Unlocking Success: GamiCon 2023 in New Orleans Will Transform Your Approach to Learning 

by Renee Boisvert
Program Manager, Sententia Gamification

Sententia’s upcoming GamiCon will be in New Orleans from September 17 to 19, 2023. Monica Cornetti, the conference Gamemaster, has put together a top-notch team who are hard at work crafting an incredible learning experience. The theme of this fully gamified conference is Mardi Gras. You and your Krewe will collect game cards, solve puzzles, compete, and create. The engaging game and narrative wrap around the hands-on sessions where you will learn and use gamification concepts and skills.  

 I dabbled with gamification for years, reading and watching everything I could find, and creating little mini-games for myself and my family. The motivational design intrigued me. Every time I saw an ad for a course or a conference, though, I felt a twinge of jealousy. I couldn’t afford to travel to another country to learn more about gamification. I had been home-schooling my kids, so I didn’t have a job, never mind an employer with a training budget.

Then a few months after the pandemic hit, I had a thought, “I wonder if conferences have moved online. Maybe I can find a conference on gamification and attend without needing to pay for airfare and accommodation.” Voila! I found and registered for two online gamification conferences. The first was educational. I saw a lot of presentations about how people were using gamification in the real world. The second online conference I attended was also educational, and it was also inspirational and life-changing! That was Sententia Gamification’s virtual GamiCon in February 2021.  

Let's dive into how attending GamiCon 2023 could be a game-changer for you, with both short-term and long-term benefits. Read through to the end to see the two features I discovered at my first online GamiCon, which make Sententia shine as a leader in gamification for adult learners.

Immediate Implementation and Long-term Impact: The knowledge, best practices, and tools you'll gain from GamiCon will empower you to create learning experiences that are engaging and truly stick. By boosting student or employee engagement and improving learning retention, you'll enable your learners to effectively apply their newfound knowledge. This immediate implementation will supercharge your organization, leading to improved performance, heightened productivity, and a culture of continuous learning. 

Strategies and Frameworks for Implementation: GamiCon brings together speakers from all over the world who are ready to share strategies for implementing gamification in hands-on learning labs. By joining their sessions, you'll gain invaluable insights and practical approaches that you can apply to your own learning programs. From crafting personas to employing the latest AI, you'll discover how to create captivating learning experiences. 

Learning from Leading Minds: Prepare to learn directly from the crème de la crème of professionals who have mastered the art of crafting effective learning programs. At GamiCon, you'll have a front-row seat to interact with these expert, dive into enlightening discussions, and practice engaging tools and techniques. This direct access to industry leaders will keep you up to date with the latest trends and advancements in gamification and learning design. 

Hands-on Workshops: GamiCon offers hands-on workshops where you can roll up your sleeves to explore and experience different learning strategies and tools. This was the first thing that caught my attention! Even at a virtual conference, I was working with my team, brainstorming narratives, doing escape rooms, and exploring the use of specific game mechanics.  

Knowledge Exchange and Networking: One of the major perks of attending conferences is the chance to mingle with peers, speakers, and industry experts. GamiCon creates the perfect environment for knowledge exchange, allowing you to learn from others' experiences, share your own insights, and forge valuable professional connections. Any conference can do that, you might think. This is the other feature I noticed as an outstanding strength of the Sententia conferences and courses. Within the first hours of my first conference, I was greeted by speakers and Sententia Master Craftsmen and made to feel that I belonged. Monica Cornetti, founder and president of Sententia Gamification, has a genuine gift for building community!   

This year, I am traveling from Canada to attend GamiCon in New Orleans. In fact, I will be presenting a session. After two and a half years as a virtual Sententia groupie and student, then program coordinator, I can finally attend GamiCon on site and meet my peeps in person! 

Mark your calendar and get ready for a conference experience that will level up your training game and connect you with a vibrant community of like-minded enthusiasts. GamiCon 2023 is going to be a blast!  

 As they say at Mardi Gras: “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” (Let the good times roll!)