Game Thinking and the MVP of Instructional Design

On this episode of Gamification Talk Radio, I interviewed special guest Zsolt Olah and our topic of discussion was: Game Thinking and the MVP of Instructional Design.

Zsolt participated in Kevin Werbach's G.A.M.E. (Gameful Approaches of Motivation and Engagement) along with researchers and practitioners of game design and gamification such as Karl Kapp, Amy Jo Kim, and Sebastian Deterding.

While researchers and practitioners might have disagreed on many levels about gamification, there was one big take away for L&D we all agreed on.

Is Instructional Design Dead?

Zsolt believes that Instructional Design can be the MVP of the game, but only if we redefine our job and move our focus from the traditional content-driven design to user-centered action design. And that's where Game Thinking comes in.

Zsolt likes to refer to the systematic approach overall as Game Thinking, which may result in gamification, game-based learning, the combination of the two or no training at all. It all depends on the business goals.

Our discussion today explores:

• The meaning of Game Thinking first.
• A resistance by instructional designers to designing gamified learning experiences
• The most frequently asked questions by instructional designers about gamification
• Moving away from the content-driven approach to a user-centered, action-focused approach
• The best way to learn more about gamification of learning

About Zsolt Olah:  Zsolt is a Director, Innovation and Learning Solutions at PDG (Performance Development Group), where he's responsible for a team to deliver innovative learning and performance solutions that drive business results. Previously, Zsolt worked as a Sr. Program Manager at Comcast University, where he was the thought leader in the creative learning solutions space, spearheading the research and application strategy of gamification/game-based learning, game-thinking within learning and development.

Connect with Zsolt http://rabbitoreg.com and on Twitter at @rabbitoreg

Connect with Monica at www.monicacornetti.com or on Twitter at @monicacornetti

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