Focus on your targeted audience and their learning – some thoughts on gamification
At Junglemap, we often receive requests from customers who want more gamification in our information security training. The goal is of course to enhance the learning effect, boost motivation, and ultimately foster secure behaviors across the organisation.
But what is gamification, really? Is it an effective way to strengthen organisational learning? And perhaps more importantly: can it help us achieve the true purpose of our information security courses – to reinforce our human firewalls?
Gamification is often described as a useful method for influencing behaviour. There are many types of computer games specifically designed to raise cybersecurity awareness, and these often receive high ratings from users in pilot studies. The problem? These studies are remarkably often conducted on a very specific group –you can probably guess – gamers (or more precisely, young men in Europe and the U.S. who play video games).
Always focus on your targeted audience
When we create Junglemap’s flagship training Information Security for All Employees, our clear goal is to “raise the floor” in order to strengthen the organisation’s human firewalls.
This perspective and ambition mean that we need to use methods and formats that work for everyone, regardless of whether or not they are attracted to games.
Research shows that gamification is effective for many when combined with clear learning objectives and structured feedback.
We also use structured feedback in NanoLearning – but here, it comes in the form of realistic dilemmas where there may be multiple correct answers, but one is more correct than the others. The goal is to stimulate reflection and force users to apply their knowledge in practice, rather than chase high scores by simply answering correctly. We use this method because we know that repetition, combined with reflection and reinforcement, makes the course content stick and influences behavior in the long term.
To put it in slightly gamified terms: when it comes to learning, the one who reflects beats the one who only receives a reward!
Successful gamified learning is ultimately about asking the right questions – in the right order:
- What do we want to achieve? What are our learning goals?
- How do we ensure long-term effects?
- How do we keep the focus on the subject (and not on the game)?
More interactivity vs. more gamification
With over 30 years in the e-learning industry, I’ve heard many customers ask for “more gamification.” But in reality, I’ve found they’re usually asking for more interactive elements – things like reflection exercises, quick review quizzes, or tests on previously covered content. These are all natural components of Junglemap’s NanoLearning design.
We continuously add more interactive functionality to strengthen the learning effect in our platform. But that doesn’t mean we’re “adding gamification” per se – rather, we’re building on what we already know works to raise long-term awareness:
learning based on repetition, reflection, and reinforcement.
