything to do with our brains.

You have time to breathe and relax a little

Take a break. You deserve it.

When you get a chance to breathe and relax, it can feel like an indulgence—or even something of a luxury. This is especially true if you’re used to feeling stressed out on the job or if your workload has been so demanding that your days have felt long and hard. But taking time out of each day to rest is essential for mental well-being, stress management and productivity in general.

Even if you don’t feel like sleeping at first (and sometimes we don’t), try going through the motions once or twice so that they become a habit rather than scheduling new tasks every day (and night).

Conclusion

You might be thinking, “Okay, so what? Does all of this really matter?” The answer is yes! Productivity can improve your mental health and well-being in several ways:

It makes you feel more confident about your abilities.
It helps you feel more hopeful about the future.
It gives you a sense of control over your life.
It makes stress less likely to build up.

And that’s just the beginning. We hope that by reading this article and learning more about productivity, you will be able to take a step toward greater happiness and fulfillment.

Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions to make you and your team feel more productive and make the office environment fun!

The post Why Does Productivity Feel Fantastic? appeared first on eVULX.

How To Predict The ROI Of New Learning Experiences

Arun Nagarajah — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

The return on investment (ROI) for e-learning is a question that many organizations need to answer. This can be especially true for organizations that are just starting out with training ROI and development initiatives or have been relying on traditional training methods. While it’s essential to track the costs associated with providing training to employees, it’s also vital to follow the benefits they receive in return. We’ll show you how you can predict the ROI of e-learning experiences so that you can make more informed decisions about your training programs going forward.

The Need for Predictability in Training ROI

The need for predictability in e-learning experiences is evident. If you’re going to invest in technology, you want to know that it’s going to deliver the results you expect. Unfortunately, predicting the ROI for learning and development initiatives is difficult because so many variables are involved.

To say, there is no exact training ROI calculator when we talk about e-learning is fair. But, in this article, we’ll discuss what influences the return on investment of training and how to increase your odds of success.

Increase Your Odds of Success

To answer how to measure return on investment in training, you want to know if your e-learning experience is performing as you’d like it to. You can use the right metrics and processes to increase your odds of success, but first:

Know what you want to measure. This will help ensure that you have the right goals, based on what’s essential for your organization and what will drive business results.
Know why you’re measuring it. What does this data tell us about how we can improve our product? The answer should be specific enough that there are clearly defined next steps beyond “we need improvements across the board because everything sucks” or “these results are good enough for now; let’s move on before we become complacent.”

Key Results Areas

E-learning can be used to increase employee satisfaction, engagement and performance. It can also be used to increase customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty.

KPIs for Each Key Results Area

In your organization, you will want to focus on the key results areas that are most relevant to your business. ROI on training example: if your organization sells products and services or works in a service-based industry, then the Return on investment of training would be significant. If they sell physical goods or operate in a manufacturing environment, then cost savings would be more relevant.

If you’re unsure where to start with KPIs for each key results area, ask yourself what’s most important from a business perspective. Does it make sense for your organization to focus on how many leads were generated through marketing campaigns? Or does it make more sense for them to track how many sales were made because of those marketing campaigns?

These questions will help you determine which KPIs are most important for monitoring against each key results area. Once you’ve identified which KPI(s) are most important for measuring success against each key results area, here’s how we recommend measuring them:

Choosing the Right Technology Partner

Technology partners are not just the experts in their field but also leaders in emerging technology. When choosing a technology partner to help drive your e-learning initiatives, it’s essential to choose one that can help you achieve your business goals, have a stable training ROI for learning and development and invest in new technologies as they become available.

To find the right fit for your company, start by looking at some of these critical points:

What kind of track record do they have? Look for an organization successfully delivering on previous engagements with similar clients and goals. If possible, speak with other customers who’ve worked with them to ask about their experience and how it compares to yours.
What’s their expertise? You want a partner who specializes in the area where you need assistance—instructional design, development workflows, or technology integration (or all three!).
How are they different from other providers? The best tech partners have invested heavily in staying current on industry trends. They’ll keep up-to-date on new tools and technologies when something becomes available for purchase or subscription through an online marketplace like Udemy Marketplace.

Using the Right Metrics and Processes

While the ROI training of e-learning is challenging to predict, using the right metrics and processes can help organizations increase their odds of success.

