L&D Archives - eVULX

Gamification in Software Development

eVULX Content Team — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 05:05:03 +0000

“Gamification is at the core of revolutions”

― Vineet Raj Kapoor

Gamification is a hot buzzword in the SaaS development industry. But what exactly is gamification, and how can it be applied to software development? Gamification in software development can help with things like improving employee morale, increasing customer engagement and reducing churn rates. It has been used for everything from motivating employees to encouraging healthy behaviour at home. Read on as we dig into Gamification in Software Development.

Using Gamification to enhance the software development process

For software developers, gamification technology can be used for everything. From increasing efficiency and effectiveness to making things more fun, principles of gamification are a way of life for most software development teams now.

Gamification is a way to encourage collaboration, creativity, and productivity by increasing engagement, motivation and loyalty. With the right approach, gamification can also be used in software development to motivate people to collaborate, solve problems and develop new products.

The Gamification Way

What is gamification? Put simply, it uses game mechanics and design to solve problems. But there’s more to it than that. Gamification encourages people to do something by turning the activity into a game or competition with rules, rewards and challenges. Creating a digital experience incorporating these elements can make your product more engaging for users and increase customer loyalty.

Gamification can be used anywhere from employee engagement initiatives to sales force motivation campaigns—and there are benefits for both employers and employees alike when this approach is applied correctly:

Dos

Motivation as the critical element: Employees want to be motivated. They want to feel like they’re part of something bigger and valued, and gamification helps them achieve that by allowing their performance at work to affect how they are rewarded.

Donts’

Creating Competition: One potential downside of gamification is that some people may feel like their workplace has turned into a competition where winning means getting ahead over others who aren’t doing as well (or even worse: those who aren’t keeping up). This kind of competitive atmosphere could lead employees who already feel like substandard employees because they’re not advancing quickly enough professionally; however, if handled correctly within your organisation’s culture – it could actually help boost morale instead by showing leaders care about overall satisfaction levels.

Elements of Gamified Software Development

1. The Players

Now that you know what gamification is, let’s talk about the players. Who are they? The players are the people who will use your software. They’ll be the ones motivated to use it, and they’ll most likely be your customers or users.

2. Reward Points

You can use reward points to motivate your team members. Points are usually earned by completing tasks and can be used to unlock new features or levels of the game. You could also give your players access to a new feature if they have enough points or award them a prize in recognition of their hard work.

3. Badges & Leaderboard

Badges and leaderboards are a great way to show off your skills by earning badges and displaying them on your profile for others to see. Badges can be earned by completing different tasks. Some of these will be simple (like publishing an article), while others may require more time or skill (like writing a code review that gets accepted into the codebase). Once you’ve earned enough badges, you’ll have something exciting and impressive for your profile. Leaderboards are another great way to show off your skills: they allow you to compare yourself against other users based on several criteria, such as the number of followers or stars received from their projects.

4. Game Jams

Game jams are a fun and creative way to solve problems in software development. Game jams take place over a short time (usually 24 hours) when participants rapidly prototype games. They’re useful for improving processes since it’s pretty difficult to develop games without identifying and fixing flaws in your process as you go along. This can be done by using an existing process and making small tweaks or by creating an entirely new process from scratch.

In addition to helping the team identify problems with their current workflow, game jams also allow participants to experiment with different ways of working together, which often leads them towards more efficient methods of collaboration in the long run!

How Businesses Can Get Started with Software Development Gamification

1. Set goals

Goals help you establish a framework for your company’s digital training, so it’s important to define them clearly and set milestones that can be achieved in short amounts of time. This will allow you to track progress and stay motivated while staying on course.

2. Lay down the rules.

Just like any game, there must be a defined set of rules that are easy to interpret. You can use this as an opportunity to reinforce your company’s mission and values while managing what your employees see as an integral part of the workplace. This sets the tone for all other gamification tactics you deploy later on.

