Children Learn Through Play… What Happened?

Children learn as naturally as they breathe. Every day they observe and explore the world around them. Everything is new, everything is interesting, and learning is FUN! They process new ideas and information, and even if they do not yet have a verbal language, they work to articulate the joy and excitement of their new discoveries.

Play is critical to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they learn through trial and error what works and what doesn’t.

Children use play to learn how to solve problems (Do these two pieces fit together? What does this do?) Through play, children enhance their memory skills as well as their attention span. They move to higher levels of thought as they continue to play in more stimulating environments.

Play teaches children how to cooperate, negotiate, take turns and play by the rules, all necessary skills for both children and adults. Take a few minutes to watch this child play. When was the last time you saw 1/10th of that kind of determination, engagement, and excitement in any of your adult learners?

An Introduction to Gamification Design - Part 1



Gamification is motivational design… the use of game elements and game mechanics in a non-game context in order to engage users and solve problems.

In Corporate Learning and Talent Development, gamification works by making learning more engaging and by encouraging desired behaviors. Gamification takes advantage of our predisposition to join in games and game-like activities. When designed properly, this powerful strategy can encourage users to participate in desired behaviors in connection with your organizations business and learning objectives. 

Many organizations are looking to expand their understanding of gamification as an overall improvement to the structure and quality of their employee engagement and talent management programs.

Corporate Training is Broken

Let’s face it … getting people actively involved and interested in training isn’t easy!

The world of business is undergoing a profound shift. Workers are making more of their own decisions. They don’t want to be told what to do. They want to learn … BUT … they don’t want to sit through another boring SME lecture.

As the struggle for talent intensifies, organizations face a continual challenge to build and grow their leadership capacity. The pace of progress is faster than ever before and workers must learn all the time to remain productive and relevant. Organizations that fail to learn will die.

It’s not that training departments have missed the mark; it’s that the world around them has changed. Learning is shifting from top-down to bottom-up and to a great degree … sideways.

Keep in mind that unless your organization's collective, intuitive expertise is transferred by collaborative means:

Gamification World Congress - Gurus Panel Part 2

This episode of Gamification Talk Radio is brought to you from the fourth annual Gamification World Congress held in Barcelona (Spain) on the 11th of November this year (2015).
 
The Gamification World Congress had a number of practical workshops led by globally renowned experts where attendees could learn about and implement the latest methodologies and tools to find game-based solutions for the business world.

The panel discussion was led by my colleague Jan Bidner and the panel includes An Coppens Chief Gamechanger at Gamification Nation, Peyman Vahedi, principal of a secondary Upper school in Kramfors, and myself.

If you missed Part 1 of the Gamification Guru Panel Disscussion, you can catch it HERE.

ln Part 2 our topics include:

• Cheating - is it cheating or creative thinking and innovation?
• Gamification in education - what is the proper place for gamification in education and what tools should be used?
• Gamification as an industry title - is there a better name that describes accurately what it is that we are working (playing) to achieve. 

Links to panel participants websites:

• An Coppens : http://ancoppens.com/
• Peyman Vahedi : https://www.laragenomspel.se/
• Jan Bidner: http://www.sogetipodcast.se/gamification/ 
 

About Your Host: Monica Cornetti

Founder and CEO, Sententia
www.SententiaGames.com
www.monicacornetti.com

A gamification speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as a #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.  

Fight Through the FUNK

It makes things a whole lot easier when you realize that everybody has FUNK.

When you want to try something new, to get out of those patterned routines that you follow – there are a few pitfalls to avoid making it easier to fight through the FUNK.

The first is trying to solve today’s problems yesterday’s solutions. Yesterday’s solutions work until they don’t work anymore. When you want something new… yesterday’s solutions aren’t going to work for you.

What FUNK is in your TRUNK??

You go through your life following the patterns you’ve grown comfortable with. You do things because that’s the way they’re done. Your routine seems so natural that it doesn’t even occur to you that you’re following patterns at all.

You overlook opportunities or fail to see warning signs because you’ve kept your eyes not on the target, but on the routine… it happens to all of us.

Yet, have you found that change is inevitable… and growth is optional?

You may wonder why does this happen all the time why do I have so much resistance to change?

Well it’s because of the FUNK.

Gamification... The Adventure Continues

We arrived back in Austin late Saturday night, and as the wheels touched down, we looked at each other and said, "That was a GREAT trip!" 10 days in Valencia and Barcelona, Spain as part of my participation in the 2015  Gamification World Congress. The event itself was one of the most organized and best run events that I have ever been a part of as both as a speaker or an attendee. And the people were amazingly warm, gracious, generous, and FUN!

I was honored to deliver a workshop on Day 1 of the Congress on Gamification in the field of Talent Development. I also attended two workshops, one given by my colleague Yu-Kai Chou

Gamification World Congress - Gurus Panel Part 1

Reflections from Gamification World Conference 2015

This episode of is brought to you from the fourth annual Gamification World Congress held in Barcelona (Spain) on the 11th of November this year (2015).
 
