The concept of using games for learning is a very popular topic right now. It is also a controversial topic, as there are people who support games for learning, and others who question their value. Part of this divide is the existing confusion regarding how games support learning, and what research-based approaches are most effective.

Gamification is one of the hottest buzzwords in the learning world, yet its true benefits are not yet proven or fully understood. We need stories about what works and what doesn’t to enable us to grasp and harness the power and possibilities of this shiny new toy. Instructional designers, trainers, consultants, and others need to know how gaming can work alongside or integrated with both better-known and emerging tools.

As training professionals we know that practice and repetition builds skills, reinforces knowledge, and aids information retention and recall. However our traditional learning solutions and tools often struggle to provide practice opportunities that allow learners to apply knowledge and build skills in realistic, risk free environments. Even when we have practice opportunities in our curriculum, they may often lack the engagement that motivates learners to repeat and build proficiency and/or mastery over time, and they are difficult to scale to larger audiences.

When well-conceived and executed, games can greatly enhance learner engagement, but randomly adding game principles to learning can result in colossal failure and many hours of wasted time. One way to assure a positive impact on learning is to approach designs from the game perspective first, rather than trying to gamify existing or planned learning.

Games and gamification are the latest fads, but getting learners to play games only exposes them to learning content and develops first-level reflexes. This risks confining learning to superficial understanding of the subject matter. We need games to solidify what the trainee has learned, but to do that we must redefine the responsibilities and the role of trainers.

Gamification is the integration of game mechanics, or game dynamics, into a learning experience. Game-based training can be defined as a game designed for the purpose of solving a problem. However, these words are being used in parallel by the industry and it can be quite confusing.

Organizations often need to communicate critical knowledge and motivate learners of varying proficiency to achieve specific performance levels. This commonly requires delivering a range of content across disciplines. It can be challenging to design impactful learning that goes beyond transmitting information that results in consistent performance.