Choosing the right technology partner is essential to achieving a robust learning experience. Organizations need to look for a vendor with a proven track record in effective online delivery and e-learning ROI of training. A technology partner should understand your business goals and be able to work collaboratively with you throughout the development process. The vendor should also be able to deliver rich, interactive content that supports critical business strategies from day one.

Conclusion

While it’s difficult to predict the training ROI of e-learning, you can increase your odds of success by focusing on key results areas and using a technology partner that will help you meet those goals. Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions.

The post How To Predict The ROI Of New Learning Experiences appeared first on eVULX.

Why Do We Enjoy Games? 3 Interesting Facts…

Arun Nagarajah — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 09:01:07 +0000

You’re probably familiar with the concept of gamification—the use of game mechanics and interactive elements to engage learners and motivate them to learn. You may also have heard that games are becoming more prevalent in the workplace. But what does all this mean for players? What makes a game “good” or “bad” for training? And why do we enjoy games so much? In this article, I’ll explore these questions.

Game-based Learning and Gamification have Evolved Over Time

The term “gamification” can be used in many contexts. Originally, it was a broad term that meant making something more game-like. In this sense, gamification is an umbrella term for both game-based learning and games used to teach or train people; however, the term has evolved over time and now refers almost exclusively to using games in education (and sometimes business).

Gamification, of course, includes game-based learning and other things – like using badges on social media sites – that aren’t necessarily about creating content for learners’ benefit.

Why Do We Enjoy Games?

Why do we enjoy games? Why do we play them?

It’s a question that has been asked many times. And there are plenty of theories, but one thing is for sure: games can be fun, challenging and social. In addition to that, games help us relax and escape from the real world. A game allows us to be in control and creative—all things we crave as humans! Let’s have a look at some of these ideas in more detail and see how they apply to gaming specifically.

a. The Psychology of “flow”

You might be familiar with the psychology of gaming but not be familiar with the term “flow,” but you certainly know what it feels like. It’s the feeling of being completely immersed in a task and losing track of time. It’s when a game is so good that you forget to eat or sleep while playing. Flow is an important psychological state: it can increase motivation, engagement, and retention. These benefits are especially important for games because they rely on these properties to compete against other entertainment options (like television).

Many studies show that flow positively affects players’ decisions about whether or not to continue playing the game in question—even when those decisions aren’t necessarily rational (i.e., buying something after playing for free).

b. Game Mechanics

Game mechanics are the rules and systems of a game. They’re what make you want to keep playing; they provide satisfaction, and keep you coming back for more. Game mechanics are also why play video games, spend money, and spend countless hours playing them (even when you know you should be doing something else).

Let’s look at some examples:

Consider Tetris; the game mechanic is simple: match four blocks that fall from above before they reach the bottom of your screen. If three or more pieces form a line, all of those pieces disappear from play, allowing new ones to fall in their place. As long as new pieces are falling down onto an ever-filling grid below your character’s feet—and this rarely stops—you must keep playing until either your screen fills up with blocks or all possible matches have been made; if both happen simultaneously, then it’s game over!

c. Just How Important is Motivation?

Motivation is a key factor in learning, performance and retention. It’s also a factor in engagement. And that’s not all! Motivation to play video games is also important for enjoyment.

Motivation can be defined as the degree to which people who play games are internally or externally directed to do something. In other words, we’re motivated when we do something because it pleases us or makes us feel good about ourselves (internally driven) or when we do something because others expect us to do it (externally driven).

Internally Driven: An internally driven person does things out of personal interest rather than external factors like rewards or punishments. For example, if you’re interested in playing video games because they’re fun and entertaining—and not just because your parents won’t let you play unless you study—then you’re an internally-driven person who feels rewarded by gameplay itself instead of by external factors such as money or grades.

Externally Driven: An externally-driven person will only engage with something if there’s some kind of reward involved; otherwise, they won’t bother doing anything! If this sounds like someone who plays video games strictly for bragging rights instead of having fun, then maybe that person just needs some motivation!

Final Thoughts

The more we learn about motivation to play video games and how it affects people, the better we can design fun and effective games. If you’re looking for ways to make eLearning more enjoyable, keep these tips in mind—and experiment with them! You might be surprised at how quickly they pay off.

Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions.

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3 Engaging Examples of Gamification in e-Learning

Arun Nagarajah — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 04:40:55 +0000

Learning should never be boring — and there’s no better way to ensure that than implementing gamification examples into your training courses.

