~  Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors


"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."


~ Michael Jordan, NCAA Basketball & NBA Legend

“Play Hard, Practice Harder!” ~ Kwame Alexander, Poet, Author

To dive further into this topic, share its benefits and learn more about gamification, we are honored to bring more of our exclusive interview with eminent thought-leader and advocate of gamification, Prof. Karl M. Kapp.  Karl is a scholar, writer and expert on the convergence of games, learning and technology.

Results vary with gamification depending on the desired outcomes. I’ve seen gamification efforts that have sustained activities for years, as the learners continue to log into the gamified system on a daily basis.  Meanwhile, for example, organizations have seen decreases in safety incidents and in inventory shrinkage, or loss. I’ve seen gamification used for as little as two weeks, which has increased sales within a sales team. I’ve seen gamification used to help employees maintain compliance with required rules and regulations. 

Gamification is a technique that can be used successfully in a variety of implementations. Gamification also has its biggest impact when it’s implemented as part of a larger training effort and it is aligned with the desired outcomes of the training and the organization. 

Since gamification is about using game elements for engaging learners, I think that traditional instruction could be used more effectively – but, historically, it’s not.  Somehow in the past, training departments defaulted to lecturing learners with tons and tons of slides. This tradition was then passed on to eLearning modules, where the learner listens, or views, slide after slide of content to then answer a few multiple-choice questions. Good instructional designers always knew this wasn’t a good approach, but used it anyway. In other words, traditional instruction doesn’t always have to mean lectures and slides. 

Instead, peer-to-peer teaching, interactive exercises, critical thinking problems and other active learning techniques are all “traditional” instruction, plus they aren’t boring.  I always suggest to designers of instruction that “gamification” is the cover they can use to create the type of engaging instruction that they always knew they should be and wanted to be creating anyway. 

Gamification is effective because it requires activity, thinking and decision making by the learner. When designed properly, elements of games encourage the learners to engage with the content and behaviors that are desired by the organization. 

The purpose of learning and development in any organization is to shape behavior, so it conforms to what the organization believes is the best approach for things like sales, compliance and following a company’s approach to work. Gamification can shape behavior by rewarding what the organization feels is good behavior, motivating employees to engage in the proper behavior and making the instruction around the desired behaviors interactive and engaging. We know from the research that the more engaging instruction is for the learner, the more likely they are to recall the instruction and follow the desired behaviors. 

With gamification done right, it contributes to employees learning and, ultimately, improve their job performance because it is interactive and, in many cases, memorable and motivational, as well. 

Mobile is an excellent platform for gaming. When you think about it, some of the most popular games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush are played primarily on mobile devices. With a mobile device, an employee can partake in gamified instruction anywhere and at any time. Mobile is a natural place for employees to play games and to engage in gamification. Since a mobile platform is easy and convenient to take anywhere, it also means the employee can participate in gamification for a few moments, then do another activity and then come back to the gamified activity. 

Mobile allows gamification to take place without interrupting the workflow of the employee. Plus, with more and more applications, instruction and business activities taking place on mobile devices, it only make sense that learning and development activities take place on mobile devices, as well.  

Karl M. Kapp, Ed.D is an Award-Winning Professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University, along with being a regular consultant for Fortune 500 companies on the use of gamification and game-based strategies for transferring knowledge to employees.  He has authored six books, including the best-selling learning book, The Gamification of Learning and Instruction, and its accompanying how-to book, The Gamification of Learning and Instruction Fieldbook: Theory into Practice. Karl has been interviewed for, and published articles in Training, ATD's T&D, Knowledge Management, Distance Learning, PharmaVOICE, Forbes Online, Mashable, Huffington Post and many more, as well as appeared on numerous television and radio programs concerning his work with learning, technology and game-based design.  To Learn More, please visit Karl’s website. 

To Learn More about the Scrimmage Gamification platform, please click here.

To Experience the Scrimmage Gamification platform, please click here for a Personal Demo. 

Join our #ScrimmageSlamDunk promotion and WIN a chance to attend ATD2018 In San Diego, the L&D Event of the year!  

Our Grand Prize is a Full Registration to The Special 75th Anniversary of ATD'S INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXPO, May 6-9, 2018. Let's Learn Together at the largest conference in our industry with over 300 sessions on professional development. 

MORE PRIZE WINNERS! Enter Now & Be A Weekly eGift Card Winner!  The Prizes Vary From $25 @Starbucks to $50 @Amazon & $100 @Apple. 2 Winners Will Be Chosen Each Week! (Contest runs through 4.6.18.)  ENTER HERE TO WIN! 

The ATD International Conference & Exposition is the largest event for talent development professionals worldwide. It will provide you with the knowledge, strategies and solutions you need to effectively train and develop talent. You’ll gain insights into the latest trends, best practices, and new solutions for designing, delivering, implementing, and measuring learning programs. And, Be Sure To Visit Our Booth #709 - Let's Chat!  LEARN MORE HERE! 

Advancing Global Life Sciences Learning Together! Join nearly 1,000 life sciences training professionals, leaders and top industry partners at the 2018 LTEN Annual Conference. Sessions are led by respected SMEs across all aspects of learning and development, leadership, instructional design and facilitation, learning technology, and more.  As an Exhibitor, be sure to experience Scrimmage's latest technology and innovative practices to meet your goals. Plus, we are excited to be presenting with Smith & Nephew + a couple of Learning Labs.  Learn More & Register Today!

Innovation creates a bridge between the old and new ways of running your business to better serve your customers. Digital transformation demands that sales teams adapt, so they can stay relevant in a rapidly changing marketplace. Both challenges require clarity of vision, the courage to change and leadership that is driven to learn and collaborate. Attend the Sales 3.0 Conference, Philadelphia, engage with your peers and enjoy insights from exceptional speakers that will help prepare your sales organization for success in 2018, and beyond. Join Us - Register Today!  Once again, Scrimmage is proud to be a Sponsor and Exhibitor at this event!  LEARN MORE! 

###

SCRIMMAGE is a modern technology firm featuring the latest mobile learning, engagement and collaboration tools serving global businesses from Fortune 100 companies to SMBs. The company works closely with its clients to build a customized, scalable and secure platform for all static and dynamic content, along with a full suite of award-winning learning solutions, including gamification, social collaboration and robust data reporting. Founded in 2010, Scrimmage has enjoyed over 525M platform interactions on a worldwide basis to more than 50 enterprise clients across a spectrum of industries.  To Demo the mobile platform, please click here.