Gamified Culture-aware Feedback Acquisition

User feedback is crucial to improve software quality. For example, it can be used to identify missing features and clarify user trends and preferences for future improvement.However, obtaining user feedback is not a ‘one-off’ processwhich requires that developers need to gather user feedback in an on-going approach. The problem lies here: the majority of users are generally lack motivation and interest in providing feedback, especially in a constant and frequent style. Moreover,studies have noted that the cultural difference also plays a key role in software designs which will affect how users would like to feedback requests to be designed. In this paper, we advocate that gamification is a powerful technique to maximize users’ motivation and change their reaction to feedback requests. We conducted an empirical study and identified some key differences between Western and Middle Eastern users on what motivated them to provide feedback and what could have an influence on the feedback they gave. This also makes the case for the need for a culture-aware gamification in the context of feedbackacquisition process

Using Gamification to Enhance Second Language Learning

One major competence for learners in the 21st century is acquiring a second language (L2). Based on this, L2 instruction has integrated new concepts to motivate learners in their pursue of achieving fluency. A concept that is adaptable to digital natives and digital immigrants that are learning a L2 is Gamification. As a pedagogical strategy, Gamification is basically new, but it has been used successfully in the business world. Gamification not only uses game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts (Werbach & Hunter, 2012), but also empowers and engages the learner with motivational skills towards a learning approach and sustaining a relax atmosphere. This personality factor as Brown (1994) addresses is fundamental in the teaching and learning of L2.  This article covers aspects regarding language, second language learning methodology and approaches, an overview of the integration of technology towards L2 instruction, Gamification as a concept, motivational theory, educational implications for integrating the strategy effectively, and current applications used. It also calls for a necessity of empirical evidence and research in regards to the strategy

Gamification in the classroom for english language vocabulary acquisition and reinforcement

The main objective of this Final Degree Project is to demonstrate the usefulness of gamified tools in English vocabulary acquisition. These benefits of the use of gamification in English language learning are discussed from two different points of view: teacher and student. In order to reach this objective, a methodology has been proposed to research these advantages of gamification in this aspect of the English language mentioned above. This investigation project employs Socrative, a tool introduced to the students of a language academy. Its innovation for the students and its appropriate planning contributed to successfully obtaining the results of the methodologyEl objetivo principal de este Trabajo de Fin de Grado (TFG) es demostrar la utilidad de las herramientas gamificadas en la adquisición de vocabulario en lengua inglesa. Estos beneficios de la utilización de la gamificación en el aprendizaje de la lengua inglesa se analizan desde dos puntos de vista diferentes: profesor y estudiante. Para poder lograr este objetivo, se ha propuesto una metodología para investigar estas ventajas de la gamificación sobre este aspecto de la lengua inglesa mencionado previamente. Este proyecto de investigación se lleva a cabo con Socrative, una herramienta presentada a los estudiantes de una academia de idiomas. Su novedad y planificación apropiada han contribuido a la obtención con éxito de los resultados metodológicosDepartamento de Filología InglesaGrado en Estudios Inglese

Gamificación: un nuevo enfoque en educación. Su implementación en una tarea final

This study aims to define what gamification is and what it has to do with ICT and New Technologies within an educational system. Additionally, it presents the different aspects within gamification in order to implement them in the classroom. Through those aspects, this study offers an example of gamification experience within a classroom which can be analyzed and adapted to any other stage or school, so teachers can start using new methodologies based on a gamified system and also on their student’s motivation and interests. Definitely, this study analyzes and sets the essential keys for the establishment of a gamification system based on the interests and motivation of the students, working with their multiple intelligences and emotions in order to achieve a meaningful learning process.Este estudio pretende definir qué es la gamificación y cómo está relacionada con las TIC y las nuevas tecnologías dentro del sistema educativo. Adicionalmente, presenta los diferentes aspectos de la gamificación para poder implementarla y llevarla a cabo dentro del aula. A partir de estos aspectos, este estudio ofrece un ejemplo de experiencia gamificada dentro de un aula, que puede ser analizada y adaptada a cualquier colegio o nivel, y que permitirá a los docentes empezar a usar nuevas metodologías basadas en gamificación y sistemas gamificados, todo ello relacionado con la motivación y los intereses de su alumnado. En definitiva, este estudio analiza y establece las claves esenciales para el establecimiento de una metodología gamificada en las aulas, basada en los intereses y motivaciones de los alumnos, mientras se trabaja con las inteligencias múltiples y con la inteligencia emocional para conseguir que tengan un proceso de aprendizaje totalmente significativo.Grado en Educación Primari