Gamification! The word can be intimidating when you first hear it, but what exactly does it mean? Merriam-Webster defines it as “the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (as a task) to encourage participation,” which is a pretty good way to sum it up. It is the practice of “gamifying” your eLearning course. But here’s the exciting part — gamification has been around for thousands of years. Why do you think we play strategy games? Because it’s fun to learn!

Gamification can be used in various industries, including eLearning, HR and in sales gamification examples in every marketing fold. But what are some gamification examples in eLearning? This article will explore some engaging examples that you can use to inspire your next project!

Gamification is an Engaging Way To Teach

… If you’re wondering what exactly gamification is, it’s a way of using game mechanics to engage learners.

Gamification in eLearning can be used to teach a range of topics, from the basics of learning like how to use an app to more complex information such as how the digestive system works. It’s an effective way for employers to get their employees into the mindset required for learning new skills and information.

For example: if you want someone who knows nothing about coding or design software like Photoshop or Illustrator, then letting them play with those programs in a fun environment before actually getting started with real projects is a good idea!

1.Inspire a Sense of Accomplishment

Give players a sense of accomplishment. Games give players a sense of achievement by rewarding them for completing specific tasks or winning battles. These rewards are usually in-game items like coins or experience points, but they can also come in the form of praise from other characters or even just an increase in self-confidence.

Make them feel like they’re improving. Games have levels that get progressively harder as you progress through the story—and if you complete the game, it means that you’ve improved and mastered your skills! In eLearning courses, this could be done by adding new challenges as learners progress through their learning journey. For example, McDonald’s Till Training Game

Give them purpose and progression. In games like Minecraft, there’s no level system with sequential goals; instead, each player is free to choose what they want to do next and how they want to play out their own unique story within the world of Minecraft.”

2.Have Fun and Make it Enjoyable

As you know, gamification in eLearning is not just about fun. It’s about making your content more exciting and engaging for learners. That doesn’t mean that you need to incorporate sound effects or animation into your learning modules—but the goal should be to make them as interactive as possible. A good way of doing this is by incorporating multiple choice questions into your eLearning course. These can be used in quizzes, review activities, or simple tests at the end of a module.

They add an element of interactivity and competition between learners and encourage them to return because they want their scores/grades! This means that with every test attempt, quiz completion, lesson completion etc., they are engaging further with your course material which will help in memorization long after leaving it behind!

3.Get Students Accustomed to Being Rewarded

Reward students for everything they do to accomplish positive results. Reward them for completing tasks and learning goals, helping them progress toward better behavior. Reward students for improving performance—not just for following instructions or being quiet but for doing well in their classes, tests, and schoolwork. Reward students for reaching milestones (like finishing something new or simplifying a skill).

Conclusion

We hope that you’re inspired to incorporate gamification in eLearning. Whether it’s as simple as motivating your students to take quizzes or a more involved experience like writing an essay based on what they learn, gamification is a great way to provide a greater level of engagement. Because it can engage learners on several levels, gamification could be just what your learners need for the most efficient and effective learning process.

Visit eVULX for more gamified solutions.

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How Games Can Empower Unforgettable Teaching Strategies

Arun Nagarajah — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 08:26:40 +0000

Learning through play is one of the powerful teaching strategies. This can be as simple as using games and activities in the classroom or simulating real-life situations so students can learn by action. This strategy is often called active learning, and it’s gaining popularity in subjects like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum. We know that play is fun and helps us unwind after a long day at work. But did you know that playing games and being active have many benefits for adults as well?

Active learning teaching strategies are also becoming more popular because subjects like STEM education benefit from hands-on learning techniques. They allow learners to make mistakes while developing critical thinking skills such as problem-solving or crucial reflection through experimentation. If you’d like to try out some active learning techniques with your students but aren’t sure how to get started, this guide will help you find some practical ideas for incorporating these teaching strategies into your teaching practice today!

The Benefits of Using Active Learning

Active learning teaching strategies are more effective, engaging, fun and practical than traditional lecture-based teaching.

More effective because students are not passive recipients of information but actively participate in learning.
More engaging because it engages all senses (aural, visual, kinesthetic) rather than just hearing or reading about the topic at hand. This makes the topic more accessible for students to absorb and retain because they can relate it better to real-life experiences.
More fun because it’s interactive! People tend to remember things if they were fun while doing them – like playing games on your phone while waiting at the bus stop instead of scrolling through Facebook feeds like everyone else around you seems content with these days… You get my point here

For Example: Toca Blocks, Duolingo, Barefoot World Atlas and Khan Academy Kids

Plan Your Active Learning Experience

With the rise of Web 2.0, online teaching strategies and active learning have been emphasized whilst it creates abstract possibilities.

