Review Article
Ritesh Chugh, Darren Turnbull
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 2, Article No: ep405
ABSTRACT
Gaming is becoming a popular method of engaging students in learning processes across all levels of the educational community. The effective integration of gaming activities into course curricula has the potential to enhance student learning, motivation, and knowledge acquisition in a range of disciplines. However, gamification of education is not without its opponents, with many educators concerned about the negative impacts of game use on effective learning. This study enhances our understanding of contemporary practices related to the areas, usage and characteristics of gamification in education. It is of particular relevance to educational institutions with a focus on developing innovative teaching methods and curricula that utilize gamification techniques in a multi-disciplinary, cross-national context across all stages of formal learning. Through the use of bibliometric analysis techniques, our study of the citation relations of 3,617 publications identified ten prominent themes dominated by gamification: mobile gaming, physical education, health and medicine, business, learning performance, programming and computing, English language, teacher adoption, primary & secondary education, and mathematics. Clear evidence of increased student motivation to learn and improved course results were evident in the examined literature. This study will benefit serious game designers, educators, and educational institutions to develop more inclusive and engaging pedagogies that exploit the ubiquitous availability of gaming technologies for inclusion in more traditional course delivery methods.
Keywords: learning strategies, information and communication technology, teaching practices, knowledge creation, gamification, bibliometric analysis
Research Article
Francisco José Montiel-Ruiz, María-del-Mar Sánchez-Vera, Isabel M. Solano-Fernández
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 1, Article No: ep401
ABSTRACT
Recent research and studies on training plans in physical education agree on the need to incorporate digital technologies in teaching contexts. At the same time, the introduction of active methodologies, such as gamification, has become one of the major trends of recent years. In this paper we present the perception of teachers and students about a gamified proposal for physical education in secondary education that uses social networks as a way for communication, collaboration, and promotion of physical activity among students. Edmodo has been used to carry out this experience because, as a vertical social network, it has an attractive interface for students and protects their privacy by not requiring any personal data.
This is a qualitative research, with a case study methodological design, which has used the focus group and group interview as data collection techniques. The sample consisted of 10 teachers, which represents all the teachers participating in the experience, and 56 students. The results show the positive assessment, both by teachers and students, of the Edmodo social network as a virtual teaching-learning environment for physical education in secondary education, and gamification as an active methodology. Likewise, the influence that the proposal, based on the use of digital technologies and gamification, has had on the promotion of physical activity among pupils has been high.
Keywords: physical education, social networks, gamification, secondary education, digital technologies
Research Article
Milagros Torrado Cespón, José María Díaz Lage
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 4, Article No: ep381
ABSTRACT
As a motivational teaching practice, gamification does not always work as expected. This paper supports these findings and adds the factor of online teaching analyzing the results of an experiment carried out in an online higher education context to test the relevance and motivational efficacy of ludic methodologies using learning and knowledge technology. Three groups of students (n=78, n=64, and n=74) participated in gamified experiences in the same subject. These groups were offered different approaches to the experiences, only one of which included a reward. Neither of the gamified experiences was compulsory. The results show how the use of technologies and gamification is not as appealing as it may seem and how other aspects—such as teacher-student relationship and interaction, rewards, and the sense of alienation generated by online teaching—influence student participation. The low rate of participation indicates that teachers must consider not only those students who participate but also those who do not. The main conclusion is that not only the methodology is important, but also the performance and the fact that student-teacher relationship in online education is more demanding, affectively speaking. Thus, those students who were in direct contact with the teacher during the execution of the gamified experience present a higher level of involvement. This is a factor to consider for the motivational needs of online university students where intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and direct interaction play essential roles.
Keywords: gamification, motivation, interaction, higher education, e-learning, alienation
Research Article
Usman Durrani, Omar Hujran, Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 2, Article No: ep355
ABSTRACT
The importance of formal online education has been felt like never before because of the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and academics are continuously experimenting with combinations of established pedagogies, tools, and technologies to enhance or sustain the student learning process and motivation. For this study, we have designed and developed a multi-player game called CrossQuestion to explore the combined effect of applying gamification and flipped classroom pedagogies using the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) model guidelines and its application in the obligatory IT foundation online course during the pandemic. We delivered this course to 79 undergraduate (mostly) non-IT students in Ajman University, UAE. Students were randomly divided into a non-gamified cohort (35 students gone through lecture-based instructions and paper-based assessments–Spring 2019-20–pre-COVID-19 face to face environment) and a gamified flipped classroom cohort (44 students, played the CrossQuestion game–Spring 2020-21–during COVID-19 online environment). We collected the survey data anonymously through our customized Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) tool and then performed descriptive analysis, t-test, and regression analysis to address the research hypothesis. We found a significant relationship between learning motivational factors and learning effectiveness. We also found the positive influence of our game on students’ motivation.
