Knowledge Guru

MAY 23, 2017

You built a wonderful learning game. Did you have “complete an eLearning course,” or “play (insert name) learning game that my boss recommended to me” on your list? Perhaps you do – and perhaps you fully intend to do that course or play that game. So why aren’t you reaping results from it?

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Games Player Write Blog Metrics 170

Knowledge Guru

APRIL 17, 2014

First impressions matter in almost every situation – including game play. Aesthetics are a huge part of the game play experience. If the game doesn’t LOOK appealing, then players won’t want to play even if the game has a great game goal and rules. Compare these two game boards.

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Games Player Gamification Templates 230

Knowledge Guru

APRIL 23, 2014

A lot of people want to design learning games, aka “serious games.” ” However, many L&D people have gotten very enthusiastic about the gamification and game-based learning trend without actually being game players themselves. It is more than a matter of simply playing a lot of games.

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Evalution Games Free DevLearn 211

Knowledge Guru

APRIL 2, 2014

In serious games, story is a narrative that either weaves through an entire game or sets up the reason you are playing the game and elaborates on the theme. Will a story that is too detailed exclude certain learners or make them feel the game does not apply to them? Smallworld board game, ® Days of Wonder.

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Games Simulations Player Embed 247

Knowledge Guru

APRIL 12, 2017

Your manager decides to include games and gamification as part of this year’s training strategy. As the instructional designer, she expects you to create the learning game. Many instructional designers are now asked to investigate serious games and gamification for use in their training. What is Learning Game Design?

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Instructional Design Games Instructional Instruction 164

Knowledge Guru

JULY 31, 2013

The game elements you choose to include in your game should be carefully selected, with a focus on making the play experience fun and facilitating/enhancing the learning experience. Aesthetics, or visuals, are one means of engaging players and helping to immerse them into the game experience. Aesthetics.

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Games Design Player Resources 191

Knowledge Guru

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

I recently had a conversation with a game developer who was interested in becoming a subcontractor for us. This developer shared several examples of games he had developed. The trouble was that, while these game elements can be very addicting and engaging in a commercial game, they can get overdone and distracting in a learning game.

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Knowledge Guru

MAY 21, 2014

Last month, I shared a game evaluation worksheet I use when playing games. but also part of my idea generation process for the games I design. I’ve said it many times: “you can’t design a great game unless you play lots of games.” ” What does it mean to evaluate a game? .”

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Games Ideas Evalution Cognitive 199

Knowledge Guru

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Thinking about using games for learning? Using a serious game or gamification platform in corporate learning, can be a great option, but it’s not the the right solution for every situation. Challenges, motivation, and feedback are all characteristics of games that make them ideal in a corporate learning curriculum.

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Corporate Learning Games Gamification Behavior 243

Knowledge Guru

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

There is a lot of interest from instructional designers, teachers, and sundry others in designing learning games. This, of course, is heartening to me since I am a major proponent in the use of games as a learning tool. It can be tough to find a diversity of examples when you start hunting for learning games.

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Knowledge Guru

OCTOBER 29, 2013

Serious games are worth a look when you want to improve performance in an organization, but one size does not fit all. In a recent blog post on GamaSutra, Andrzej Marcewski points out that “serious games” is too broad of a term to actually be useful. For employees, it’s usually not fun to do this.

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Knowledge Guru

JUNE 12, 2013

If the sign-ups for our learning game design workshops and Primer on Play workshops are any indicator, learning and development professionals are clamoring for solid guidance on how to get started in learning game design or “game-based learning.” These people will NOT make good game designers.

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Games Design ADDIE Instructional Design 199

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 15, 2014

A growing body of research supports the use of serious games in the workplace. And thanks to a year of successful implementations in corporate settings, some great case studies now point the way for organizations ready to use games for learning. The guide, titled 4 Ways Serious Games Link to Learning , is available as a free download.

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Games Case Study Free Cognitive 222

Knowledge Guru

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

If you’re using instructor-led sessions for your training, consider incorporating simple games into the sessions that let people rapidly practice the terminology. If you go the digital route, you do not need a fancy simulation or 3D game to practice product knowledge. A simple game or gamified experience will do the trick.

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Case Study Knowledge Productivity Product 235

Knowledge Guru

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Many of our customers are first drawn to Knowledge Guru because they are looking for a serious game. They want their training to be more game-like and fun for learners. Any game becomes useless for learning unless learning is carefully built into the game mechanics and game elements. It’s intuitive, really.

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Games Knowledge Design Player 202

Knowledge Guru

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Organizations of all sizes are turning to game-based learning , serious games , and gamification to solve a range of learning and development challenges. Serious games can be a part of the solution to increasing engagement and retention. A growing body of research has been published supporting the use of games for learning.

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Enterprise Cognitive Games Case Study 256

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 7, 2014

When it comes to game-based learning, 2014 is the year of theory moving into practice. An increasing number of organizations are planning initiatives to include games in their learning solutions. But if you’ve never designed a game before, or tried to include a game in your training, where do you begin?

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Games Corporate Learning Compliance Training Content 229

Knowledge Guru

OCTOBER 16, 2013

Last week we did a post on 5 Great Serious Games and Gamification Blogs to Follow. The Knowledge Guru team is always reading up on games and gamification, so we thought we’d curate some of the best books for anyone interested in learning game design. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. You can buy a copy here.

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Games Design Case Study Gamification 212

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 19, 2017

System administrators create and manage game authors and game shells. Every Knowledge Guru game must have a Game Author associated with it. A Game Author is the individual who creates the game content, customizes the game, and implements the game (e.g. Fill in the game name, and game URL.

