May I ask you a question here? What's the most difficult challenge that you face in your online teaching? Some may say that they aren’t fully adopted and have less tech experience to teach online, or else some may say that they are facing internet connection issues all the time during their classes.

But those are not the problems that you actually face because those issues are solved already. You can say, "How?" Technical issues are taken care of by the LMS platforms like our Learnyst, and most of the internet issues are taken care of by 5G internet.

When you think through the first principle method, then the actual issues are the attention span of the students. They are not giving the proper attention, all thanks to the short video content absorption by the young generation.

A Ejal research paper study shows that heavy daily consumption of short video content(>3 hours/day) has been associated with self‑reported sustained attention drops around 30–35% and large increases in sustained‑attention task errors versus low use, though these figures depend on the specific task and cohort.

So what's the solution for that? The solution is motivating the learners to pay attention to the classes, and for that, they need to attend the classes. That's where the gamification learning comes into play.

By incorporating features like streaks, XP points, badges, and leaderboards, you can transform the way you teach your courses. This is an effective way to motivate learners to get interactive and reward them to motivate and recognize, which builds a sense of sportiveness into the students.

On platforms like Learnyst, these gamification features are built-in, making it easier for educators to integrate them into their teaching strategy. So in this study we will discuss how you can utilize the power of gamification in your teaching with the all-new Learnyst Gamification.

What is Gamification in Education?

The gamification refers to the usage of game like elements in the learning contexts which makes the learning fun, engaging  and rewarding for the students.

Instead of simply consuming the information or content, students can get the recognition and reward of being attentive and consistent and also motivate them to pay attention to the classes.

According to National University of Public Service, Hungary research reports gamification had an average completion rate of about 13.7%, compared to 1.7% without gamification in the pooled sample analyzed.

Core Gamification Elements in Education:

• Streaks: Daily learning habits rewarded for consistency.
  
  
• XP Points: Experience points that reflect learner progress.
  
  
• Badges: Visual achievements that celebrate milestones.
  
  
• Leaderboards: Rankings that encourage friendly competition.

Together, these elements boost engagement, improve retention, and boosts a sense of accomplishment.

Why Gamified Learning Works

1. Boosts Motivation

Gamification targets the human behavioral tendency for recognition and achievement. By completing the lessons or quizzes, students also see tangible progress through their XP points and badges earned.

2. Encourages Consistency

With the help of the streaks system, which is inspired by Snapchat, where users are eager to maintain their streaks and get a fear of losing out, the same thing will work in the streaks system, where students will become consistent to earn the streaks and have a fear of missing out in their minds. Which encourages a daily habit.

3. Creates Healthy Competition

The leaderboard is also used to make students understand that they are competing with their fellow students, which triggers a sportive spirit in them, which eventually leads to healthy competition.

4. Enhances Knowledge Retention

Gaming elements will increase the competition rates and also the same engagement results in the completion rates and also retention rates.to the research paper by Sage Journal, gamified training can increase the retention rate up to 14% compared to the traditional method.

5. Fosters Emotional Connection

Achievements or milestones will trigger the dopamine release in the minds of students, which makes students feel rewarded. This emotional connection will strengthen the commitment to the course. 

How Learnyst Enables Gamified Teaching

With Learnyst LMS, you can enable all the gamification features in a few clicks, which turns your classroom into a gamified and playful environment. You don't need any third-party support to add these features into your teaching, which is a built-in feature in the Learnyst LMS.

Now let's understand the features in detail:

1. Streaks: Building Daily Learning Habits

Learnyst will allow you to enable the streaks system for the learners, which is a reward for them for being consistent in their study or attentiveness. 

• Example: A student maintaining a 21-day streak gets a special badge.
  
  
• Benefit: Students build consistency without feeling forced.
  
  

2. XP Points: Rewarding Progress

Every action—completing a quiz, finishing a module, or joining a discussion—earns XP points.

• Example: Completing a test = 100 XP points.
  
  
• Benefit: Students visualize their growth beyond grades.
  
  

3. Badges: Celebrating Milestones

Badges are awarded for achievements like completing a course, or maintaining streaks.