3. Give out rewards.

A reward system is a critical part of gamification, as it can give employees a sense of accomplishment and pride. Giving out rewards that are meaningful to the specific employee will further boost their motivation to work harder. For example, you can have a badge system that allows people to learn and better themselves in some regions of expertise. Employees who exhibit such badges will feel more valued.

4. Include a leaderboard or scoreboard.

Leaderboards and scoreboards are a great way to create a sense of friendly competition within your company. They allow employees to measure their performance against other team members, resulting in increased motivation and engagement.

5. Provide real-time feedback

Gamification can help you provide instant feedback. If positive, it will energise your employees and build a sense of community that motivates them. Negative feedback pushes them to improve, while timely feedback will provide them with actionable steps they can take to fix any areas that need improvement.

Gamification can be used for everything.

It’s a powerful tool that can be used to increase engagement, create an environment that motivates people to work harder and faster, and help your business grow.

Gamification creates an enjoyable competitive experience that engages users, encouraging them to participate and learn more. We identify your core goals and challenges, then design a game that will encourage users to improve their performance: read more about eVULX products and highlighting leadership and support are just some of the areas it could come into play. You could even use gamification learning examples methods while onboarding employees or planning company events (like parties).

Conclusion

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how gamification can improve software development. This article will give you a solid starting point on how to implement this strategy in your product. Don’t forget that the key to successful gamification is to make everything easy. The whole point of gamification is to provide an engaging experience for your users, so if it’s too complicated you might lose them after a little while. If you have any questions or ideas on how we could use gamification in our projects, please visit our website for more information.

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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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Gamify Your Virtual Events in 5 Creative Ways!

Arun Nagarajah — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 03:03:42 +0000

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”

~ Gloria Steinem

Bored with conferences, tired of webinars and tired of good old ebooks? Would you like to make your webinar more interactive and engaging?

Did you know that post-COVID- 19, 92% of companies continue hosting virtual events even after physical events resumed? Gamification is the technique of applying game-thinking and game principles to non-game problems. Perhaps you could develop an entertaining game that would get people involved in the virtual gamification stage. Well, we have the idea and are sure that the concept would entertain your audience as well.

There are multiple ways to gamify your virtual event, be it gamification for virtual conferences or any meetings at all. Just take a look at it and pick up the gamification ideas for virtual events that will best suit your particular situation.

1. Quiz Questions

Quiz questions are a great way to test attendees’ knowledge, creative thinking and critical thinking skills in a virtual event. They can also be used to assess problem-solving abilities and teamwork, or leadership in general.

Since these quizzes will be available online (for example, on an event website), you’ll need to ensure that they’re accessible from any device—including mobile devices. You’ll also want them to be easy to administer: while live presentations may work well with paper-and-pencil tests, this isn’t so practical when it comes to virtual events.

2. Audience Polls

Ask a question and allow the audience to vote.
Use polls for feedback on a topic.
Use polls to get the audience’s opinions on what they like or don’t like.

3. Scoreboard

A scoreboard is a great way to encourage participation because it gives your audience motivation to participate in a virtual event. Your attendees will be more likely to share their ideas or ask questions if they know they’ll get points for doing so.

A scoreboard can also be used to foster competition among coworkers and employees of different departments, which can help build camaraderie among them. If you’re hosting an internal event for your company, this could be a fun way for teams and departments of different sizes (or even from different companies) to compete against each other in real-time!

4. Rewards in Gamification

In addition to earning badges and points, there are many other ways you can incentivize your virtual event participants. If you have a budget for prizes or gifts, consider giving away something valuable to your virtual event attendees. Here are some ideas:

A free product or service (e.g., an ebook, online course, webinar)
A gift card (to Amazon or Starbucks)
A subscription to your blog/newsletter/podcast/etc., so they’ll continue to receive the content they enjoyed during the event!

5. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a great way to gamify your virtual event. Firstly, you’ll need to create a list of items that attendees should find. You can do this in any way you want, but here are some ideas:

Create a list on Google Docs and ask people to add their own entries as they find them
Create an image with several objects inside it, then ask people to identify what each object is (this is called “spot the difference”)
Use emoji clues that require the attendee to guess what phrase or word goes with the picture

You can make this more fun by giving out prizes for finding all the items on your list! Make sure you have enough prizes so everyone gets one—you don’t want anyone feeling left out or frustrated. You could even split up into teams and have everyone compete against each other for who finds everything first.

