Five Reasons Why Gamification and Mobile Learning Are a Perfect Match

In this article, we discuss five reasons why gamification and mobile learning are a perfect match, providing a host of advantages for your learners and your business.

 

Gamification and mobile learning continue to be two of the most important trends in online learning for 2017. Gamification, incorporating gaming elements into non-gaming contexts, isn’t a new idea but is still in hot demand, while the popularity of mobile learning is inevitable given the technological shift toward untethered devices such as smartphones and tablets.

 

So, should you gamify or go mobile? Rest assured, you don’t need to choose between these approaches! In fact, gamification and mobile learning go hand-in-hand and when combined, the benefits amplify.

 

In this article, we discuss five reasons why gamification and mobile learning are a perfect match, providing a host of advantages for your learners and your business.

 

1. Motivates employees to complete training by giving them control

Gamification and mobile learning is the ultimate combination for giving your learners control in the training experience, satisfying one of the key adult learning principles for motivating your audience.

Mobile learning provides the flexibility and convenience to complete learning anywhere at any time, while gamification is a learner-centered experience that incorporates exploration and decision-making to reach an outcome. Rather than having information pushed toward the learner, this combination allows learners to pull information throughout the experience at their own pace, providing a more satisfying and enjoyable learning experience.

 

2. Increases engagement and extends learning through social media integration

Because mobile learning is usually accessed on personal mobile devices, learners will also have access to the social networking tools they know and love, giving you another avenue to enhance the educational experience.

Let’s say your organization has launched an initiative to boost employee leadership competencies. You might develop a suite of mobile responsive games, each teaching core content relating to a key leadership skill, as a fun and interactive challenge. The games can include the functionality to post scores to social networking platforms for discussion with colleagues or managers. Embedding a healthy sense of competition can encourage learners to try again to increase their score and get people talking, extending the learning experience.

 

3. Ensures learning messages are remembered and applied

Just because you rolled out training that includes all the vital information your audience needs to know doesn’t mean that it will be remembered, or even understood. The perfect pairing of gamification and mobile learning can help.

Mobile learning allows training to be accessed on demand and gamification provides a practical, fun way to learn. Gamification approaches such as virtual environments can provide an excellent simulated practice ground for knowledge application. For example, if you are implementing a new process and using gamification, you can set learners up in a relevant situation where they will engage in various problem-solving activities to accomplish one or more goals. You could even have them make decisions against a timer or add knowledge bites to be collected throughout the training journey before rewarding achievement on successful completion.

Gamification can make the difference in connecting learners psychologically with your training for recall later.

 

4. Empowers learners and creates a positive association with learning

Learning solutions that include gamification offer enjoyment while learning and can generate a shift in attitude, so employees begin to see learning in a positive light. Mix that with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy where employees can complete training on their own personal mobile devices and you are a step closer to overcoming a negative learning culture and increasing self-empowerment.

 

5. Future-proofs training and increases return on investment (ROI)

Gamification and mobile learning will help extend the shelf life of your training. However, combining them can increase your ROI. Mobile learning really is the way of the future now that employees are spending less time deskbound. However, its success relies on content being developed appropriately into short micro-learning modules, apps, videos, or games. An experienced development team can help you use this powerful duo to maximize your training budget and learning efficiency.

 

Would you like to revamp your corporate training using gamification or mobile learning?

 

PulseLearning can help you explore gamification as a strategy for engaging and motivating your learners, delivered as a mobile learning solution. PulseLearning is an award-winning global learning solution provider experienced in learning consultancy and developing engaging and innovative eLearning and blended training solutions.