The Role of Gamification in Privacy Protection and User Engagement

The interaction between users and several technologies has rapidly increased. In people’s daily habits, the use of several applications for different reasons has been introduced. The provision of attractive services is an important aspect that it should be considered during their design. The implementation of gamification supports this, while game elements create a more entertaining and appealing environment. At the same time, due to the collection and record of users’ information within them, security and privacy are needed to be considered as well, in order for these technologies to ensure a minimum level of security and protection of users’ information. Users, on the other hand, should be aware of their security and privacy, so as to recognize how they can be protected, while using gamified services. In this work, the relation between privacy and gamified applications, regarding both the software developers and the users, is discussed, leading to the necessity not only of designing privacy-friendly systems but also of educating users through gamification on privacy issues

Gamification in education – utilization in teaching of languages

This paper focuses on how language teachers in Finland reacts and uses gamified learning applications. Motivation for the study, apart from the personal interest, is the on-going digitalization process of Finnish schools. My original research questions included: 1) what are the benefits of gamification in teaching? 2) how different applications and platforms are utilizing gamification elements? 3) are teachers using these applications and platforms to their benefit? For this study, I have reviewed different learning theories such as Skinner’s Operant-Conditioning-theory of behaviorism, Chomsky’s Universal Grammar and Felder and Silverman’s Felder-Silverman-model. I familiarized myself with the concept of gamification and also tried out plethora of different learning applications and platforms in order to assess what gamification elements are used and how they are showing. Most common gamification elements are progress bar which shows users progression towards different goals, different forms of points or virtual currency that can be used to purchase new features, personalization items and special classes and badges which shows your achievements. In order to find out the teacher’s attitudes and experiences I conducted a survey which was sent out to language teachers. The survey divided the respondents into two groups, adopters and non-adopters, based on if they have utilized some of applications mentioned in the survey. According to the survey, the concept of gamification is not familiar to all of the teachers but majority of them have or are using gamified applications and feel that they are a good supplement to their teaching. Major benefits include instant feedback, competing with peers in the class and multisensory experience. Gamified applications also seemed to make learning more fun while not completely fixing some of the motivational issues amongst students. Most used applications were Quizlet, Duolingo and Kahoot. Research also identifies some required improvements in order to achieve more benefits from gamification and other digital tools, such as more training for the teachers in order to strengthen their competence and clear vision and strategy to generate positive culture attitude in schools towards gamified applications and digitalization

Predicting Students\u27 Intention to Use Gamified Mobile Learning in Saudi Higher Education

While gamified mobile learning holds the promise of offering an interactive learning environment, the predictors of its adoption remain underexplored. This paper therefore examines the impact of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) augmented with cognitive gratification and perceived enjoyment on intention to use gamified mobile learning in higher education. 271 valid responses were obtained from students from different regions of Saudi Arabia, using an online questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to analyse the data, using AMOS. The findings reveal that perceived enjoyment and social influence had the strongest effects on intention to use gamified mobile learning, followed by performance expectancy and effort expectancy, while cognitive gratification had no influence. The proposed model explained 71% of the variance in usage intentions. The key contribution of this paper is the empirical evidence of the impact of the extended UTAUT on intention to use gamified mobile learning

Using Gamification to Teach EFL in the 1st Year of Secondary Education: A Pilot Experience

Este trabajo de final de máster trata la gamificación como metodología para ser incorporada en el aula de inglés como lengua extranjera para mejorar las destrezas lingüísticas de los estudiantes y aumentar su motivación. Para la consecución de los objetivos establecidos en el trabajo, se ha realizado una investigación de las características de la gamificación, los elementos del método de enseñanza comunicativo y del aprendizaje basado en tareas. Previamente a la incorporación práctica de la unidad didáctica que integra los elementos de las metodologías anteriormente mencionadas, se analizan las perspectivas de 15 profesores de inglés como lengua extranjera (en cursos de Secundaria y Bachillerato) y de más de 40 alumnos de estos mismos cursos para tener en cuenta su manera de aprender el inglés. La valoración obtenida de la implementación de la unidad didáctica demuestra la relación entre del uso de la gamificación y las TIC en el ámbito educativo, aunque se debe analizar las posibles limitaciones de esta aplicación.<br /

