Imagine a situation where your audience are excited and engaged by being in the employee courses you offered. Imagine they are empowered and actively seeking the subject matter you offer, within learning materials you provide, to benefit their future. Imagine they are able to get the learning they want. Imagine they are using this knowledge to improve the work they do.
Wouldn’t you want that situation? Wouldn’t it also help you to be more effective in the corporate courses that you offer?In this post I will set out what I believe are simple but effective training games.
But first I want to explore the definition, features, benefits, best practices, and 17 examples of free online training games, and prompt you thinking about your own use of training games. I also want you to think about how online training games have emerged as an engaging and interactive way to educate and develop various corporate skills.
These games combine learning objectives with entertaining elements, making the learning process enjoyable and effective. In this guide, we will also point to 17 additional games.
Definition:
Online training games are interactive educational tools that use gamification principles to enhance the learning experience. These games are designed to simulate real-life scenarios, problem-solving challenges, and skill-building exercises, helping learners grasp complex concepts in a fun and engaging manner.
Features:
- Interactivity: Online training games require active participation, promoting engagement and retention.
- Gamification: Incorporating game elements like points, badges, and leaderboards to motivate learners.
- Scenarios: Real-life scenarios are used to apply knowledge in practical situations.
- Feedback: Immediate feedback on performance helps learners understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
- Progress Tracking: Games often have progress-tracking systems to monitor learners’ development.
- Adaptability: Games can be tailored to individual learning needs and preferences.
- Multimedia: The inclusion of multimedia elements like videos and images enhances the learning experience.
Benefits:
- Engagement: Games make learning enjoyable, keeping learners motivated throughout the training.
- Retention: Interactivity and practical applications improve information retention.
- Application: Learners can apply acquired knowledge to real-world situations.
- Instant Feedback: Immediate feedback helps learners correct mistakes and reinforce learning.
- Adaptability: Games accommodate different learning styles and paces.
- Collaboration: Multiplayer games encourage teamwork and social learning.
- Cost-Effective: Free online training games reduce training expenses.
Best Practices:
- Align with Learning Objectives: Ensure that each game aligns with specific learning outcomes.
- Balanced Difficulty: Maintain a suitable level of difficulty to keep learners challenged but not overwhelmed.
- Clear Instructions: Provide clear instructions and guidelines before starting the game.
- Incorporate Real-World Scenarios: Use scenarios relevant to the learners’ contexts.
- Encourage Collaboration: Introduce multiplayer games to foster teamwork and interaction.
- Feedback and Progress Tracking: Implement feedback mechanisms and progress tracking to monitor learners’ performance.
- Accessibility: Ensure the games are accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities.
Below is a bonus collection of 17 free training games and activities that you can use in your online training courses and workshops.
Activity 1 – What Do I Expect?
Our customers love this getting to know you icebreaker game. It is ideal for the start of any training event or workshop. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 2 – The Animal
I’ve talked about working with a new group online begins with ensuring that everyone gets to know each other. The challenge is how do you do that quickly and effectively? This fun little “introductions” ice breaker game is sure to get people smiling and talking about their favorite animal. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 3 – The Name
Some chief learning officers find training games are all about creating better interactions and communication between the participants of your online event. When participants feel more at ease with one another and are open to the other group members, the event will be better positioned to succeed. This is fun little “introductions” icebreaker that is sure to get people engaged in an online course or meeting. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 4 – The Magical Ball
Training online games works at all levels of the company. In fact, I believe that training online games are often at their most effective when you introduce a little fun or excitement and this, in turn, allows participants to share something about themselves. This is a fun little “getting to know people” ice breaker game that is sure to get people to get to know each other. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 5 – The Hobby
When I present courses I understand that all teams and online groups have to have to learn about one another before they can start to work effectively. This is the reality in most courses. In this simple training game activity, workshop participants are asked to write their names on a blank name card and to draw something to do with their favorite hobby or past-time. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 6 – The Color
Fun training games are a great way to get people to each other, and they are even more effective when they are geared at building stronger bonds. In this great training activity, session participants are asked to write their names on a blank name card using their favorite color. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 7 – Mystery Figure – Three Questions
Many chief learning officers believe, consciously or unconsciously, that when they deliver training or meetings online, “getting to know you” games are often the best way to encourage greater participation quickly. This is a clever little awareness game that is also great fun. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 8 – Musical Chairs
One of the core beliefs that underlies everything we do is that courses must also be enjoyable. Having fun and energizing a group at an online session or meeting is still one of the best ways to get the most out of a group. This is a quick fun energizer that everyone will be familiar with from on-site meetings or workshops. Your group will definitely enjoy this game a lot online. In fact, it is probably more fun online!!! Read more about this free training game.
