Recent research surveying over 400 LMS users has found that e-learning gamification is not only widespread, but incredibly effective. Huge proportions of teachers and instructional designers (83 percent) use gamification functionality, like points and badges, built-into their LMSs. Even more (90 percent) have used learning games to help students learn material, retain it longer, and enjoy it more fully. According to the study, 71 percent report gamification increases student scores, while 83 percent say it improves course content retention rates, and 84 percent say it has increased student satisfaction numbers. The most popular gamification features were points, progress bars, and levels. Though, surprisingly, trendy social gamification features like activity feeds, avatars, and leaderboards were least used and desired by respondents. The research does point to one potential negative with gamification, however: 42 percent say it has increased the costs associated with their eLearning initiatives. But given the overwhelmingly beneficial impacts reported by users, these costs may be more than worth it for most instructors and learning managers. The full research report can be found here.