Take your Creative Engagement to a New Level

Gamification is a great way to engage your audience, increase participation and engagement, and even drive loyalty. Gamification can help you create a memorable event that will leave your attendees with a positive brand experience.

Add elements of virtual gamification in your next virtual event:

Make it competitive: Have attendees earn points for completing certain tasks (like registering for the webinar) or games for virtual events (like playing a trivia game). The person with the most points at the end wins something special from the organizer (or maybe everyone who participates gets something).

Make it social: Connecting people through social media has become second nature for many of us, so why not incorporate this behavior into an event? You could set up an online chat room where attendees can talk among themselves about what they’re learning at the event, share links related to content presented during breakout sessions, etcetera.)

Conclusion

If you’re new to gamification, it might seem like a lot of work. If you’re used to gamifying events, you might be wondering how to bring that same level of interactivity online.

But no matter where you are in your gamification journey, we hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for the next time you need an engaging virtual event. Remember: It doesn’t take much effort or money to make things more fun for your attendees. It just takes creativity and willingness!

For more gamification ideas, visit eVULX.

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Virtual Reality Simulations: Its Definition & 5 Dynamic Features

Arun Nagarajah — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 07:23:47 +0000

The most intricate form of training is Virtual Reality Simulation – also called VR.

Virtual Reality isn’t just for gaming anymore. Its uses are growing and expanding by the day. Businesses are taking note of its potential for various industries such as health care. One of the primary purposes of this technology is training. People learn better when they are entirely immersed in an experience.

We define virtual reality as an artificial environment that is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one’s actions partially determine what happens in the environment.

Imagine being able to experience something without having them around in real life? That’s what virtual reality simulation is all about—helping people learn more effectively without putting themselves in danger of wasting time and money on real-life training exercises.

A few virtual reality features include;

1. Virtual Reality Training Simulation Methods

VR training methods can be used for various purposes, including skills development, onboarding and evaluation. The uses of VR for training are almost endless.

The primary aim is to teach new skills through direct experience or observation.

For example:

An employee might learn how to use specific equipment by operating it in VR first-hand. This method is proper when it’s difficult or unsafe to perform the task at hand (e.g., lifting heavy objects).
A supervisor may observe employees performing their duties in VR before giving them more responsibility or assigning tasks requiring more skill.

2. Virtual Reality Training Simulation Provides a Safe Environment

If you have ever tried to learn a new skill in real life, you know that it can be difficult and frustrating. You might not be able to master every aspect of a new skill on your first try. You may make mistakes or even fail. But with VR training, this is not the case!

With virtual reality simulators, trainees can practise their skills without fear of making mistakes; they can experiment with new skill sets in a safe environment where they won’t get hurt or cause damage to themselves or others around them. They can repeat procedures repeatedly until they feel comfortable enough to perform them in real life; they can learn from the mistakes made by others (including instructors); and more importantly, when all else fails, they can press reset!

3. Cut Cost with Virtual Reality

Shifting your training from the real world to a virtual world means you don’t need to worry about real-world expenditures such as travel or special equipment costs. A virtual reality environment provides all that you need. It also means there are no consequences if mistakes are made.

Ease back with automated training:

You don’t have to worry about real-world expenditures such as travel or special equipment costs.
There are no consequences if mistakes are made, so you can learn from them in a safe environment and move on quickly to the next task.

4. Virtual Reality’s Tight Knit with Engagement

There are many virtual reality features and functions, but the main feature of virtual reality is its engagement. A recurring challenge with training is how to engage learners and keep them interested. VR provides an immersive experience that is more engaging than traditional learning methods.

