Make it a game

(upbeat music) - Who doesn't love to play? We all love to play, because it allows us to interact and problem solve without the consequences that usually comes with being wrong. You know in the industry, anytime you take something that's serious, that's not necessarily meant to be playful, and you make it playful, or you create a game out of it, it's called gamification. And it's a great way to engage adult learners and your learning content, 'cause it allows them to participate without the consequences of being wrong in the normal work environment. It also allows them to choose to participate, which means you're going to get greater engagement from them. A little greater participation. But there's also the backside of gamification. You know, in corporate culture, anytime you make something playful, it has a tendency to be looked upon as frivolous because well, frankly, it usually is. (dance music) - Since you won the last round, you get to pick the next category, what'll it be? - The history of reports for $300. (upbeat music) - On what day of the week, are all of your expense reports due? (bell rings) - What is Thursday. - Good answer. - Yes! - Yeah! - Have some candy. - Woo! - This is why strategic play is so important. Strategic play is play with a purpose. It mirrors the actual application of the thing that you're teaching. In strategic play, you have to have an understanding of the core concepts, core problems that it is you're solving, with the thing that you're teaching. When you understand what that problem is that you're solving, you can re-create it in another format, in a more playful format, that allows your adults to solve that problem without the consequences normally associated with it. For example, if you're teaching some element or some form of process, you might find another part of life, another aspect of life that's considerably more absurd, and then re-create that process inside of that absurdity, and then time them, or figure out how many people can do it with the least amount of mistakes. You're gamifying that process, and in doing so, whenever your adults go into their real jobs, into their real lives, and re-create that process, they're going to remember the absurdity that they were engaged in, and be able to recall and have that greater retention of what it is they're trying to solve. So as you're developing your learning strategies, putting together the courses that you're put together, look for opportunities to gamify the learning that you're creating. Opportunities for you to mirror what that same process is, in some other aspect of life, and then create competition around it, you'll gain greater retention, greater participation, and ultimately, greater absurdity.