Games, levels, settings, stories, obstacles to overcome, challenges, fun, curiosity, exploration… all wonderful elements that keep us glued to our smartphone, computer, TV, or table: they involve us, entertain us, kidnap us.
But perhaps the last word is not said, because those same elements that have made the game a constant in the life of human beings since the dawn of time, in reality, can cross the boundaries of the game itself.
Today, let’s talk about gamification, about how to bring the game into your study method. Don’t have enough time to explore new study methods? Get a research paper writer to help you with your studies and give you more free time to do more important things in your life.
Table of Contents
Forms of Gamification
There are 3 main forms of gamification for the study that we need to consider.
- The structural gamification of your studying, which is transformed to become a great gaming experience;
- The gamification of the material to be learned;
- The implementation of individual gamification principles in the various study methodologies that are put into practice each time in the study method.
Category number 3 is undoubtedly the one that you will be able to put into practice more easily, the other two are more complex and often require initial planning and considerable effort on the part not only of those who participate but also of those who write the books or programs. of study, by teachers, schools, universities, etc.
Creation of a Narrative
I want you here because everyone now knows the value of levels, points, and bla-bla, that was an easy thing, but few people know that much of the effectiveness of gamification also lies in the context, in the setting, in the ‘ atmosphere within which all those mechanisms are inserted.
First, you can create your own character and a sort of macro story that matches your study path for the exam or the verification or the competition and combine this character and this story to the system of levels and points that we discussed a few minutes ago. To say, you are studying the medieval history exam and you imagine that you are a spy sent by your king to learn the history of other kings so as not to repeat the mistakes when you go to conquer the world.
Collaboration and Control
Gamification can make a real leap in quality when it is carried out in a group. Let’s talk about the collaborative aspect first:
- You can design group study sessions that use the mechanisms of progression, levels, and feedback, I have also mentioned this in my article on group study that I recommend you recover, also adding plot and role-playing elements.
- You can share the same story and curriculum with others and confront them, checking each other out and then using common goals to keep you focused and not give up in difficult times.
- You can also decide to build a story together, taking the advice we have already talked about to another level;
Competition
But the group is not only an opportunity for sharing, collaboration, and mutual control, it can also become stimulating in terms of challenge.
Compare the levels reached, create opportunities for direct challenge play, such as a quiz game where the goal is to answer questions or carry out the exercises better and faster than the others, and prod each other to find weaknesses in the preparation of the other.
Just be careful of one thing, if you decide to take advantage of gamified competition: always stay at the level of a light game, not an aggressive competition, otherwise, the risk is to add unnecessarily more stress to the study, as if it were needed.
Progressive Challenge
Finally, the last principle to know in order to implement gamification in your studio is that of progressive challenge and choice.
One of the key elements of engaging in the game is the learning curve and increasing difficulty. A game whose difficulty is extreme from the first minute may attract experienced and super competitive players but will alienate most of the rest of the audience.
Instead, a game where the difficulty gradually rises and the sense of challenge increases in step with our ability, a game where we also have the freedom to choose which missions to tackle first and which ones after, in which we can exercise control, will be a lot. more effective for the majority of players.
Some exams and topics, if well organized, already present a scale of increasing difficulty, but if you find that this is not the case, when creating your study plan, feel free to change the order in which you will study the different topics. Especially with non-technical examinations, in which the order only counts relatively.
Nowhere is it written that you have to start from chapter 1, it depends on the topic and the exam itself.
Part of the effectiveness of gamification is therefore becoming aware of the path that we will have to face and dominate it, also having the possibility of making deviations or changing the order where we feel it is necessary.
Conclusion
Perhaps gamification is not the panacea to all evils nor the final answer to all the questions about the study, but I am deeply convinced of its incredible effectiveness, and I also believe that, in the future, it will become one of the cardinal principles of learning and learning.
