When I look back at my elementary school days, one thing gives me immediate anxiety: math board races. \u00a0For third graders, it only takes a few runs through a multiplication table for teachers to notice disengagement. \u00a0Much to the chagrin of my passive self, teachers would often give the hardworking class a \u201ctreat\u201d of having board races at the end of class. \u00a0Combining math skills with competition, board races separated the class in two teams, each lined up along the chalkboard and ready to duel in division. \u00a0The two heading each line would wait for the teacher to call out a math problem. \u00a0First one to get the right solution wins. \u00a0With the entire class watching, the winning mathlete would receive both a point for their team and the publicity of their intelligence. \u00a0Taking both team contributions too personally and despising spotlight in pressureful situations, I would immediately panic while my classmates screamed and punched the air with the same kind of passionate ferocity and excitement one might see at a heavy metal concert. \u00a0Of course, these were the future team sport athletes; it just took me five more years until middle school swimming, where I found in individual sport my intrinsic human desire for two things: competition and achievement; two of the pillars of gamification.<\/p>\n
A completely foreign term to eight year olds, and maybe even their teachers, multiplication board races were a perfect example of gamification. \u00a0Traditionally, this was widely defined as \u201cgiving game elements to non-game or learning situations\u201d, but today it encompasses the act of changing undesirable tasks to incorporate engagement interactivity. \u00a0The days of board races have probably been phased out in elementary schools by now, and no, probably not because of the devastating mental ramifications on eight year olds, but because technology has brought gamification into the classroom in other ways, of which the business world is in hot pursuit. \u00a0Now students use iPads for reading, math, social studies, science, and foreign language. \u00a0Apps with cartoon characters and interactive, educational video games push students to achieve digital awards and compete with their own abilities.<\/p>\n
This same technology hasn\u2019t made video games out of market analytics, yet elements have started to seep into company intranets and business functions…and employee responses have been as heavy-metal-concert-excited as the HR department will allow. \u00a0Successful intranets and enterprise social networks serve companies in the ability to be a connected force of employees, executives alike. \u00a0The benefits of a social intranet are endless: collaboration between workers of all departments; communication from all levels of an organization; also the connectedness a central knowledge base provides. \u00a0An enterprise social network can be a source of knowledge wealth, but can intimidate many people in simply navigating and using its capabilities.<\/p>\n
Gartner has now clearly defined gamification, changed to fit a more pronounced and corporately-applicable description. \u00a0Sound familiar to anything you\u2019ve ever experienced? \u00a0It is now \u201cthe use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals\u201d and is broken down in these five ways:<\/p>\n