Category Archives: Serious Games

Corporate Learning Best Practices, e-Learning, Employee-Training, Game-based learning, Informal Learning Tips, Learning Management System, Micro-learning, Mobile Learning, Online Learning, Professors, QuoDeck, Serious Games, Teachers, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality

Presenting The Current Trends In eLearning

Leave a comment
eLearning is the modern education system which copes with the busy lifestyles of the current generation. It has also a huge impact on our lives. This article discusses the current trends of eLearning including its pros and cons.

The Most Prevailing Trends In eLearning

eLearning is a new era in the learning industry. It provides an individual with the flexibility to learn based on their own time, pace and availability. There are already many number of successful e learning platforms all over the internet like Udemy, Udacity, Teachable etc. or you can even create an e learning
platform from various custom eLearning development companies. The worth of the eLearning market was measured at $2.5 billion in 2013, $7.8 billion in 2016 and, according to numerous predictions, the number will likely grow into $15.72 billion by 2021. These figures show a huge financial contribution to the distance education field, which shows the huge potential of the eLearning market. As the eLearning industry is growing among the new generations, there are many pros and cons. Let’s have a look at those:

Pros

  • Flexibility
    One of the main advantages of eLearning is that it is flexible. It helps us to cope up with our busy schedules by letting us take the courses in small sections whenever we want.
  • Mobility
    It’s something that’s more useful in our busy schedules. In eLearning, we are able to learn from any location, such as a park, a bus, train, etc, instead of a confined classroom.
  • Low Cost
    In eLearning, we don’t require trainers’ fees or equipment, so it becomes more affordable. While the cost of traveling is taken into account, eLearning is a cheaper option.
  • Performance Monitoring
    The performance result after the end of each topic and module are portrayed statistically on a dashboard. It enables learners to self-assess their overall performance and improve themselves. The instructor is able to monitor their performance more easily than in traditional, offline education.

Cons

eLearning can never replace the need for a human instructor. Even if eLearning is useful in many ways, computers are able to complete all tasks due to:

  • Lack Of Focus
    Both learners with poor concentration and those who are poorly motivated may quickly fall behind the online course. Without a fixed time schedule or a routine, it’s difficult for learners to meet specific deadlines or goals.
  • Lack Of Social And Cultural Interaction
    In eLearning, peer-to-peer communication is minimal, which makes it challenging for some of the learners.
  • Learners May Feel Isolated
    Without interaction with the outside world, there is a probability of feeling isolated.

Even though there are many cons as regards eLearning, there have already been many successful eLearning platforms all over the internet like Udemy, Udacity, Teachable, etc. you can make great use of. Learners engagement is of prime importance to the success of eLearning platforms. These can be effective only if they present something that catches the learner’s attention for more than just study materials, such as:

  1. Group Discussions
    A powerful discussion forum which revolves around the course will probably be the first option that makes eLearning interactive and much more engaging. On the other hand, simply having comment boxes on the article is unpleasant and difficult for the learners.
  2. Interactive Quizzes
    Having questions asked after each session as a module assessment and an overall quiz for topic assessment are always interesting.
  3. Make Iit A Visual Treat For The Eyes
    The use of slideshows and various multimedia gives learners the ability to stay on the task and be easily pulled into the topic.

What The Current Trends Are In eLearning

As in every sector where changes have occurred, eLearning has also undergone some. Therefore it’s high time we discussed what the current trends in eLearning are:

Mobile Learning

For the last few years, adoption of mLearning or mobile learning has been on the rise. It is flexible, the courses provided are responsive; i.e. it can run seamlessly on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The other main advantage of mLearning is that you can learn from wherever you are and whenever you want.

Microlearning

It deals with the short-term learning activity. The course that lasts for 60 minutes can be split into more bite-sized courses. It can be easier and more affordable to produce such courses and as well as to maintain them.

Gamification

It employs gaming elements so as to improve user engagement. It is a technique of transforming learning into a game. In this way, you can create a high impact and immersion.

Interactive Videos

Learning through videos will continue to maintain its own appeal. As a consequence, the way interactive video turn the passivity of regular videos into rich interactive experiences will see a rise and will be utilized for formal training, too, in addition to performance and support.

Social Learning

While there’s a need for formal training that meets specific learning outcomes, there should be an increase in programs for casual or social learning in which students can network, discuss, collaborate, and exchange thoughts on problem-solving.

This article was first published on : eLearning Industry

By Akshay K, Digital Marketing & SEO analyst at Xpertcube

Advertisement
e-Learning, Game-based learning, Learning Management System, Mobile Learning, Serious Games, Start-up's

How to use games to market your learning program?

1 Comment

One of the major challenges HR and L&D professionals face is getting the employees to get interested in the learning programs. Games or rather game-based learning can help here. This article will focus on how a company can market its so-called boring learning programs and make them interesting.