Keywords: flipped classroom, gamification, motivation, ARCS motivation model, instructional materials motivation survey (IMMS), educational game
Research Article
Necati Taşkın, Ebru Kılıç Çakmak
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 12, Issue 2, Article No: ep268
ABSTRACT
Marczewski (2015) has introduced a new classification model for different user types. Tondello et al. (2016) developed and later revised (Tondello et al., 2019) “The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale” based on this model. The aim of this study is to adapt this scale into Turkish. The validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted on 330 university students. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the model also showed that the fit indices were acceptable. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the factors were also within the acceptable range. Additionally, it was found that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the lower 27% and upper 27% groups for both the items and the sub-factor scores. As a result, it can be concluded that this valid and reliable scale composed of 24 items and 6 factors can be used as an effective tool in the gamification solutions considering the characteristics of the target group.
Keywords: gamification, player/user types, scale adaptation, validity, reliability
Research Article
Mazhar Bal
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp. 246-271
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study is to determine the contribution of gamification to writing skills of middle school students. For this study, a lesson plan has been developed to relate Writing and Authorship Skills lesson to the gamification for middle school students. From this lesson plan, it was tried to determine the effectiveness of the teaching process. Therefore, the study was designed as action research. The research group is composed of seventh grade students. Criteria sampling technique was used to determine the participants. As a data collection tool, student diary, semi-structured interview form, semi-structured observation form, digital content of the students were used. Data obtained from the semi-structured interview form were analyzed by content analysis; other data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. Writing skills and gamification were related in the study. Turkish Language Teaching Program (2018) has been taken into consideration in the action plan which relates to gamification and writing skill. As a result of the study, it was seen that all participants were actively involved in the implementation process. In addition, it was concluded that gamification increased the interest of students towards the course, combined school and non-school life, facilitated classroom management, supported collaborative work, and developed creativity. As a result of this study, it is suggested that digital games can be used as a text type in Turkish language lessons with the method of gamification in order to positively affect motivation of the middle school students toward writing education.
Keywords: Digital game, Writing skills, Gamification, Middle school students, Turkish language education
Research Article
Fernando Almeida, Jorge Simoes
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp. 120-136
ABSTRACT
Education 4.0 is a new educational paradigm that intends to address the needs and potentialities of the fourth industrial revolution. Education 4.0 builds on the concept of learning by doing, in which students are encouraged to learn and discover different things in singular ways based on experimentation. This study intends to analyze the role of emerging technologies like serious games and industry 4.0 in the transformation of education 4.0 in higher education. A qualitative methodology was employed based on 25 case studies of innovative projects in Portuguese higher education institutions. The results indicate a residual adoption of serious games and gamification approaches only appear in less than 20% of the projects. It was also possible to identify that most projects involve several stakeholders such as teachers, students and university managers, and typically involve multidisciplinary competencies fields. The main benefits brought to the education context include greater involvement of students in projects, development of their skills and its application in a real context. On the other hand, the main challenges are the simplification of the real world made by these applications, the difficulties inherent to their inclusion in the didactical system and the limited capacities to offer greater interactivity without predefined external stimuli.
Keywords: Education 4.0, Industry 4.0, Serious games, Gamification, Educational paradigm
Research Article
Katja Fleischman, Ellen Ariel
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp. 138-159
ABSTRACT
Understanding and trouble-shooting microscopic processes involved in laboratory tests are often challenging for students in science education because of the inability to visualize the different steps and the various errors that may influence test outcome. The effectiveness of gamification or the use of game design elements and game-mechanics were explored in a year-long research project which saw the development of a web based learning tool that visualized Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) in a digital laboratory. A cohort of 30 students from the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science trialed the first prototype and provided feedback in a survey on their learning experience and the extent to which the learning tool enhanced their learning. This article provides additional insights into likely future trends of substituting traditional learning modes such as lecture and practical laboratory classes with gamified content.
Keywords: Gamification, Game-based learning, Higher education, Science education