The panel discussion was led by my colleague Jan Bidner and the panel includes An Coppens Chief Gamechanger at Gamification Nation, Peyman Vahedi, principal of a secondary Upper school in Kramfors, and myself about our impressions from the conference.

The Gamification World Congress had a number of practical workshops led by globally renowned experts where attendees could learn about and implement the latest methodologies and tools to find game-based solutions for the business world.

Player Centric Gamification Design

There are fundamental questions that encourage a creative gamification design. You should ask yourself these questions before you begin the gamification process as well as throughout your design and roll out stages.

For example... "What causes some employees or customers to engage in a gamified process, while others disengage in frustration? Why is it that some gamification mechanics appeal to some people, but have no effect on others?"

Others have tried to simplify the human tendency to play, but our willingness to invest time and energy into a process or experience ultimately comes from our core motivators. 

What is Your "Go To" Close?

The close of your speech or workshop is often one of the most neglected parts of your presentation, but also one of the most important. The close is your final opportunity to inspire the audience, drive an action, or change an opinion.

Based on the time left on the clock, I have a number of  "go to" closes that I choose from - all of which can be adapted to most topics.

And although I may have used client examples and a variety of design ideas throughout my presentation, during the closing minutes, I also like to bring it home by touching on my personal ties to the topic, which often helps to create a deeper audience connection.

This short video clip is from a Gamification Lunch & Learn with the Austin ATD Chapter - my local chapter where I currently serve on the board as VP of Professional Development.

The illuminator activity at the beginning of this clip is designed to show participants with a quick illustration that even when we think we’re doing our very best, we can usually do just a little bit better. This closing activity which I call Reach for the Sky, is taken from the pages of my Totally Awesome Training Activity Guidebook - Put Gamification to Work for You. 

Most people will forget facts and figures, but they always remember stories. And in fact, everyone loves a good story, and they will be more likely to connect with your speech if you tell a true story involving real characters. And even though I've given a similar close a hundred times, because it is true and it is personal, I still find myself getting choked up as I talk about how we rob a child's desire to learn from them.

So what is your "go to" close? I'd love to hear about it, or share a clip with us... we'd LOVE to see it!

About the Author: Monica Cornetti

Founder and CEO, Sententia
www.SententiaGames.com
www.monicacornetti.com

A gamification speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as a #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.

Most of the Things You Worry About NEVER Happen!

My previous post, The Gap Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be, explored the common risks we must all take to get to the next level, and also the fear and self-limiting beliefs that trap you and keep you from moving there.

In the book Habits Die Hard, authors Anderson and Murphy reference a practice from Buddhist teacher, James Barasz, that you can use to dispel fear and limiting beliefs, even when you think you can’t. It’s called RAIN: Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Nonidentify.

The Gap Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be

There's that gap between where you are and where you want to be. It’s that risk you haven't taken. We all have to take risks to get to the next level, but then fear and self-limiting beliefs act like a rubber band pulling you back. You try to reach that next level but the elasticity of that rubber band pulls you right back to your comfort zone. Inside the comfort zone there is no room for courage, boldness or enthusiasm.

Fear is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It keeps you from making intelligent risks that help you achieve your desires and instead - it follows a patterned cycle to fulfill that which you feared.

Let me show you what I mean... let's walk through the fear cycle together.

Gamification and Teams

We can take the game mechanics that game designers had been using for years to drive behaviors, such as competition, real-time feedback, and goal-setting, and apply them to talent development and talent management. These game mechanics work outside of gaming because they are based on satisfying fundamental human needs and desires.

Gaming has created an entirely different learning style, one that:

• aggressively ignores any hint of formal instruction
• includes lots of learning from peers but virtually none from authority figures
• leans heavily on trial and error (after all, failure doesn’t really cost you anything, you just push “play again”)
• is consumed in very small bits exactly when the learner wants, which is usually just before the skill is needed

Gamification invites people to participate and engage by integrating game mechanics and game dynamics into non-game contexts. My favorite space to use gamification is in the area of Talent Development to strengthen and advance your team.

By adding game mechanics to training, Gamification not only increases interest, it makes training FUN!

The goal is to increase learning and engagement through key concepts found in game design and behavioral psychology.

More Gamification Design Articles:

Gamification... It's More Than Hot Fudge

Gamification Design: Start with the Story

About the Author: Monica Cornetti
Founder and CEO, Sententia
www.SententiaGames.com
www.monicacornetti.com

A gamification speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as a #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.

Toby Beresford - Get Big Results from your Social Media Marketing with Gamification

In this episode of Gamification Talk Radio we explore how to gamify your social media sales and marketing activity using the Rise Leaderboard.

Our guest, Toby Beresford explains how you can increase engagement around your product or service, create entirely new profitable businesses, and become friends with the most influential people in your industry... because of the power of gamification.

Here a case study that you can model from Glass of Bubbly -- a company that went from startup to successful publishing business using a gamified leaderboard for the champagne industry.

