Beyond Gamification: What Worked, What Didn't, and What's Next

March 29, 2023
4 minutes
Karl Kapp joins #IDIODC March 29.

Are you tired of hearing the term "gamification"? Do you even hear it that much anymore? Was it just a trend that has finally passed?

These are all questions for the master of games for learning, Karl Kapp. He's a regular contributor to IDIODC and we want to know what happened... and what's next.

Dr. Kapp is a well-known professor at Bloomsburg University. Many of his students have become names you recognize online and at L&D events. He's written books and is a popular LinkedIn learning instructor as well. If anyone knows about gamification and what's next, it's him.

We talked about a little history of gamification and why it seemed like a good idea at the time. But more importantly we covered the good that came from it, and what games for learning really should look like in the future.

Watch the replay for a fascinating look into the future of games in Learning with Dr. Karl Kapp.

Karl Kapp Books

Unofficial, Unauthorized History of Learning Games

Karl’s Community

To see all the comments from the chat, check out the full session right here.

And to ask more questions, or participate in extended conversations about this episode, please join us in the IDIODC LinkedIn Group.  

About Karl Kapp

Karl M. Kapp, Ed.D., is an award-winning professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA. where he teaches instructional game design, gamification classes and online learning design. He is the Director of Bloomsburg’s Institute for Interactive Technologies and is recognized internationally as an expert in the application of games, game-thinking and gamification to learning. Karl earned his doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is currently a senior researcher on a grant sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which involves the application of microlearning and gamification to help childcare workers identify child abuse. Karl has previously served as a Co-Principle Investigator on two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants related to games and simulations. Karl is an advisor for several EdTech start up companies.

Karl has authored or co-authored eight books including “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction,” it’s accompanying fieldbook and the widely popular, “Play to Learn.” His latest co-authored book with Robyn Defelice is “Microlearning: Short and Sweet.” Karl is author of ten LinkedIn Learning courses including “Learning How to Increase Learner Engagement” and has been a TEDx speaker. In 2019, he received the ATD Distinguished Contribution to Talent Development Award. The award is presented in recognition of an exceptional contribution that has had a sustained impact on field of the talent development.  

Karl’s work explores the research, theoretical foundations and practical application of gamification, game-thinking and activity-based learning to organizational performance issues. His goal is to help organizations create engaging learning experiences through intelligent, research-based application of instructional strategies and techniques. He shares his expertise and knowledge through consulting, workshops and one-on-one mentoring with start-up firms, Fortune 100 companies and various governmental agencies.

About IDIODC

Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (affectionately known as IDIODC) is a weekly live videocast and podcast that helps instructional designers with pain points and provides best practices and industry insight.  

Every Wednesday morning at 10am ET hosts Brent Schlenker and Chris Van Wingerden guide us through an upbeat and candid conversation with their guests from the elearning and training world. The live cast session encourages peers to participate in the chat and share their own personal insight! After airing live, you can catch the learning podcast on all major streams such as Spotify, Apple and Google Play podcasts, as well as on YouTube.

IDIODC is a Top 40 Hit!

We could have been #1 but chair dancing was not a judged element. But no matter, we’re just happy to be selected. Check out this amazingly short press release: “IDIODC was selected as one of the Top 40 Learning and Development Podcasts on the web.”

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