In the past, when organizations were looking for ways to enhance their learning programs and increase employee engagement, they turned to simulations as an effective solution. However, many simulation tools were costly and required significant resources to implement and maintain in the long run. With the advent of affordable consumer devices like Google Cardboard and Oculus Gear VR headsets coupled with low-cost apps such as Google Maps or Street View (Google), virtual reality (VR) has become much more accessible.

5. Virtual Reality is Transforming the Way We Learn

Virtual reality has the potential to transform learning. VR can be used to train for various purposes, from surgery to fighter piloting. In many cases, it provides a safe environment where users can practise before taking on real-life situations. The simulation is also more engaging than traditional learning methods that rely on reading or watching videos. However, there are still some limitations regarding how much information you can cram into the virtual world without confusing your brain with too much information at once (a problem known as “information overload”).

Conclusion

VR training has proven effective in various contexts, but its most significant benefits might lie in the future. It is already proving to be an excellent way to train employees, with numerous positive outcomes. It’s cheaper than real-world training and offers superior safety for learners; it also provides a more engaging experience that can help boost retention rates.

For these reasons, we predict that there will be many more innovative uses for VR training in the future! As VR technology advances, it will only become more powerful and valuable, capable of delivering truly immersive experiences.

Get in touch with us for more gamified solutions.

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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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5 Powerful Gamification Strategy Tips That Will Dramatically Enhance Your Business’s Success!

Arun Nagarajah — Fri, 06 May 2022 04:12:04 +0000

Businesses across the world are now looking for ways to integrate gamification into the products or services they offer. This isn’t surprising, as customers want to be engaged with businesses, and gamification is a direct way of ensuring this happens.

There are some key elements of games that make them so appealing. Most of us have been playing games since we were little, and we understand how they work and how they motivate people to play with them.

So if you want to increase engagement with your customers or employees, then incorporating some gaming elements into your products or services is something you should consider.

Here are a few tips to help you get started

You’re probably thinking, “Hold on a second. I’m not a game designer, and my company doesn’t do casual games.” That’s fine! Gamification applies game-design mechanics and rules to non-game situations such as business processes, product engagement, learning challenges, etc. There are three main reasons why gamification is effective:

It gives people a sense of purpose or meaning to the work they are doing
It provides autonomy in how they go about achieving their goals
It helps make tasks feel more enjoyable by using elements of competition and reward

And without further ado, here are five gamification strategy tips for your business to help you succeed effectively.

1. Goals of your Gamification Strategy

This is the most crucial step. Without having a clear sense of what you want to achieve, it’s impossible to have a successful gamification strategy. Defining your goals will also inform the rest of your plan, from how you structure the game to how you incentivize players. So, what do you want?

Increased user engagement: You might want more people using your product or service or using it more often.
Customer acquisition: Perhaps you need to get new users onto your platform and persuade them to become repeat customers.
Improved results: Maybe you’d like to see specific metrics (for example, higher productivity) improve over time.

2. Identify What to Measure and How?

The first step to creating a gamification strategy is identifying what you want to measure. This may seem obvious, but it’s an important question that must be carefully considered.

Decide which metrics are most important for your business. For example, consider whether the most important things to your business are: an increase in sales, customer retention rate, engagement on social media, or several product signups?
Choose metrics that you feel you can influence – and make sure they align with your organization’s goals.
Understand what people find rewarding about engaging in certain behaviors. Determine what kinds of behavior would motivate them (e.g., getting more followers or ‘likes’ on social media? Getting points? Collecting badges?).

3. Motivate the right behaviors

Where the reward system is critical, it’s also essential to think of what the user will be rewarded with. They may want something tangible (like a gift card), or they may want to be more intrinsically motivated–that is, they want to feel like they’ve achieved something and earned recognition for it. It’s up to you whether you’re offering these rewards right away or letting users accumulate them over time until they reach an agreed-upon level that unlocks their prize.

One of gamification’s greatest strengths lies in motivating employees towards desired behaviors by turning work into a fun challenge. It doesn’t have to be complicated–the idea is that once the game begins, players are driven by an inner sense of motivation, which can help them accomplish tasks without realizing it because they’re so engaged in the experience.