Teaching strategies and learning activities should encourage students to think, talk and participate. The most essential step in the process of teaching strategies is planning. Planning helps you identify what you want your students to do, how they will do it and how you will support them through this process. It also allows you to reflect on your practice so that when things don’t go according to the plan, you can make the adjustments necessary for everything to run smoothly. If a Physics lesson doesn’t work out as planned, ask yourself: What went wrong? Is there something I could have done differently? What would be different next time? What different active learning strategies in physics teaching I can use? How can I make it more effective?

Related article: How does Gamification affect motivation?

Build a Safe, Supportive Environment

In the end, establishing a safe space for teaching strategies is a shared responsibility. You need to be attuned to your students’ needs and interests and have clear expectations for them. Likewise, they need to be aware of their responsibilities as well—they can’t expect you to change everything if they’re not willing or able to do so themselves.

I think it’s important here that we recognize how teaching strategies are a process rather than something that happens overnight. It takes time and effort on everyone’s part before everyone feels comfortable enough in their environment to open up creatively and collaboratively. However, when everyone feels safe enough with each other, the creative possibilities are endless once you get there!

Conclusion

Teaching strategies that support active learning is a proven method for enabling students to engage with course material in a way that helps them make connections and build knowledge. By using teaching strategies, you can help your students engage with class material more deeply, learn more effectively, and maybe even have fun while they’re doing it!

Check out eVULX’s solution to business success by using immersive experiences.

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Want to Gamify Your Workplace? Avoid These 4 Mistakes At All Costs

Arun Nagarajah — Tue, 17 May 2022 08:18:56 +0000

What is the basic goal of workplace gamification?

As a workplace manager, you’ve probably been hearing about gamification in the workplace as a solution to many of your issues. You may have dismissed it as a buzzword or something that’s only for kids and gamers. But before you disregard it as a fad, hear us out:

Gamification has been shown to increase employee engagement and boost productivity. It has also enabled companies to do more with less staff by making employees more efficient or directing them towards their goals using its motivational properties. The concept of gamification is simple: taking elements from games (such as points, badges, and levels) and applying them to tasks that people are already doing at work (like filing reports). Interest and productivity in these activities can be increased through positive reinforcement techniques such as rewards!

But, if you don’t analyze your gamification strategies in the workplace – and don’t plan accordingly, you can end up in a fix.. For your ease, here are four errors to look out for in a gamified workspace.

1. Only Focusing on Contests

What you don’t want to do is only focus on contests. Not everyone is motivated by competition, or enjoys it. You might choose to structure your workforce in ways that encourage friendly rivalry— or not! Competitive workplaces are not for everyone, and can have a negative effect on an individual’s performance. For example, workers who are not very competitive may feel dissatisfied with their jobs if they’re always losing to their colleagues. Additionally, the more competitive someone becomes at work, the greater chance there is that he or she might cheat or cut corners in order to gain an edge over others. This could lead some people to get hurt or engage in unethical behaviour.

Finally, consider the effects of over-competition on innovation and creativity within a company. When coworkers compete against each other instead of working together toward a common goal, they stop sharing ideas freely with one another and start hoarding them so as not to give away any advantage they might have in winning promotions or bonuses. It’s important for companies who want their employees’ to put aside their differences long enough to collaborate on new ways of doing things.

2. Lack of Commitments

Don’t forget to make commitments.

Set goals and learning objectives, and monitor them regularly. Gamification has momentum, but without structures in place to maintain it, you are likely to see participation drop off.

If there is one thing to remember, it’s that gamification needs to be designed for the users and not vice versa. The best way to do this is to create a ‘call-to-action’ where you set goals and learning objectives and monitor them regularly. Which keeps the motivation in sight and longs towards commitments.

Related article: How does Gamification affect motivation?

3. Similar Reward Incentives

Another error you can make is to have all the rewards be very similar. The more variety your game has, the more fun and challenging it will be—just as you would get bored if a game only had one item, you’ll get bored if there’s only one way to reward employees. Make sure that the rewards are relevant to the game, and that they’re relevant specifically for the players. For example, if you’re working at a factory where workers need to wear hard hats in certain areas, having special hard hat designs might be a fun reward for those who complete certain tasks quickly or well.

