Games & Learning
Games and gamification are powerful ways to enhance engagement, adding elements of story, challenge, motivation, and other gaming principles to improve learning outcomes.
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Beyond Bullet Points: How Tristia Hennessey Uses Storytelling and Scenarios to Make Learning Stick
Tristia Hennessey’s path into learning and development began with risk management training for banks, continued through onboarding and administrative work, and eventually led her to enterprise L&D strategy and program delivery. Today, as Senior Instructional Technology Strategist at Evolve Solutions Group, she helps organizations address challenges that extend far beyond a single course or training objective. From software implementation and AI readiness to the everyday friction that can prevent people from doing their jobs effectively. Tristia understands the power of storytelling, gamification, and realistic scenarios to create learning experiences that are more engaging, memorable, and meaningful and will be sharing…
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Beyond Points & Prizes: Designing a Gamified Online Learning Experience
Engagement is rarely caused by one thing. It is the result of the whole experience.
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Secrets of Gamification Revealed
Join us as we retell the misadventures of building “Ethical Pursuit,” an ethics compliance course inspired by Trivial Pursuit. This session shares the decision-making process behind choosing gamification, along with the challenges we faced while designing and building the experience. We’ll start with the big picture of what makes gamification effective before peeling back the layers of how the course was built in Articulate Storyline. Through stories, humor, and lessons learned, you’ll get a practical look at the design and development of a gamified training experience In this session you will learn:
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Winning Strategies for Gamification in Blended Learning
Just like a championship team needs a strong game plan, a successful gamification strategy requires the right tools, players, and execution. In blended learning environments, gamification can easily become fragmented if tools, modalities, and learner experiences aren’t carefully aligned. In this session, we’ll break down the Xs and Os of gamification in blended learning. You’ll explore strategies for connecting multiple learning tools into a cohesive experience while avoiding common pitfalls like scalability issues, awkward workflows, and disengaged learners. Walk away with practical tactics for ensuring your gamified learning experience enhances engagement and supports meaningful learning outcomes. In this session, you…
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How Immersion Transforms Learning From Knowing to Doing
In many learning experiences, learners acquire knowledge but rarely get the chance to use it in ways that feel real. The session explores immersion as the missing link between knowing and doing and shows how ethnographic research can help instructional designers close that gap. By grounding learning in the lived experiences, decisions, and challenges of real people, you can move beyond abstract content and create environments where learners actively engage, experiment, and apply new skills. Drawing on applied anthropology, experiential learning research, and practical design examples (including game-inspired approaches), we’ll examine why immersion drives engagement and performance and what it…
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Kick Off Panel: Where We Get Game-Based Learning Right & Wrong
This expert panel brings together experienced practitioners to examine where game-based learning succeeds and where it falls short in real-world instructional design. Our panelists will explore the underlying factors that make game elements engaging and effective, as well as common missteps that can limit impact or create barriers for learners. Through candid discussion and practical examples, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of how to thoughtfully integrate game mechanics, design for accessibility and inclusion, and make informed decisions about when (and when not) to use game-based approaches in your learning solutions.
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Beyond Points & Badges: The Psychology of Practice-First Design
Successful gamification is not about making learning “fun”; it is about transforming information into transferable skills.
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DevLearn 2026 Program Is Live: Explore What’s New
The DevLearn 2026 program is officially live—bringing with it an expanded, forward-thinking lineup designed to help learning professionals reimagine their learning strategies and drive real impact across their organizations. As North America’s largest learning technologies event, DevLearn continues to bring 200+ sessions, three powerful keynotes, and unmatched opportunities for hands-on learning and connection. But this year, the program features several exciting updates that reflect where the industry is heading and what professionals need right now. New track topics: expanding the learning landscape DevLearn 2026 introduces new track topics that reflect the growing scope of learning and development: These new additions join DevLearn’s comprehensive lineup of topic areas, all designed to help you stay ahead of change,…
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Bringing Game-Based Learning into Everyday Practice
Game-based learning is about applying well-known mechanics to make training more motivating and practical. Anyone can use these methods without special tech. Focus on the mechanics themselves to create a meaningful learning experience.
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Teambuilding in Times of Trouble
The process itself creates a non-judgmental atmosphere through personal sharing and humorous, interpersonal interactions. I think of it as laying the foundation of deeper-level conversations.