4. Create a feedback loop for continued success

Once your program is up and running, it’s essential to create a feedback loop. This will help you gauge whether or not your program is successful and, if not, what needs to be adjusted.

Gathering feedback can be accomplished through surveys, focus groups, online forums, or casual conversations with coworkers and users. Once you’ve collected the data, take time to analyze it.

5. Reward the right people with the right incentives

Once you’ve identified your target audience and the motivators that drive them, it’s time to reward those behaviors. And, as with all rewards, it’s important to be generous. The gamification of a website or internal business process will likely change your audience’s behavior in some way. You want to ensure that the change is favorable for you and your target audience, so make sure to incentivize with care.

Final Thought:

Gamification has been successful in various industries, and there is no sign that it is going away any time soon. The simple fact is that people like games, and they respond to them. When you take the time to understand how they work and what types of apps will be most beneficial to your business, gamification can help your company grow in ways that you never imagined. Reach out to us for more exciting gamified solutions.

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ADHD: Can Game Therapy Be The Unheralded Solution We Have Been Looking For?

Arun Nagarajah — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 12:04:23 +0000

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.”

Carl Jung

Ever wonder why you feel so relaxed after playing your favourite video game?

You’re not alone—scientists are just beginning to understand the positive effects of gaming on our mental health. In fact, emerging research suggests that video games have tons of potential as a tool for prevention and treatment in medicine.

Today, there is a rapidly growing body of compelling evidence suggesting that playing video games can have therapeutic effects on many different health outcomes.

Games can help us get to know ourselves, our communities, and our world better. When we play certain games, they can take us beyond the ordinary game experience, helping us develop social connections, understand moral dilemmas, ethical reasoning, and even boost self-esteem.

By understanding more about how video games work and interacting with other players’ minds, we can harness the unique potential of games in the medical domain.

EndeavorRx

An action-filled fantasy game set in a new world, EndeavorRx was created to address the roots of ADHD in children ages 8–12. It is the first digital therapy intended to improve symptoms associated with ADHD, and the first game-based therapy granted marketing authorization by the FDA for any type of condition.

EndeavorRx is intended to be used as part of a larger therapeutic program assisted by doctors, potentially medication and education, all of which aim to address the progressive symptoms of the disorder.

“The EndeavorRx device offers a non-drug option for improving symptoms associated with ADHD in children and is an important example of the growing field of digital therapy and digital therapeutics,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

“The FDA is committed to providing regulatory pathways that enable patients timely access to safe and effective innovative digital therapeutics.”

Outcomes:

The study found that after just four weeks of regular use, EndeavorRx helped improve the attention span of more than one-third of children who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Half of the parents reported a clinically meaningful improvement in their child’s behaviour after one month of treatment, an increase which jumped to 68% after two months.

The trial showed that these improvements were maintained for up to a month following treatment.

Performance is measured throughout the game, adapting and personalizing the level of difficulty to suit each individual. Each level is designed to keep an adequate level of difficulty that is consistent in providing a challenge, whilst at the same time still being reasonably achievable.

Related article: How does Gamification affect motivation?

Therapeutic Communities:

All over the world, gamers are banding together to help each other and their communities fight back against mental health issues.

Why? Because gaming communities unite around real-world problems in a therapeutic and philanthropic way. They provide social and psychological support to community members, including peer support and extensive information about mental health conditions.

Final Thoughts

A lot of us have experienced the power of video games firsthand. We’ve been whisked away from our real-life troubles into a fantasy world, where we’ve been able to feel like heroes, explore new places and make new friends.

But for kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD, video games can be even more powerful. They can help them express themselves, understand their emotions and even change the way their brains work.

Get in touch with us and learn more about our gamification solutions. We adopt the concepts of gamification and game based learning for organisations so that learning can be interactive, engaging and immersive!

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How Minecraft is Transforming Prominent Companies like PepsiCo

Arun Nagarajah — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 05:56:14 +0000

Are you familiar with building blocks and creating three-dimensional worlds? There is only one name that pops in your mind when you think about building blocks, and it’s Minecraft!

