If you gamify your course, you might increase the completion rate for your students.
Oh, and they’ll have more fun doing it.
If you gamify your course, you might increase the completion rate for your students.
As determined and dedicated as I am, I absolutely get a kick out of gamification.
Badges, awards, percentages, it all adds up to the rush of completing something. Especially if there are lots of modules and it seems like a never-ending task, adding in elements of gamification can help keep up motivation and energy and, best of all, completion rates.
Because as an online course creator, that’s what you really want: you want them to complete the course.
Anything (and everything) helps:
- Badges: for completing a section.
- Awards: for doing something fast or well or _________ (it doesn’t matter!).
- Percentage markers: how far have I come and how far do I have to go?
- Contact: emails after completing a module, remind them you’re there to help, that they’re not alone.
- Prizes: reward them with something real, maybe even tangible, something more than a (digital) badge. Get creative.
- Surprises: give them something they didn’t expect, something that’s not listed. Surprise!
- Get creative: it almost doesn’t matter what it is, just that you’re thinking in terms of how to keep them motivated.
What have you used in your online courses to gamify the process? What have you experienced as a student that you especially liked?
Hey, I gotta go. I’m only 17% done with my course and I really want to get to 20% today.