Activity 9 – The Chain Message
I would like to think that most companies believe that fun online games are an essential way to start an online workshop or meeting. Especially, if the team finds the activity novel or fun. This is a really great energizer that can be full of twists – especially if you include different channels of passing the message to your participants. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 10 – Ice Cream Island
People don’t wake up and go to learning workshops wanting to do nothing. Indeed a core understanding at oak Innovation is that often simplicity is the best rule of thumb when designing a team activity to get people engaged. This is particularly the case when new teams or groups are coming together for the first time. Keeping it simple is essential. And, ice cream island is a lovely energizer that is sure to increase energy levels within the group. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 11 – Life Stories
Supporting participants to get to know one another at the start of an online training session, or within a meeting, doesn’t need to be complicated. Often, it just involves asking them to focus on one particular aspect or event in their lives. This training activity is a handy verbal game that will increase the sharing of skills within your group. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 12 – From Me – From You
People engage in courses best and learn best, and most open to learning, when they feel valued. Anything we can do to understand where course participants are coming from and make them feel welcome will always build trust and assist learning. Think of your own experience in courses: do you learn best when you are supported, encouraged to learn? This is why we believe working with course participants, or within a team, means that everyone needs to get to know each other. But, how can we make this engaging for everyone? Well, this verbal game will bring up some great surprises for everyone concerned. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 13 – That’s Really Me
We talk about having flexible training games rather than set games. There is a crucial difference between the two. A set game doesn’t have flexibility. In response using training games online is all about building engagement across the session participants. Sharing information allows everyone to get to know each other. This fun verbal game will resonate well with most audiences. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 14 – Wishes
Think about what in your courses enables your audience to learn at their best and what doesn’t. The obstacles in your courses are likely to inhibit learning in general. Moving from that kind of obstacles to one of possibilities is essential. In fact, we all have dreams and aspirations. And, often we can get quite excited when we talk about our wishes. This is a rewarding closing game that will allow you to tap onto this energy and is sure to work well every time. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 15 – Reflections
I first came across this training game when I was starting out delivering online training courses. The game accepts that everyone can experience an online differently, and this is a nice closing training online game that all works well with all groups. Read more about this free training game.
Activity 16 – Appreciations
I often tell the story that it’s important to introduce a sense of thankfulness within every team or group that is working together online or on an onsite activity. This game is a favorite closing game from everyone here at Oak Innovation Read more about this free training game.
Activity 17 – Coming With Me
I often ask people to think of what takeaways people bring from the courses we offer. And I believe that whether your online event is with a small or large group, it’s essential to bring the event to a natural end. Coming with me is a really fun closing training online game that all works well for all types of training sessions. Read more about this free training game.
17 Free Online Training Game Examples For Kids:
- Kahoot!: A quiz-based platform for creating interactive learning games.
- Quizizz: Similar to Kahoot!, it allows users to create and play quizzes.
- Duolingo: A language learning app that gamifies the process of learning new languages.
- CodeCombat: An interactive game to learn programming and coding languages.
- Anki: A flashcard app that uses spaced repetition for efficient learning.
- Wordwall: Create interactive games for vocabulary building and language practice.
- Classcraft: Gamifies the classroom experience, promoting collaboration and good behavior.
- Timez Attack: A math game that helps learners improve their multiplication skills.
- Socrative: Provides quizzes and exercises for various subjects with instant feedback.
- Financial Football: Developed by Visa, it teaches financial literacy through a football-themed game.
- Scratch: A creative platform to learn coding and create interactive stories, games, and animations.
- Google Earth Quiz: Explore the world while answering geographical questions on Google Earth.
- NASA’s Space Place: Learn about space and science through interactive games and activities.
- Science Journal for Kids: Offers interactive science experiments and games for young learners.
- Health IQ: A game that promotes health and wellness education with quizzes and challenges.
- Geoguessr: Improve geography knowledge by guessing locations based on Google Maps Street View.
- Virtual Peace: A simulation game that teaches conflict resolution and peace-building skills.
Embrace the power of gamified learning with these free online training games, making education a fun and rewarding journey for learners of all ages and backgrounds. Happy gaming and learning!
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Check out what users say about our training course materials.