Chatbots for Learning: Ways to Gamify Chat-Based Learning Environments

Chatbots have been steadily gaining attention for their cost- and time-saving benefits in customer service and sales support roles. With the correct application of chatbots, businesses are able to automate repetitive tasks and optimise their operational processes, while simultaneously creating a positive customer experience.

The benefits of chatbots go beyond efficiency and productivity - namely, they provide a high entertainment value that enhances the customer journey.

Having witnessed the positive effects that chatbots provide, have you ever wondered what it would look like to bring elements of their entertainment value into your Learning Management System to gamify students' learning experiences?

The answer is quite simple: An immersive chat-based learning environment for more student engagement.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? If you’d like to incorporate game design into your virtual learning buddy but don’t know how to do so, here are some simple tips to help you get started.

Tip #1: Boost motivation by creating a point reward system

First things first, people love being rewarded. It’s human nature! Getting rewarded activates special pathways in our brain, giving us a boost of happiness and making us look forward to more rewards.

A recent study by Cornell researchers Kaitlin Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that people report more interest and enjoyment in work when they receive immediate and frequent rewards for completing small tasks, compared to those that received only one big reward at the end of a great task.

You can reward your students with different amount of points for every class completed and every correct answer, and incorporate a prize system so that they are motivated to keep coming back.

Tip #2: Encourage decision-making by using a ‘choose your own adventure’ structure

Kids learn how to say 'no' at a young age, toddlers purposely seek to do what their parents forbid, and teenagers aren't fans of listening to authority figures. Simply put, people don’t like being told what to do.

Our brain reacts to a threat to freedom by making us feel angry or panicked. Luckily, we are able to overcome this psychological reactance by approaching the situation with empathy and allowing the other party to make their own decisions.

It’s a good idea to opt for a ‘choose your own adventure’ structure in your learning buddy so learners can choose the modules and sub-categories that they want to learn each day. Giving them the freedom of choice is likely to keep them more willing to learn and more engaged in their chosen topic.

Tip #3: Surprise your learners by hosting mystery events

To break up the possibly mundane and repetitive class schedule, you can organise random events that will keep them on their toes.

Co-author of 'Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected', Tania Luna, says that humans freeze for 1/25th of a second when we are surprised. After freezing, we start feeling extreme curiosity. If it's a good surprise, your happiness and excitement can be multiplied up to four times, which makes you start looking at surprises in a positive light.

So you can make surprise pop quizzes and extra lessons a more welcome sight by offering students a chance to earn more points through these surprise events.

Ready to gamify your chatbot for learning and education?

Are you ready to gamify your chat-based learning environment? You can contact Noodle Factory if you require assistance!