How to set up a gamification system with LearnDash

Gamification is incorporating game-like elements into non-game contexts to increase motivation and engagement. In online learning, gamification can make courses more fun and engaging for learners and help them stay motivated and on track. It’s a very useful technique for business owners and product managers to increase their metrics.

LearnDash, being in the WordPress ecosystem, has several ways to allow gamification elements to be added. It even has a built-in gamification-esque system – simple yes – with their course and quiz points.

In this article, we will teach you how to add gamification elements, which plugin to use, and some basic setups.

How to add gamification elements to LearnDash?

Out of the gate: one of the best ways to add gamification to your LearnDash courses is to use the GamiPress plugin. GamiPress is an excellent gamification plugin that allows you to create a variety of game-like elements for your courses, including:

• Points: Assign points to learners for completing tasks and activities.
• Levels: Track learners’ progress and reward them for reaching new levels.
• Leaderboards: Compare learners’ progress against each other and show them who is at the top.
• Badges: Reward learners for completing tasks, such as watching a video, taking a quiz, or reading a lesson.
• Quests: Create a series of tasks that learners must complete to earn a badge or other reward.

GamiPress is easy to use and highly customizable, so you can create a gamification system that is tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Two caveats here are that while you can do much with Gamipress for free, more advanced stuff will cost you a licensing fee, starting at $199 a year. Integration with LearnDash, though, is free. The second issue is that Gamipress is a heavy server-taxing plugin. So installing it should come with that in mind. Don’t install it on your live website just to test it.

As an alternative to GamiPress, there are a few other popular gamification plugins for LearnDash:

• LearnDash Achievements: This free plugin allows you to create badges and achievements for learners.
• BadgeOS: It allows learners to earn achievements and badges from virtually every course, lesson, and quiz activity in the LearnDash learning management system.
• MyCred: This plugin allows your users to spend and gain points on courses, lessons, topics, and quizzes.

The best plugin for you will depend on your specific needs and goals. If you are looking for a comprehensive gamification solution with many features, then BadgeOS or MyCred may be a good choice. If you want a lightweight option, then LearnDash Achievements is good. And if you want a plugin that is easy to use and highly customizable, then GamiPress is the best choice.

Some ideas and inspiration on how to use gamification elements with LearnDash.

One of the most used tactics to use gamification elements in learning is creating badges for learners who complete each unit or module, levels for learners who reach a certain number of points or achieve a certain score on a quiz, and quests for learners who complete a series of tasks. Gamipress calls levels as ranks.

Additionally, you could use leaderboards to compare learners’ progress against each other and assign points that can be used to purchase rewards like badges, levels, or exclusive content.

If you’re teaching a language learning course, for example, you could use badges to recognize their language proficiency upon completing certain units and a points system with a leaderboard to motivate learners to do lessons every day.

Similarly, for a business course, you could create badges for learners who advance each category, stating their level – so they can showcase that they are Data Science or Marketing experts. Finally, for a creative writing course, you could use the points systems to recognize learners who submit their work, motivating them to submit more assignments while practicing their writing skills.

By incorporating gamification elements into your courses, you can create a more engaging and rewarding learning experience for your learners.

Step-by-step on how to work with Gamipress.

To start working with Gamipress, it’s fairly simple. To install Gamipress on a WordPress platform, first, log in to your WordPress dashboard, click on the “Plugins” tab on the left-hand side of your screen, then click on “Add New.” 

In the search bar, type in “Gamipress” and hit enter. The Gamipress plugin should appear at the top of the search results. Click on the “Install Now” button and wait for the plugin to download. Once downloaded, click the “Activate” button to activate the plugin.

After activating the plugin, you’ll need to configure it to your liking. This can be done by navigating to the “Gamipress” tab on your screen’s left side. You can set up your points, achievements, ranks, and more from there. 

How GamiPress Works with LearnDash.

GamiPress works seamlessly with LearnDash to a seamless gamification experience for learners. When a learner completes a task in LearnDash, GamiPress can automatically award them points, badges, or ranks. If you set it up, learners can view their progress on leaderboards and quests.

The cool thing about the integration is that you can set up multiple types of points and award them based on diverse actions. For example, you can reward users with points for their first lesson completed in a day or week, for a quiz of a specific category submitted or passed with the minimum grade, or for a particular quiz. There are many options for setting it up with your points.

Overall, GamiPress is a powerful and versatile gamification plugin that can add a fun and engaging element to your LearnDash courses. If you want to improve learner motivation and engagement, then GamiPress is an excellent option.

If you want to take your online learning platform to the next level with gamification, I recommend hiring a LearnDash specialist. They will be able to set up a personalized gamification system tailored to your specific needs and goals and provide ongoing support and guidance to ensure its success.

With our expertise in gamification and the LearnDash platform, you can be confident that your learners will be engaged, motivated, and excited to continue their education. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your online learning experience – hire a LearnDash specialist today.