4. User Customisations

Customisation is key when it comes to engaging employees. A user-friendly interface and the ability for employees to customise their experience can take your gamified solution from basic to exceptional.

When you break down what makes a great gaming experience,, you’ll see that customization is at its core. It’s what keeps users coming back for more—to build on their characters and achievements, customising their game according to the way they like.

In workplace gamification, this means customising the game according to each employee. Using data, create a unique in-game profile for each person so they feel like they’re playing a game that was made just for them—one that puts their goals and needs first. Get creative with how much customization you offer your players—the more choices they have, the more ownership they will feel over their gaming experience. Consequently, the better engagement you will see as a result!

Gamification is a powerful tool to engage employees and drive them toward their goals. But, if you don’t use it right, you could go in circles. Using the right tactics, in the right manner, you can have the cake and eat it too. Get in touch with us for more gamified solutions.

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3 Powerful Benefits of Gamification in Training and Development Processes

Arun Nagarajah — Mon, 09 May 2022 07:09:39 +0000

What is Gamification?

To understand gamification, it’s helpful to look at what a game is. The definition of a game is: “A structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool.” Games are not just a series of physical activities.There are intellectual games, like chess or trivia contests, Angry Birds or Assassin’s Creed. None of these examples involve any kind of competition per se (there can be no winner if there’s only one player), but they all have defined goal states and rules that the players must follow to achieve them. Gamification is simply the application of this same structure to non-game contexts to make them more engaging and motivating for participants.

Gamification has been used in many industries with varying degrees of success; however, it can be particularly influential as a tool for fostering employee learning and changing behavior in a training and development setting.

Effectiveness of Gamification when Applied to Training and Development Processes

To start, gamification can be applied to any audience and any subject. It can be used in both physical and virtual environments for short- or long-term training by individuals or groups. It allows you to customize your goals and objectives. For instance, are you looking to increase engagement? Motivation? Create a positive learning environment? Gamification can help with all of those things and more.

In addition to the flexibility that comes with customizing your own game, it’s also a great motivator because it gives employees (and players) a goal they get to work toward while still learning at their own pace. If you’re an employer looking for ways to decrease turnover or increase employee morale, this might be the solution for you!

Better Process

Let’s take a look at how gamification in training can transform programs and make learning more effective:

Gamification makes the learning process more enjoyable

When you add gaming elements to your training process, learners will enjoy it and would want to keep playing. They will feel that they are part of an ever-evolving story and will be curious to see what happens next! This is a top advantage of gamifying your training since it immediately improves the user experience by making it more fun.

Gamification increases learner engagement

Gamification in training taps into learners’ natural desire for competition, which leads to higher engagement. Applying game-like elements to your training program will allow learners to customize their own experience and motivate them to learn more effectively. This is especially useful for employees tasked with mastering new skills or processes as part of their professional development. By livening up the learning process, you’ll increase their motivation and help them master their new skills even quicker!

Reward Incitement

Rewards are great for keeping learners engaged and motivated. They boost creativity, self-confidence, and productivity. They can be immediately given out (for example, a “thumbs up”) or cumulative (such as an achievement badge).
Achievement badges can have multiple levels based on the level of achievement that can be displayed publicly or privately.
Rewards are not always monetary—they can also be non-monetary such as a certificate or completion of the course.

Gamification as Enjoyment for Learners

One of the significant benefits of using games in any training and development process is that it helps sustain learners’ engagement. Engagement can be defined as the passion, motivation, and drive learners to feel towards an activity or learning environment. A high level of learner engagement is essential for increased enjoyment and better performance. As such, it’s a crucial element to consider in any training process.

Studies have found that when employees are engaged in their training, they are 45% more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction and 67% more likely to be involved with their jobs overall. However, it is essential to note that prolonged gaming sessions can lead to disengagement, if not appropriately managed by the trainer. Therefore, it’s important not to overuse gamification within your training processes.

Final Thoughts:

All in all, we believe that gamification has its place in training and development processes. There are numerous benefits it can bring to this domain. However, how and where gamification is used in a training and development process should depend on the target audience. It may be a good idea to conduct a needs analysis first before making any decisions. Reach out to us for assistance and more gamified solutions.

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