Gamification in Educational Technology

Educational technology (EdTech) tools and platforms are becoming more popular with students and teachers. One of the reasons for this is their approach to education.  

Providing education software development services for over a decade, the answer to highly motivated and engaged students lies in the gamified approach.

What is gamification?

Gamification is a method of using game design concepts in fields unrelated to gaming. In EdTech, gamification influences students' motivation to continue learning and engage with the platform or an app.

The developers use gamified elements, such as badges or achievements, to motivate students. There’s also another goal — to present the student with data on their progress.

The badges and achievements work as incentives to engage with the platform more.

Competition is another way to motivate students. While creating a competitive environment in EdTech might sound difficult, it has already been done.  

A point system and a leaderboard are the two key elements of creating a competitive field. The point system rewards students for their actions within the platform, and the overall number of points is displayed on a leaderboard.  

To add even more competitiveness, leaderboards usually account only for the local students, so instead of competing against people you don’t know, you will compete against your peers.

The main goal of bringing gamification to EdTech is to keep students motivated and interested in studying. To achieve this, such apps divide the big goal into smaller, manageable milestones and reward students for completing each.

Benefits of gamification

Knowing what gamification looks like in EdTech, let’s cover how it influences the platform.

• Increased engagement: Incentives have the biggest influence on user engagement with EdTech tools and platforms. The most popular gamified element for influencing user engagement is streaks;  ‍
• Enhanced motivation: To build up motivation to continue learning, the long-term goals are divided into smaller milestones. This way, it’s easier for the student to visualise their progress, and it’s fulfilling to achieve goals; ‍
• Habit reinforcement: Another driver behind user engagement is habits. Users who develop a habit of using the apps will spend more time in them. In gamified EdTech tools and platforms, it comes as missions or quests, reinforcing commitment and habit development; ‍
• Insights generation: Reward systems have two goals: to track students' progress and provide them with statistics. Additionally, the information on how students achieve goals and how much time it takes gives you insights into improving the platform.

Tips on integrating gamification into your platform

Knowing what gamification is and how it affects engagement, let’s cover how to implement such elements into EdTech solutions.

Strategy is key

The two drivers behind games’ success are mechanics and dynamics.

Mechanics define the user’s objectives.

‍Dynamics create patterns and influence user’s behaviour.  

These two are the core principles behind creating a successful motivation strategy, as they give users a feeling of fulfilment. So, think about your strategy and clearly define your app's mechanics and dynamics.

UI/UX

The platform’s design shouldn’t be too strict. Instead, colourful designs and fun animations that reflect the user’s actions should be added. A good idea is to create a set of rewards, too — think badges or stickers.

These visual rewards greatly synergise with the already discussed topic — the leaderboard. Make two types of rewards, one for milestones and the other — for long-term goals. This divide will bring a sense of value to rewards, engaging students to get more of them.

Final words

Gamification elements bring this engagement into EdTech and many other industries. In addition, boosting retention through gamification results in high engagement and satisfaction among users and insights into user behaviour.

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