Using Games To Market Your Learning Program

Getting your employees interested in your learning program is a herculean task. You won’t find a lot of people coming up to you and asking about your next eLearning course. Why should anyone? It’s not the next iPhone. Or the next Avengers movie.

So, the solution here is not just creating the most engaging course ever, but also making it sound like it is as interesting as the next iPhone or the next Avengers movie.

Now imagine these 2 scenarios:

Scenario 1: You’re standing in a meeting room and you say this—Raise your hands if you want to go through my next eLearning course!

Scenario 2: You’re standing in a meeting room and you say this—Raise your hands if you want to play my next learning game!

Which announcement would generate more curiosity? A game would definitely have the upper hand. As a planet, we play 3 billion hours of games every week. Why not use this to transform your training program into the next iPhone!

Games As A Medium For Marketing

Games have been used for marketing for years now. Go to the Play Store and search for ‘Justice League games’ and you will know what I am talking about. Games are exciting, competitive, and provide an immersive experience.

The first thing you should do is move to game-based learning. Stop thinking about your course in terms of a presentation with images and tabs. Think of it as a game, where the learner must find the hidden treasure or kill the demon, and the learning content will help him achieve this objective. Add a storyline and let the assessments appear in the form of learning games. Now you have an engaging and exciting game-based learning course ready. Is that all? Target achieved? Not at all. This is just the beginning.

Think Like A Marketer

Stop thinking about your course as a learning manager and start thinking like a marketer. You’re no longer marketing a course, but an exciting game. Get your marketing department involved as well. How would you go about it? Plan your marketing campaigns in 2 phases:

Phase I – Pre-Launch Campaigns

Teaser Campaigns

Start with a teaser campaign with catchy copy, like ‘The Lost Treasure. Coming soon!’. Send out emailers or put out posters with cryptic messaging. Plan this for a week or two before your course launch and start attracting eyeballs. Make sure you use game-related visuals or theme to put this out. They have to connect back to your game so your audience can relate to it when you reveal your course.

Trailer Videos

Have you seen these short videos featuring the characters from the popular game—Clash of Clans? Here’s one of them. These entertain you and generate curiosity about the game. Create short videos like this and share with your employees. These will help you with the much-needed virality. You don’t have to create rich animated videos like this, but you can create simple ones. There are a lot of tools out there which can help you get these created or one of your training partners can help you with this.

Quiz Contest Using Learning Game

A lot of products offer samples to provide a first-hand experience to the customers. It is one of the most effective strategies. Create a quick learning game which you have used in your course and plan out a quiz contest using the same. Reward the top players with vouchers or certificates to encourage word-of-mouth publicity. Plan this as a trailer and inform your players to watch out for the larger game.

Phase II – Post-Launch Campaigns

Leaderboards And Rewards

Once your learners start playing your course, monitor it, and look out for the early adopters. These are the first ones to access your course. Reward them for this feat. Do create a leaderboard featuring the top 5 or 10 players. Share this within the organization to recognize the top players.

Giveaways

Have you ever bought a happy meal from McDonald’s? Remember the free toy which you got? It is one of the major reasons why people buy a happy meal. Giveaways have a huge recall value and do encourage virality. See if you could plan for a small giveaway, like a keychain or coaster which features one of the characters from the game.

Remember, just because you have put a lot of effort to create the best eLearning course, does not mean others would be interested in it as well. You have to communicate it in a way which your audience would find it interesting. So, put your marketing hat on and get started!

By Deepak Gawas, Head- Partnerships at QuoDeck

(This article was initially published on elearningindustry.com)

Corporate Learning Best Practices, e-Learning, Employee-Training, Entrepreneurial Success, Game-based learning, L&D professionals, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

Enterprise Gaming – Once an Opportunity, now a Trend

2 Comments

Having spent a large part of my career in the financial services space driving traditional business growth, using gaming to achieve business goals was not a cause I expected to be championing. Gaming was always a personal interest, but the business parallels only became apparent after we started experimenting with service engagements for enterprises. Given the planet anyway spends 3 billion hours a week playing games, the challenge was really to figure out how learning could fit in that construct.

We formed QuoDeck in 2010 to bring gaming into learning for enterprises. Having started with some elementary game engines and simulations, QuoDeck quickly moved on to make an omnipotent system built with the changing business environment in mind. QuoDeck’s platform today is one of the most powerful and engaging learning platforms in the world, catering to enterprise requirements for mobile learning. And as a leading player in this category, our advice to new entrants is to stay true to course, understand that the market is huge and that innovation is the key.

