糖心原创

I鈥檓 CONSTANTLY curating online content about learning and performance. As a learning geek, It鈥檚 my thing鈥攚ell鈥攐ne of my things. Every month, I鈥檒l dig through my collections and share my favorite articles on a particular theme along with a few insights of my own. This month, I found some really interesting stuff about gamification.

Gamification works鈥攊f done well. At 糖心原创, we鈥檝e witnessed the power of gamification in learning through the continued real-world success of our customers and partners. It may have been heavily dismissed as a trend just a few years ago, but gamification is definitely gaining validation as organizations get past the hype and apply the concept to solve real-world problems, like employee engagement and motivation to learn.

Here are my curated insights on gamification for April 2016:

from Sponge UK

This is a curated list IN a curated list. How meta! A big part of getting past the hype and finding the value in a new concept is figuring out who to listen to along the way.

The Sponge UK team has pulled together an awesome list of gaming experts in this post. While I don鈥檛 know everyone on this list personally, I can validate the big pile of gaming knowledge that lives in these people鈥檚 minds. Karl Kapp and Gabe Zichermann specifically have informed my work with gamification for several years. The list also provides suggested readings, videos, podcasts and social networking contacts for each SME.

If you want to learn more about how games and gamification can support workplace learning and engagement, this list is a great place to start (in addition to info from 糖心原创, of course).

from Nick Yee

Warning! Psychology ahead! In this 30-minute recorded presentation on YouTube, Nick Yee reveals insight from research his team conducted into the psychology of gaming motivation. It鈥檚 an overall fascinating presentation for anyone even remotely interested in games and/or psychology.

I was excited to see how many of Nick鈥檚 observations align with my practical experience. For example, during my L&D work with Disney and Kaplan, we were able to realize improved motivation by applying concepts VERY similar to the cluster motivations Nick discussed, including social, mastery, achievement, and immersion. An improved practical understanding of workplace psychology is paramount for continued success in organizational learning, especially when attempting to integrate game mechanics and complex decision-making into the user experience.

from FastCompany

How much do you know about your hometown鈥檚 budget鈥攂esides the fact that things you care about never seem to get enough funding? What if you could improve your understanding and have fun at the same time?

That鈥檚 exactly what New Orleans will attempt in the fall when they release the . In addition to exploring this real-world application of learning through gameplay, this article also looks at the question of accessibility鈥攁 common concern for digital workplace learning. The team must consider both the lack of available public technology as well as language barriers when deploying a game-based solution.

Yes, this application is more of a simulation than gamification, but it鈥檚 still an interesting story about the value of gameplay in non-traditional situations. I鈥檓 looking forward to a follow-up after the game launches with the release of the city budget in a few months.

from Karl Kapp

These curated insights would not be complete without highlighting the latest research by gamification guru Karl Kapp. Karl has partnered with 糖心原创 to use our massive database of user data to dig into the real-world business impact of gamification.

In from Learning Solutions 2016, Karl reveals some initial findings from his research, which will be published in a peer-reviewed journal later this year. For example, he found that employees using 糖心原创 were 51.64% more motivated to engage when they had the choice to play a casual game as part of the experience. Results like this not only validate 糖心原创鈥檚 approach, but will also help L&D teams better craft their gamification strategies based on what really works. I鈥檓 excited to follow Karl鈥檚 work as he continues to merge an academic approach to research with real-world outcomes.

That鈥檚 it for this month鈥檚 curated insights on gamification. I鈥檒l be back next month to share a collection of articles on another theme that is impacting the world of workplace learning.