• Example: “Quiz Champion” badge for topping multiple quizzes.
  
  
• Benefit: Adds a sense of pride and collectability.
  
  

4. Leaderboards: Encouraging Competition

Learnyst leaderboards rank students based on XP points or test scores.

• Example: Weekly leaderboards reset to give everyone a chance to climb.
  
  
• Benefit: Keeps learners motivated to improve.

Step-by-Step: How to Gamify Your Teaching with Learnyst

Step 1: Identify Learning Goals

Before making this gamification into reality into your teaching first make sure your objectives are clear, for example:

• Do you want students to complete courses faster?
  
  
• Or do you want them to engage daily?
  
  

Step 2: Enable Gamification

You have to enable the gamification in the preferred batch by enabling it in the setting>gamification in the batch. Which automatically enables the gamification calendar and other features on the side of the learners who are enrolled in that batch.

Step 3: Assign XP Points to Activities

On Learnyst, every action—whether it’s completing a quiz, watching a video,or attending the live classe earns a fixed 10 XP. This ensures fairness and simplicity for learners.

• Watch a video = 10 XP
  
  
• Finish an assessment = 10 XP
  
  
• Attend Live Session = 10 XP
  
  

Pro tip: While the XP remains constant, you can layer additional rewards like badges or streaks for bigger milestones (e.g., maintaining 21 days consistency = “one badge”).

Step 4: Design Badges for Milestones

The badges are available for the specific milestones which students may attain like:

• Beginner badge: 21 days streaks completed
  
  
• Expert badge: 42 days streaks earned
  
  
• Consistency badge: 200 days streaks earned
  
  
• Pro Badge: 400 days consistent streaks earned
  
  

Step 5: Use Leaderboards Wisely

Enable the leaderboard for your teaching in the course, and then see the growing healthy competition between the students who compete to learn.

 Pro tip: Focus on short-term leaderboards, so even new learners feel encouraged.

Step 6: Track & Adjust

Monitor engagement using Learnyst analytics. If students lose interest, adjust XP weightage or streak rewards.

Gamification in Action

Case Study: Duolingo

Duolingo is one of the prime examples of how to utilize the gamification feature to encourage the students to learn. Through streaks and XP points and leaderboards, it is now transforming language learning into an addictive daily habit that gives actual visible progress. As of 2023, Duolingo has 10 million Paid Subscribers as of 2025.

How educators can replicate this with Learnyst:

• Use streaks to create daily learning habits.
  
  
• Award badges for module completion like Duolingo’s “Skill Tree.”
  
  
• Maintain leaderboards for peer motivation.
  
  

Tips for Educators to Make Gamification More Effective

• Balance fun and learning: Avoid over-gamifying at the cost of actual knowledge.
  
  
• Celebrate effort, not just results: Reward participation to keep every student motivated.
  
  
• Personalize rewards: Adapt streaks and badges to suit course goals.
  
  
• Combine with storytelling: Pair gamification with narrative techniques for deeper impact.
  
  

Conclusion: Take Your Teaching to the Next Level with Learnyst

Gamified learning is a tried-and-true method of improving learning outcomes, consistency, and engagement. Using Learnyst's streaks, XP points, badges, and leaderboards, you can enhance student engagement, enjoyment, and learning outcomes.

Are you prepared to change your online classes? Gamify your instruction with Learnyst now to keep students interested!

FAQ

1. What is gamified teaching?

In order to boost motivation and engagement, gamified teaching incorporates game elements such as leaderboards, badges, XP, and streaks into the classroom.

2. Does gamification really improve learning outcomes?

Yes. Gamification increases motivation, retention, and course completion rates, according to research.

3. Can gamification work for all subjects?

Of course. Gamification can be applied to any subject, including business skills, language acquisition, and math.

4. How is Learnyst different for gamification?

Teachers don't need additional tools because Learnyst has gamification features like leaderboards, badges, XP points, and streaks built right in.

5. Will gamification make my course feel less serious?
No. Gamification can improve motivation without sacrificing academic rigor if it is properly balanced.