Dear USDLA friends — We are excited to bring you episode 11 of our podcast and video show, Distance Learning Roundtable, featuring Gamification Guru Monica Cornetti, Founder and President of Sententia Gamification.

Monica works with individuals and organizations like yours who want to learn how to think playfully to change behaviors and achieve objectives. Over the years, many games, including the board game Go and the video game Pong, have been described as easy to learn and hard to master. So too, is the delicate balance necessary to achieve effective gamification design. While the field of gamification has been developing a growing body of research over the past decade, the results are, in fact, mixed. While learning theory is important, it is also the easier side of the equation. Any design field relies on science and art to achieve the best results. Luckily, the gamification space is filled with countless practitioners who are extremely transparent about what has worked and what hasn’t.

Here are a few of our favorite resources to start, or continue, your gamification journey:

• The Gamification Quest podcast hosted by Monica Cornetti
• The Professor Game podcast hosted by international speaker and gamification Rob Alvarez Bucholska. Each week he interviews successful practitioners of games, gamification and game thinking to help us all develop better learning experiences.
• Gamified UK, a website that houses the resources and blog of Andrzej Marczewski, a self-described gamification nerd and creator of the empirically validated User Types Hexad.
• Yu-kai Chou, author and creator of the Octalysis Framework. No list would be complete without his work and his aim to help people “Learn how to use Gamification to make a positive impact on your work and life.”

Scroll down to learn more about our Distance Learning Roundtable interview with Monica!

Until we connect with you again on Thursday with our USDLA Brief, we hope you play your heart out! —  USDLA Communications Committee

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Embrace the Art of Gamification with Monica Cornetti

A Note from USDLA executive director Pat Cassella and Edu Alliance Group exec Dean Hoke, co-hosts, Distance Learning Roundtable 

We invite you to tune in for this month’s episode of our podcast and video show, Distance Learning Roundtable, where for 30 minutes, we gain insights from industry experts.

Meet our guest: Monica Cornetti, Founder and President of Sententia Gamification

Our Topic: Embracing the Art of Game-Based Learning 

Pat and Dean have 10 Questions for Monica:

1. How has gamified and game-based learning evolved in the adult education market, and what are some notable success stories or case studies?
2. What are the key differences and similarities between gamified learning and game-based learning, and how do these approaches impact adult learners?
3. How can gamified and game-based learning be effectively integrated into distance learning programs across diverse educational settings, such as corporate training, higher education, and telehealth?
4. What are some main challenges and considerations when implementing gamified and game-based learning for adult learners, and how can these challenges be addressed?
5. What are the potential benefits of incorporating gamified and game-based learning into distance education for adult learners, and how do these approaches enhance learner engagement, motivation, and retention?
6. Can you share some examples of innovative technologies or platforms that support gamified and game-based learning for adult learners, and what features or functionalities make them effective?
7. How do gamified and game-based learning approaches cater to the unique learning preferences of adult learners, and what strategies can be employed to ensure inclusivity and accessibility?
8. What research or studies have been conducted on the efficacy of gamified and game-based learning in the adult education sector, and what insights do they provide for practitioners and policymakers?
9. How can educators and trainers effectively design and implement gamified and game-based learning experiences that align with adult learners’ specific learning objectives and outcomes?
10. How can gamified and game-based learning foster collaboration, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking among adult learners, and how do these skills translate into real-world applications within their respective fields or industries?

Click here to listen to the podcast: DistanceLearningRoundtable.com

Click here to watch the video interview: DistanceLearningRoundtable.tv

About Monica: A gamification speaker and designer, Monica was repeatedly rated #1 among the “Gamification Gurus Power 100” by RISE from 2015-2020, and in 2021 and 2022 was recognized as #1 in the Most Influential Women in Gamification created a legitimate impact in the gamification industry. Monica is the President of Sententia, Inc. and leads the company’s education and design projects at Sententia Gamification. She is also the Gamemaster of GamiCon (the annual international conference for the gamification of learning) and the Head of Faculty at the Gamified Learning Academy.

She is also the author of the books Lipstick Lessons, What Were You Thinking?, Totally Awesome Training Activities Guide: Put Gamification to Work for You, and co-author of Deliberate Fun: A Purposeful Application of Game Mechanics to Learning Experiences.

A graduate of Seton Hill with a BA in psychology, and The University of Houston-Victoria, where she earned a Masters’s Degree in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, Monica is hired for her skill as a gamification speaker and strategist, and she and her company Sententia Gamification are considered at the top of the field in gamified and game-based learning design for corporate training and adult education. Recent clients include Unilever, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft. When she is not busy changing learning with gamification, Monica can be found “researching” gameplay with her grandsons. Learn more at sententiagamification.com.