Minecraft is an intellectual game which compels individuals to build designs using blocks in a 3-dimensional world.

Minecraft has extensive propound qualities

The key characteristics of Minecraft are fairly distinctive and there are few checkboxes to tick before considering the game for corporate trainings:

Team-building: For companies that are looking to revamp their team building activities, Minecraft is a great way to do so. With Minecraft, you can gather your workmates to battle zombies, build a theme park, practice parkour or remove a giant mountain with explosions.
Communication: Instead of sitting and talking, Minecraft offers avatars to communicate between individuals. Each individual is assigned an avatar, and while they are explaining their respective tasks, they speak to each other using avatar gestures, moving around and building blocks.

Why Minecraft is making its way to the companies like PepsiCo

Minecraft has plenty of features to unlock and explore upon. The idea came into existence when an 11-year-old suggested the idea to be implemented in PepsiCo training. The 11-year-old is none other than Marco Rodriguez Tapia’s son. Marco Rodriguez Tapia is also known as the Master Black Belt of Lean Six Sigma Training program.

It seems unreal to think about it but the idea took 3 months to license, and was in the discussion phase with Microsoft. Despite the challenges, Marco Rodriguez was able to build a PepsiCo warehouse inside the game for the team to assemble and take responsibility.

Now you may ask why Minecraft?

As stated earlier, it all started as a normal father son discussion between Marco Rodriguez and his 11-year-old son. As the pandemic tended to linger on, it took a huge toll on employees as many saw their physical interactions reduce among work colleagues and this reduced engagement and involvement.

This novel initiative was an encouragement for PepsiCo employees to be creative at work and think outside the box. In a sense it was a panacea to the lack of engagement they were experiencing during the height of the pandemic.

PepsiCo leads lean sigma training on Minecraft

Employees instantly felt the impact companywide. PepsiCo is currently involved in a large-scale effort to teach Lean Six Sigma in departments ranging from front-line workers and sales representatives to the legal staff.

Trainees first go through a short training exercise (built for those who have never used Minecraft) and then enter the simulated factory floor that mimics a distribution company with pallets of different products. The goal is to ship the products to a warehouse and distribute them to customers in the most efficient way possible.

PepsiCo and training

Based off the Minecraft simulation success, PepsiCo’s new digital training program is being launched in seven different languages.

The program, modelled on a PepsiCo warehouse, was developed by design studio BlockWorks based on the working prototype built by Marco’s son. It can be accessed by PepsiCo employees from anywhere in the world. “It shows that you can teach and you can also work efficiently by having fun”.

Many similar platforms provide the same model for future learning where companies invest in their employees.

Outcome

The initiative by PepsiCo has attracted a lot of attention around the globe. The training example has been portrayed and accepted by a large number of corporate companies.

Courtesy of Minecraft, the Lean Six Sigma program training is now free of download for other companies to take inspiration from.

Minecraft and other cooperation collaborations

PepsiCo is not the only cooperative company that has approached Minecraft for training purposes. The game has been a part of many different collaborations since, as far as we know.

A few examples are:

Minecraft and Puma

Many great things are coming to Minecraft in 2022, including the new Puma shoe line. It’s an upcoming collaboration for 2022, and it’s exciting to see how a big name like Puma will be involved in a video game like Minecraft.

Minecraft and WhiteHat Jr

WhiteHat Jr is an educational platform in India. The platform is entirely based on E-learning with the help of trusted academic professors guiding you. The success of WhiteHat Jr is immense and is now a renowned name in educational media which is available online.

It’s fun and interactive, but they also felt a need to approach Microsoft for something huge.

The collaboration is part of Microsoft and WhiteHat Jr’s joint vision to reimagine learning in India with technology to unlock new possibilities for learners and empower educators.

The Code with Minecraft programme will provide students with an opportunity to master critical coding concepts through a highly curated curriculum based on Minecraft.

Microsoft will also help upskill WhiteHat Jr educators through special workshops delivered by the Minecraft Education Edition Teacher Academy as part of this collaboration.

