Focus Magazine - Fall 2017 - 40

TECHNOLOGY

Gamification, Game-Based
Learning & Rep Engagement
■ By Steven Boller

F

ew learning strategies have
received as much hype as
gamification in recent years.
But despite all the talk, gamification is
oen a misunderstood and misused
tool in the world of commercial
education. When correctly applied,
gamification has the potential to bring
your Plan of Action (POA) meeting,
national sales meeting or new product
launch to life in a new way. Virtual
training and blended curriculums also
benefit from eﬀective gamification.
But far too oen, a shallow
understanding of gamification leads to
uninspired execution and low learner
engagement. A learning strategy
whose entire purpose is to motivate
and engage learners can instead be
seen as repetitive and distracting.
Points, badges and leaderboards get
old fast and the approach that worked
at last year's meeting might need a
refresh.
To realize the potential of
gamification as an instructional
strategy, it is necessary to clearly
distinguish it from a closely related
instructional approach, game-based
learning. When creatively used
together in appropriate ways, these
training approaches create an eﬀective
learning experience for sales reps.

Games, Gamification,
Game-Based Learning:
What's the Difference?
Many people use the term
gamification when they are referring
to a broader collection of instructional
approaches that involve games or

40

game-like experiences.
Nevertheless, there are big
diﬀerences between games
played purely for fun, gamified
learning and full-fledged
learning games. Note the
diﬀerences between these short
descriptions of a fictitious game,
learning game, and gamified
course:
* Game: Save the city of
Normalville from a virus by
clearing each building of
hazards before time runs out.
* Learning Game: Save the
city of Normalville from a
virus by visiting each physician in
your territory and correctly
describing the present illness (PI)
and mechanism of action (MoA) of
New Treatment A before time runs
out.
* Gamiﬁcation: Save the city of
Normalville from a virus by
completing a series of four home
study eLearning courses that teach
the PI and MoA of New Treatment
A. A post-test score of 90 percent
or higher earns a badge of
distinction, and top performers will
receive a prize at the product
launch meeting.
Notice how the learning game
includes a learning goal (correctly
describe the PI and MoA) that is
achieved alongside the game goal
(save the city of Normalville). In the
gamification example, the home study
eLearning courses incorporate a
challenge, imaginative theme, element
of competition and rewards to

motivate learners. While these are all
elements found in many games, the
courses are not games themselves.

When to Use Gamification
If you've attended a national sales
meeting or product launch event with
an imaginative theme like "Night at
the Oscars" or "Home Run Hitters,"
you've already seen basic gamification
at work. eming a training initiative
adds an element of fun and helps it
stand out from business as usual.
Ideally, the theme is first introduced in
the online pre-work and carried
through to the live training event.
Besides the use of theme, game
elements such as competition,
rewards, levels, and chance can make
a training experience more intriguing
to learners. is is especially useful
with dense content that reps might be
tempted to skim or even skip. It's no
secret that sales reps are a competitive
bunch, so adding the game element of
competition will usually be well

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