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Games Authoring Create Player 100

Knowledge Guru

MARCH 26, 2014

The word “game” is a big one… and it really refers to a category of activities that can look many ways. There is some natural confusion that arises around this topic, particularly on the difference between games, simulations, and gamification. I’ll focus on games and simulations in this post.

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Simulations Games Blended Learning Player 207

Knowledge Guru

JULY 9, 2014

If you are creating a serious game to help your employees improve their performance, the type of game you create depends greatly on the type of job your employees have. Depending on your situation, you should include an appropriate amount of chance or strategy in your serious game that reflects the work environment.

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Games Strategy Player Blended Learning 187

Knowledge Guru

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Recently, the elearning Guild published a report by Brenda Enders discussing games and gamification for learning. It includes numerous case studies and examples of games being used in the workplace today, and summarizes recent research on games for learning. Research Support Games and Gamification for Learning.

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eLearning Guild Case Study Gamification Research 201

Knowledge Guru

OCTOBER 18, 2013

If you want to design a learning game, you need to know about game mechanics and game elements. Game mechanics are the rules players follow… and rules the game follows. In the board game Ticket to Ride , you can choose between four possible actions but only perform one of them on every turn.

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Games Case Study Multitasking Learning Objects 209

Knowledge Guru

MARCH 11, 2015

At Bottom-Line Performance (owners of the Knowledge Guru platform), we have a “learning game design peer group” that meets a few times per year. I started the group three years ago to help build game design skills and to foster deeper knowledge of the power of games as learning tools.

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Games Design Player Comparison 100

Knowledge Guru

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Learning game design is a VERY iterative process. This post describes (and shows) the iterative design process required to create an effective learning game. I define “effective” as a game that 1) achieves the learning goal set for the game and 2) players describe as engaging or fun to play. Version 1.1. Version 1.2.

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Instructional Design ADDIE Games Design 211

Knowledge Guru

OCTOBER 5, 2013

A while back we did a post listing 100 Great Game Based Learning and Gamification Resources , and since then we’ve done an occasional series called GBL Picks to try and curate information for you. So in line with that mission, we’d like to recommend 5 great blogs about serious games and gamification (besides our own of course).

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Gamification Games Blogging Case Study 239

Knowledge Guru

AUGUST 7, 2013

In preceding posts on learning game design, I’ve focused on game goals, game mechanics, and a variety of game elements. Continuing with game elements, this post focuses on rewards and scoring. Rewards can be anything players earn via game play. Some games have them. Many games don’t.

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Score Games Player Design 206

Knowledge Guru

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

The Knowledge Guru team is obviously very interested in the future of game based learning, and right now that future is bright. We’re on a mission to educate the Instructional Design community and the decision makers in Training and Development about game based learning and its true potential. 7 Great Educational Apps And Games.

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Games Social Portal Player 145

Knowledge Guru

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Another successful Learning Game Design workshop is in the books. Sharon Boller and Karl Kapp gave their first joint session in May of 2013 at ASTD International in Dallas… and the gaming goodness continued in Indianapolis on August 28th. We had a full room, with many participants coming from the Indianapolis area.

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Games Design ASTD Learning 160

Knowledge Guru

MARCH 6, 2017

Last week we announced Sharon Boller and Dr. Karl Kapp’s new book on learning game design on the BLP blog. It’s called “Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games.” Play entertainment games and evaluate what you play. Our product team plays a new board game together at least 1x a week.

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Games Learning Objects Design Blended Learning 124

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 17, 2017

You’ve heard that games are very useful for learning. However, it’s less about creating a game than actually understanding what it is that people find “fun” about playing games. There is power in understanding what makes games engaging to us. What’s fun, why it’s fun, and how it can affect learning game design.

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Games Benefits Summary Collaboration 100

Knowledge Guru

OCTOBER 21, 2013

Sharon Boller, Knowledge Guru® creator and BLP prez, has written a new white paper on Game Mechanics and Game Elements. I gave some of my own general ideas on game mechanics in a previous post , and this one’s all about game elements. Are these the only game elements? Cooperation. Competition. Of course not.

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Games Learning Objects Player Gamification 157

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 19, 2017

As a System Admin, you have the power to add, edit, or remove game shells. A game shell is a game that does not yet have content in it and hasn’t been made “live.” Every game starts out as an empty shell. Once a Game Author populates the shell and converts it to online status, it becomes a game. slideshow).

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Knowledge Guru

MARCH 5, 2015

Every Knowledge Guru game must have a Game Author associated with it. A Game Author is the individual who creates the game content, customizes the game, and implements the game (e.g. The game author can also access and export game reports that detail player progress, player performance, etc.

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Games Authoring Create Player 100

Knowledge Guru

JUNE 21, 2016

When game elements are carefully linked to learning objectives, good things happen. And when the games are designed or chosen based on the characteristics of target learners, great things happen. This is why so many sales training professionals have started to implement games into their sales enablement programs. Board Games.

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Sales Games Cognitive Case Study 100

Knowledge Guru

JANUARY 19, 2017

of Knowledge Guru Drive includes four different mini-games: Balloon Burst, #Happy, Knowledge Knight and Safecracker. Depending on the content of the questions you create, each mini-game can target certain levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The table below summarizes each mini-game. Game Rules. Version 1.0 Balloon Burst.

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Games Taxonomy Player Guidelines 100

Knowledge Guru

FEBRUARY 2, 2015

The Quest game type supports video-based questions. Note: Legend games do not.) If you choose to link videos from an alternate source, always be sure to preview your video questions before sending your game out to players. You can view your video question in-game to see the results. Video can be powerful.

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