For more Gamified Solutions, get in touch with us.

It’s interesting and can be used in any corporate world. If you are interested in learning more about gamified solutions for your organization, then look no further and give us a call.

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Is Instructor-Led L&D Really Dying?

Arun Nagarajah — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 08:57:15 +0000

The contribution of a country’s human capital, both through governmental agencies and private corporations, cannot be understated. Hence, in every passing year, more money is pumped into ensuring the development of its people are being taken care of. As a result, the corporate learning and development (L&D) industry has seen substantial growth over the years. A report in Cision PR Newswire indicated that the global training market for 2018 is worth a cumulative USD 367.6 billion. Another separate report by Allied Market Research estimates that the market would reach USD 417.2 billion by 2027.

Despite the staggering numbers, people development still could not be considered as a revolutionary industry. In fact, it is undergoing a rather slow evolution. One of the most common methodology of people up-skilling is still the instructor-led training. In this training, instructors, also known as the trainer, facilitator, or consultant, will impart knowledge to the learners during the session. This technique has been a part and parcel of adult education. A training session can be anywhere between a couple of hours up to a week of learning boot camp.

However, the tried-and-tested instructor-led trainings have hit some major obstacles in the last decade. As technologies are becoming more influential in human lives, our physiology also alters slightly. The average attention span of human beings has decreased over the years, as demonstrated by a recent research by Nature Communications journal. This seems to corroborate common complaints that even half a day of instructor-led trainings can be “excessive” and “dry”.

As we uncover more learning styles, many claimed that modern-day L&D must undergo some drastic change to still retain its importance in knowledge building. The advancement of technology also brought in some self-learning digital learning methodologies in the forms of e-Learning, Learning Management Systems (LMS) or even more recently, Learning Experience Platforms (LXP). However, the question remains of whether it is supposed to be a “tweak” or a “complete overhaul”?

In truth, this question cannot be answered simply without looking at the main purposes of learning, which are the understanding of content and context; and ultimately the retention of learning itself. In terms of purely content, the advent of information technology means that there is excessive amount of information available for consumption online. It is believed that Google processed close to 70,000 searches per second. With one simple search, there are thousands or even, millions of results that might be giving you content that you might be looking for.

There are digital learning tools, coupled with machine learning algorithms, that will ensure closer fitting results to your patterns of searches. This just-in-time nature makes it very convenient for information consumption. This is a factor that an instructor cannot add meaningful value in.

Whilst instructors also provide numerous information in their training sessions, they are not able to be there whenever a learner want them to. However, what instructors can compensate are the situational awareness of learning, or context, that they are able to bring to the table. Most instructors have plethora of experiences. They are subject matters experts whether within the company or within a given industry. They can add “meaning” into the theoretical content they are providing. The incorporation of intangible learning subtleties such as jargons and examples help learners understand the applicability of the content learned.

The end goal of learning and development is the learning retention for the learner. Learning retention allows learners to capitalize on the knowledge (content) in the right situation (context) at the right time when needed. However, learning retention remains quite low in learning, including in instructor-led trainings. Learning retention is often the transference of knowledge from the short-term memory to long-term memory.

This often is imparted through a process called active learning, where the learners are the focal point of the experience. This is unfortunately absent in some instructor-led sessions, as the instructors are most often the focal point of the experience.

All the above indicates that there is still very much a place in the L&D industry for instructor-led training, especially for their context-setting value. However, instructors need to allow for some “tweaks” in their information dispersion to increase learning retention. This includes some modification of techniques and tools used in training to make the learning fun, engaging and fresh in order to enable active learning.

All these would lead to a better memory of the session, and thus retention of learning in it. While some instructors are aware and are constantly upgrading their repertoire of techniques and tools, however, some are still insistent of the unadulterated methodology.

As the industry experiences more evolution or COVID19-related revolution, we can expect more changes in global and local learning preferences and trends. Hence, this topic would need to be revisited from time to time to ensure its relevancy.

TZEN HONG CHIK (JAYSON) – COO of eVULX | 5 MINS READ

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