Last spring we looked at best practices for gamifying your instructional design, including 6 ways to incorporate gamification to harness the power of fun for learners.

If it was a hot topic then, it’s even more so now, as practitioners continue to discover why gamification is so effective at driving engagement, reinforcing concepts, and building opportunities to succeed into the overall learning experience.

As instructors and designers, we’ve experienced firsthand the power of gamification. We know both instinctively and practically what it can do. And it turns out our impressions are correct. The evidence base for gamification is now well established, along with best practices for its application. Just this month Sharon Vipond, the director of research and principal analyst for The eLearning Guild, released a white paper, Gamification Knowledge Check, to assist in:

• Determining how many gamification terms you can define.

• Which areas of gamification knowledge you need to work on in your current role.

• Which areas of gamification knowledge you need to master to achieve future goals.

Gamification Knowledge Check contains 20 multiple-choice questions on basic terminology, best practices, and gamification theory, along with an answer key and a guide to interpreting your score. This downloadable white paper is available to eLearning Guild members (Member, Member-Plus, or Premium). It’s a great tool for identifying your next steps toward expanding your gamification knowledge base. It’s also a good primer if you’re planning to attend the online Games & Gamification Summit this month (May 18–19). Even if you’re just curious about your gamification knowledge level, it’s worthwhile downloading the white paper. Head over to eLearning Guild and check it out!