Gaming is a term often associated with fun, entertainment and the esports scene in most parts of the world. With 20 million Malaysians having played at least one game on one gaming platform, gaming can be touted as one of Malaysians’ favoured pastimes. Previously seen only as entertainment, gaming also trains the mind to prioritize productivity, making it a valuable addition to the learning process. This makes the gamification of the learning process an exciting prospect for education and the way knowledge is absorbed.
“Games aren’t meant for adults, they’re meant for kids.” A famous stereotypical saying that once was. While computer and console gaming are highly dominated by younger generations, the global spread of a mobile gamer is more diverse with a reported 73% of individuals aged 50 and above preferring mobile gaming. This just goes to show that gaming knows no boundaries when it comes to age demographics. This may just be how both educators and employers can implement gaming in education and training.
With the Movement Control Order (MCO) going for at least four weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, breakthrough productivity-boosting is impending. The closure of schools means students now have more time on their hands while most of Malaysia’s workforce are forced to work remotely. This presents an opportunity for educators and trainers to explore the possibility of gamifying their modules and training sessions, making them more immersive and interactive to capture the attention of students who would be easily distracted by home entertainment such as television programs and unproductive games. Folks over at Pinheads Interactive have developed and are continuing to innovate a variety of solutions and tools for specific use cases.
GAMIFICATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
While gaming has often been associated with mindless video games and purely for entertainment, it has quickly gained traction as a valuable method of teaching due to its traits in enhancing cognitive growth through improvements in hand-eye coordination, problem solving, strategic thinking and memory capacity for people of all ages. Thus, the capabilities of gaming in enhancing the learning experience cannot be underestimated as it opens many doors to explore a student’s thought process while keeping them engaged. This in turn, makes it easier for educators to keep students engaged for longer periods of time which is usually an issue with traditional approaches to learning. Its 2020, and this has now become a hobby among the youngsters around. Parents can definitely take advantage of the current situation in our country by turning the tide on smartphones being used for straight forward gaming, and change that into an interactive yet fruitful session for their children to learn something from.
An example of games helping out to bridge the gap between the understanding of some people to a certain situation is Plague Inc, which shot up in popularity in recent times for some may say very alarming reasons, and some good reasons too. The game lets you play as a disease, learning the mechanics of one and the means of spreading from one human to another. While not scientifically accurate, Plague Inc allows players to gain a better understanding of the transmission, survivability and lethality of a disease-inducing pathogen.
GAMIFICATION FOR TRAINING PURPOSES
Trying to put yourself in a real situation can be really tricky sometimes. People always say, ” just put your mind to it”, or ” imagine your in that situation now”. All easier said than done obviously. Onboarding sales representatives in any sector and organisation can take many months before they are able to perform decently. Add to that, a more competitive market than ever before with businesses reporting an average of 25 competitors in their market sees the need for organisations to innovate and improve processes where possible to gain an advantage. One of these areas is the process of training business development executives efficiently, harnessing and maximising their potential at a faster rate resulting in better sales figures. The gamification of the sales training process is able to achieve this through carefully curated courses that test various aspects of a salesperson’s ability, providing an immersive yet interactive experience.
Pinheads Interactive achieves this through scenario-based learning where sales representatives are able to experience virtual scenes imitating real-life situations, enabling one to ensure effective sales conversions. Upon completing simulations, instant feedback is also provided based on choices made, allowing for analysis of performance by both the salesperson themself and their supervisors. This level of detail will then enable self-reflection of one’s thought process, stimulating a self-improvement approach which speeds up the learning process. These processes can be replicated endlessly with varying scenarios and degrees of difficulty for use on multiple platforms like laptops, smartphones and tablets which enables endless remote learning.
With the application of gamification technology providing a breadth of solutions in a variety of settings, there’s no telling what we can achieve in a short time. As technology continues to improve, so will the features and the benefits of gamification. The ability to learn in various ways from anywhere and at any time today proves that we are in exciting times and there’s more to come.
To find out more about the other initiatives Pinheads Interactive has going on, visit their website here.
