Interactive video and gamification often crop up in the same conversation. Whilst they might be linked by some, they are also concepts in their own right.
Interactive video is seen by some as a way of gamifying e-learning. It works in just the same way as a video would but allows you to interact at certain key points and drive the story or learning forward. It’s used a lot more these days and is increasing in popularity.
Gamification, we believe, can be split into two sides. There’s the idea of making e-learning more fun through the concept of games. In other words, adding in elements of ‘gaming’ into the course itself – this could be through activities, puzzles, interactive elements and otherwise. There’s also the idea that you can make the process of learning more competitive. You can get people into a leader board (or similar) and reward learners for doing certain things – 5 points for viewing a video, 10 for completing a whole Collection and so on. You can encourage competition between sites and amongst sites, getting people to really have some fun whilst doing the serious business of learning.
If you avoid the pitfalls of it all becoming a gimmick, gamification and its associated thinking, is a really good way to drive engagement. Don’t be afraid to check it out!