Full Issue: Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 2, Issue 1

The full Spring 2018 issue (Volume 2, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

ICT and gamified learning in tourism education: a case of South African secondary schools

Tourism is often introduced as a subject in formal education curricula because of the increasing and significant economic contribution of the tourism industry to the private and public sector. This is especially the case in emerging economies in Asia and Africa (Hsu, 2015; Mayaka & Akama, 2015; Cuffy et al., 2012). Tourism in South Africa – which is the geographical setting of this research – is recognised as a key economic sector. At secondary level, tourism has been widely introduced at schools throughout South Africa since 2000 and has experienced significant growth (Umalusi, 2014). Furthermore, information and communication technology (ICT) has rapidly penetrated public and private sectors of the country. ICT affords novel opportunities for social and economic development, and this has especially been observed in the fields of both tourism and education (Anwar et al., 2014; Vandeyar, 2015). Yet, the many uses and implications of ICT for tourism education in South Africa are unclear and under-theorised as a research area (Adukaite, Van Zyl, & Cantoni, 2016). Moreover, engagement has been identified as a significant indicator of student success in South Africa (Council for Higher Education, 2010). Lack of engagement contributes to poor graduation rates at secondary and tertiary institutions in South Africa (Strydom et al., 2010; Titus & Ng’ambi, 2014). A common strategy to address lack of student engagement is introducing game elements into the learning process: the so-called gamification of learning (Kapp, 2012). The majority of research in this field has been conducted in more economically advanced and developed regions, and there is a paucity of research in emerging country contexts. It is argued that gamification can be effectively utilised also in these contexts to address learner engagement and motivation. This study aims to contribute in this respect: firstly, by investigating the extent to which ICT supports tourism education in South African high schools through the lenses of Technology Domestication Theory (Habib, 2005; Haddon, 2006) and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977). Secondly, the study aims to examine gamified learning acceptance within tourism education in a developing country context. The research assimilates three separate studies. Study 1. The Role of Digital Technology in Tourism Education: A Case Study of South African Secondary Schools The study was designed as an exploratory analysis, based on 24 in-depth interviews (n=24) with high school tourism teachers and government officials. An analysis reveals that teachers recognize ICT as essential in exposing students to the tourism industry. This is especially the case in under-resourced schools, where learners do not have the financial means to participate in tourism activities. However, ICT is still limited in its integration as a pedagogical support tool. The major obstacles toward integration include: technology anxiety, lack of training, availability of resources, and learner resistance to use their personal mobile devices. Study 2. Raising Awareness and Promoting Informal Learning on World Heritage in Southern Africa. The Case of WHACY, a Gamified ICT-enhanced Tool The goal of the study was to present the World Heritage Awareness Campaign for Youth (WHACY) in Southern Africa. A campaign was dedicated to raise awareness and foster informal learning among Southern African youth about the heritage and sustainable tourism. The campaign employed an online and offline gamified learning platform, which was supported by a dedicated website, Facebook page, wiki and offline materials. In one year of operation the campaign reached more than 100K audience. For the evaluation of the campaign, a mixed methods approach was used: focus groups with students (n=9), interviews (n=19) and a survey with teachers (n=209). The study attempted to assess user experience in terms of engagement and conduciveness to learning and explored the possibility of a gamified application to be integrated into the existing high school tourism curriculum. The perspectives of South African tourism students and teachers were here considered. Study 3. Teacher perceptions on the use of digital gamified learning in tourism education: The case of South African secondary schools. The study is quantitative in nature and investigated the behavioural intention of South African tourism teachers to integrate a gamified application within secondary tourism education. Data collected from 209 teachers were tested against the research model using a structural equation modelling approach. The study investigated the extent to which six determined predictors (perceptions about playfulness, curriculum relatedness, learning opportunities, challenge, self-efficacy and computer anxiety) influence the acceptance of a gamified application by South African tourism teachers. The study may prove useful to educators and practitioners in understanding which determinants may influence gamification introduction into formal secondary education