In recent years, one of the topics we've spent a lot of time on is gamification! Why do we get tired of pushing users to learn more in digital learning projects? As Turkey's best e-learning company, user engagement is a crucial concern for us. But we don't give up; we continuously strategize on how to boost user motivation and participation.

Bekir Ağırdır conducted a comprehensive study on why the Turkish population is reluctant to learn. Yes, as Turks, we don't love learning very much. For us to learn something, it either needs to be mandatory or provide a clear benefit.

Therefore, no matter how engaging you make the content and scenarios in online education, they are unfortunately not embraced by users. Many reasons contribute to users not interacting with our online courses and lacking the motivation to complete them. However, there are some strategies that can break their procrastination habits and push them to engage.

For example, considering that two-thirds of all employees quit their jobs and roughly the same percentage of adults play video games, bringing game-like mechanics into a non-game context could be beneficial. Points, badges, and leaderboards can attract people to learning. For instance, at Shell, we print the stars and trophies collected by individuals on their name tags and send them to the stations. This offers a fantastic experience.

There are also those who believe learning and games should not be combined. Nevertheless, there is evidence that we enjoy game-like mechanics in development programs. We participate in loyalty programs designed to shape behaviors in this way.

We prefer the strategy called motivational design over the concept of gamification alone. Looking at dropout statistics from online courses and the potential benefits of using gamification to shape learning behaviors, we haven't quite seen the impact we were looking for with current gamification strategies.

The problem with traditional gamification approaches is that people get tired of winning the same reward/badge repeatedly, leading to reward fatigue and disinterest. Rewards do not have a meaningful impact on learning behaviors. If not well thought out, projects can stall.

Moreover, these digital badges (badges, trophies, stars) are worthless among adults. Instead, motivational badges should be used. And what do you do with them, and who sees them? Are people collecting their badges in a digital portfolio for future references? No! Are they sharing them on social media? No! Are they displaying them in the office? Just like childhood awards, medals, and sticker books, these badges are often thrown into a box and forgotten.

The traditional gamification approach involves systematically advancing through levels by earning points. However, a more engaging game system can include elements of uncertainty, personalized rewards by giving users choices.

Additionally, understanding who the target audience is and tailoring the gamification approach to fit their current interests and motivations is crucial. To make the gamification experience better in learning, rewards should include opportunities or real items that allow the recipient to learn or improve, thus enhancing the learning mechanisms.

When done right, motivational design that strengthens the emotional connection with the organization emerges and provides a much greater purpose and support.

Another reason to consider adding gamification to your learning programs is micro-learning. Unfortunately, such a term exists now. Since people struggle to complete long learning modules, we break the training into smaller pieces. In summary, short-term needs and desires for instant gratification are a reality of our age.

Although this article highlights the negative aspects, gamification helps meet our need for timely feedback and celebrate small successes in a long training program. Additionally, it is increasingly used for much-needed customer education to improve product and service understanding.

When combined with effective learning design, incorporating gamification into your learning programs can be a powerful way to increase learner motivation and engagement and enhance personal connection with your brand. In summary, carefully design your gamification strategies, and increase motivation and engagement. And a word of caution: Don't do it just for the sake of doing it.

With love and respect.