The use of Gamification and its benefits for the promotion of digital transformation in adult education

Nowadays, in the so-called era of modernity, it could be said that education is not immune to the transformative power unleashed by technology. The digital era has completely changed each and every aspect of our lives, and in this sense, the field of education has also been affected. Moreover, adult education and teaching has become a very prone field to receive innovation techniques, especially through the integration of Gamification.

Gamification was born in 2008 in the field of marketing as a set of game elements that pursue a purpose. When seen from the field of teaching and education, its purpose would be to obtain satisfactory results in the learning of various areas of knowledge or tasks.

It was the World Association of Early Childhood Educators (AMEI-WAECE) who dedicated a chapter of its podcast to the topic of Gamification, in which it tried to explain the importance of properly defining this concept. Because gamification is not simply using a game, but using a series of mechanics, dynamics, and elements to build a narrative within a project, where the fundamental thing is that the teacher also enjoys the experience and that students feel that they are truly learning.

In this technique, the teacher has a key role in getting involved in the methodology. It is made very clear through the Gamification manuals that teachers should enjoy teaching classes using these techniques; they should give their lessons with passion and energy, and for this, they propose resources to develop educational escape games.

At this point, it is also very important to mention a series of relevant benefits in adult education.

• First of all, we should mention motivation and engagement, i.e., motivation and engagement that promote adults to actively participate in the learning process.

  
  

• On the other hand, a well-recognized benefit within the Gamification technique is the personalization of learning, since through it, it is possible to adapt the content and learning activities to each of the individual needs of each adult learner, which facilitates more effective and meaningful learning.

  
  

• In third place, it could be said that through Gamification there is immediate feedback, as the games elicit an immediate feedback impact on the learner, allowing educators to recognize areas of improvement and adjust their learning approach accordingly.

  
  

• Fourth and finally, Gamification arguably increases collaboration and cooperation among adult learners while proposing a set of competencies that improve participation and engagement with educational content.

In conclusion, Gamification currently plays a very relevant role in the digital transformation of adult education. Thus, with a careful approach and proper planning, Gamification can become a powerful tool to train adults and prepare them to be successful in a world that is constantly moving and changing due to digitalization.

Malena Lloret López