New COVID-19 challenge a game changer

The COVID-19 Gaming Challenge from Training and Development (T&D) was launched to combat a new and growing threat in the battle against the pandemic — a growing sense of complacency among a public weary of complying with guidelines put in place to check the spread of the disease.

Instead of offering the traditional e-Learning format, the T&D COVID-19 Gaming Challenge presents its content in a gamified format. Developers say this format makes the content more engaging to users, increasing their enthusiasm for it and their retention of the material it covers. This is the first gamified e-Learning course distributed corporatewide in Aramco.

“COVID cases had been on the rise in the Kingdom and we wanted to reinforce the protective measures urged by the company and government,” Rana Elias, leader of the Technology e-Learning Development & Support Unit, which developed the game, said. “The game format was a way for us to engage users and offer a more entertaining activity.”

The T&D COVID-19 Gaming Challenge gives users several scenarios in which they have to choose the correct actions to protect themselves and others. The game is presented in a drag-and-drop format.

The game has been a success. More than 11,000 completions have been logged since it was launched to employees on Feb. 28, and later offered to dependents. A second phase of the game, which will incorporate new scenarios, is scheduled for launch in April, according to Nitin Puri, a business systems analyst in the Computer Curriculum Development Group, who helped develop the game. 

Nouf A. Dossary, a business analyst involved in the development of the game, said she’s received positive feedback from users and requests to incorporate the gamification in more e-Learning products.

Play it safe with the T&D COVID-19 Gaming Challenge