Mobility is here to stay

Mobile learning was just about appearing on the horizon in India when we entered the market. In fact, it was still at a nascent stage globally as well. While enterprises saw the demographic shift coming, the speed at which the device shift happened took everyone by surprise. Within a period of 3-4 years, millennial users had junked tablets and wouldn’t access their desktops or laptops for anything but sit-down work. They wanted everything on their mobile – on-demand, anytime, anywhere. Being a generation bred on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, they also wanted content and technology that was easy-to-use, visually appealing and in bite-sized pieces. The learning evolution that needed to happen in enterprises was phenomenal and existing products just weren’t prepared for this. Mobility as a trend forced a change in behavior, technology, content creation and consumption patterns across all strata of business.

There is always an element of luck in startup success and we were no different. Perhaps being at the right place at the right time with the right thought process is what its all about. QuoDeck has been at the forefront of this shift, shoulder-to-shoulder with enterprises looking to stay ahead of the curve.

EnterpriseGaming_MobileLearning_CEO_QuoDeck_2018.jpg

Gamifying the world

Our personal insight of gaming being habit-creating and creating long-term associative memories, was the inspiration behind the approach we took. Countless times, behaviors and constructs learnt in gaming had been translated by us to address real-world problems with excellent results.

We had a learning curve here as well. Having played on consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox, we assumed the world was ready to deal with highly complex games and constructs. However, working closely with business heads, HR teams and the Learning & Development function, we learnt that hyper-casual games create the best impact from a learning perspective. This is because they are somewhat repetitive in nature, with a greater level of participation & addiction to ‘scoring’.

While we initially worked on gamification applications on functions such as marketing, research, and learning, we chose to go with learning as a primary focus. Having started in this category long before games became the buzzword of today, we were fortunate to be able to take a pole position and we hope to actually drive the future of gamification for learning in the enterprise. But there are still a lot of white spaces to go after in enterprise gamification.

For New Players

Gaming as a learning solution is so vast in its scope, that it can’t be characterized or identified with any particular industry or even a clutch of industries. Wherever there is widespread staff or skilling required, gaming solutions can take charge and lead the change. So, when new players come in, they must remember that competition comes in various guises and is very rarely with another player. You will end up competing for mindshare against the likes of video-on-demand platforms or search engines where users can find information and content at their fingertips. Knowing what creates pull is perhaps the only challenge you should worry about.

Look out for learning opportunities

Gamification as an industry has a widespread application with learning being only one of them. A space was created for us because existing products failed to keep pace with what was required – large entrenched players became irrelevant in a matter of months. Overnight, enterprises recognized that resistance against this changing paradigm was futile, and mindsets started changing. Gaming and mobility were no longer bad words.

It would be foolish of us to think that we cannot be on the other side of such a trend. Keeping your offering relevant and at the cutting-edge requires you to have an innovation engine, which stops for no one. This requires tremendous willpower and a staunch refusal to settle into a comfortable spot.

 

This article was first published at YourStory

By Kamalika Bhattacharya CEO & Co-Founder at QuoDeck Technologies

Game-based learning, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

How this platform seeks to make corporate training fun and interesting

Leave a comment

Corporate training is considered to be an essential business enabler. But are companies doing enough to keep their employees engaged during such training programmes? The seriousness with which companies usually go about such training in order to get maximum bang for their buck may make such programmes boring and tedious for the employees thus rendering them ineffective.

Click here to view the full article

Game-based learning, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

Interview: Kamalika Bhattacharya, CEO, QuoDeck Technologies

Leave a comment

Tiring of being on the opposite side from what I always considered to be the more exciting side of things – the entrepreneur’s- I founded QuoDeck along with my husband in 2010. Today QuoDeck is one of the top products in this space with over 62,000 learners from 20+ companies using QuoDeck to learn. Globally, it is used by over 500 creators from 40 countries to create game-based mobile learning.

Click here to view the full article

Game-based learning, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

E-learning goes regional for firms

1 Comment

At HUL, an app created by Mumbai based QuoDeck (previously Ptotem) acts as a ready reckoner for their sales persons. “Basic training for bringing a sales person on board is provided in the app. We have evaluation points and an assessment is done after which a certification is offered,” Sikdar said.

Click here to view the full article

Game-based learning, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

Ptotem’s new game plan for employee learning: QuoDeck 2.0

Leave a comment

The company describes the new QuoDeck 2.0 is the world’s first one-stop software as a service solution that integrates content, game and platform authoring. Content creators can now setup highly engaging games as platforms to teach their learners on their mobile devices or desktops.

Click here to view the full article

Game-based learning, Press, QuoDeck, Serious Games

Kohler India redefines learning through Kohler Radio and Learning Wallet

Leave a comment

Kohler Radio is an IVR-enabled learning platform, wherein audio messages are recorded and relayed in the form of a call to individual mobile phones, which the participants can listen to, take part in, learn and get assessed through a few objective questions asked after each session.

Click here to view the full article