For more on how to use gamification in your business, meet Toby and Monica in person this week at the Gamification World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. More information at this link:  https://gamification.world/congress/gwc-2015



About Toby Beresford:  Toby specializes in building engaged teams and communities via digital media. He is the founder and CEO of universal scorekeeping platform Rise. Previous to Rise he founded and sold the social media agency 'Nudge'. Toby is a founder of GamFed.com the professional association for gamification, a top 10 'Gamification Guru', and a regular contributor to Sky News as a Social Media Expert.  And … he also plays a mean game of ping pong. Connect with Toby at http://www.rise.global and on Twitter @tobyberesford.

About Your Host:  A gamification keynote speaker and designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as the #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You. Monica’s niche is gamification used in the corporate environment. Connect with Monica (@monicacornetti) www.monicacornetti.com

Finding Fun in the Things We Have to Do

Many people are intensely competitive in games, trying to outpace and outsmart their way to the top. Face it, we have been playing games since the days of the cavemen, and it is human nature to compare ourselves to others to see how we measure up. 

Add technology to the mix, and today gaming has become a hugely popular and tremendously profitable industry, to the order of over $100 billion dollars globally this year. 

The reality is: 

• People enjoy playing games
• Popular games inspire extreme loyalty
• People are motivated by gaming reward and achievement systems
• Therefore, if non-games are made more game-like, we’ll be more likely to ‘play’ them 

The success of social networks and social gaming has demonstrated how behavioral psychology plays a factor in a successful user experience. Games have proven that people crave personal progress in building social connections and completing goals, especially in light of the fact that millions of people engage with these services without getting a dime in return.

Are You Ready for the G Generation?

Research into the development of the brain has shown early childhood and adolescence are the critical years for how the brain is prepared for perceiving and reacting to the world. These critical years leave our brains with a particular set of assumptions and beliefs about how the world works.
  
Games reinforce certain beliefs about the players themselves, how the world should work, how people relate to one another, and about the purpose of life in general. 

Games create a self-centered universe where the player is in charge, and within certain rules or boundaries, can manipulate other people and objects. 

Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that an average 8-10 year old spends more than an hour a day with video games. The huge amount of time spent with video games during their formative years has led the Gamer or G Generation to be “hard wired” differently than those who came before them. 

Lead Like a Pirate

A Pirate Captain’s mission was clear and simple - plunder enemy vessels. The mission was clear and compelling and he and his team of Pirates lived it every day. Under the Captain’s strong leadership, the team of Pirates acted with urgency and confidence, persisted through challenging and ever-changing circumstances, and created extraordinary and measurable results.

Isn’t that exactly what you’re asked to do? If you are not getting the same level of commitment and results, it may be time to throw out your old, boring mission statement and - Lead like a Pirate!

DNF is NOT an Option

Although the race was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, I was determined that I was going to finish. I had trained, I was ready … or so I thought. At about the 3.5 mile point I started having doubts about whether I was going to be able to make it or not. In running when you drop out of a race it is called a DNF or “did not finish.”

I started talking to myself pretty sharply at this point. Asking myself, “Do you really want a DNF? What does that say about you?” I then had to remind myself that quitting was not an option either in this race or in life. You have to finish and finish strong!

Reframing our language allows us to fill our heads with the positive rather than the negative. Research suggests that 83% of the conversations we have with ourselves are negative. And these negative conversations play over and over.
The benefits are enormous when we stop replaying, and instead we reframe our inner-communication to capture the positive perspective.

Poet John Milton wrote,

"The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, or a Hell of Heaven."

Is your mind making a heaven or a hell, for you?

Here are a couple of examples of how you can turn your negative words (and the accompanying self-defeating thoughts) into positive communication (and self-empowering actions):

• Instead of saying, "That's just the way I am," say, "I have decided to try a different approach." This keeps you in control of your future.
• Instead of saying you have a "problem," call it an "opportunity." This allows for a self-empowering improvement of the situation.
• Instead of saying you “have” to do something, say I “choose” to do this. This puts you in control – of your choices. No one is forcing you to do it.

Always reframe your language so that you have control over what you do and who you are.

How does this action-step impact you? Make the decision now to design and live the life you dream of. Do this for thirty days. Every time a negative thought tries to enter your head, banish it. Reframe it and replace it with a positive thought. After thirty days, reframing will become your new habit. Let me know how this goes for you. I am sure it will go well and that this new habit will change your life for the better.

And remember… DNF is not an option!

More articles on thinking differently to achieve uncommon results:

• The Five Most Common Self-Limiting Beliefs
• Perception of Reality is Everything
• Ask the Wrong Question... Get the Wrong Answer

About the Author: Monica Cornetti
Founder and CEO, Sententia www.SententiaGames.com www.monicacornetti.com

A professional speaker and gamification designer, Monica Cornetti is rated as the #1 Gamification Guru in the World by UK-Based Leaderboarded. She is the author of the book Totally Awesome Training Activity Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, writes The Gamification Report blog, and hosts the weekly Gamification Talk Radio program.