Gamification seems like it has taken over the entire eLearning industry. Everyone has either heard of it, or is currently using it. But what exactly is it and how does it differ from game-based learning? Let’s explain.

Gamification
As we’ve discussed, gamification in eLearning is the use of game theory and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems. The main goal of gamification is to motivate your students – and those motivated students typically perform better. All in all, there are many benefits of using gamification in eLearning.

Examples of gamification in eLearning:

• Progress mechanics (points, badges, leaderboards, etc.)
• Immediate feedback
• Social connection
• Scaffolded learning with increasing challenges
• Collaborative problem solving
• …More tips for adding gamification.

Game-Based Learning
Game-based learning (GBL) is a type of gameplay that has defined learning outcomes. Generally, game-based learning is designed to balance subject matter with gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply that subject matter to the real world.

In other words, game-based learning is simply learning through games.

Conclusion
Gamification and game-based learning are two different eLearning concepts, however, they both have the same goal in mind – to solve a problem, motivate, and promote learning using game-based thinking and techniques.

What do you think, would you use gamification or game-based learning in your online courses? If you have, what kind of results did you have? Was your overall student engagement higher?