The Use of Gamification in an Introductory MIS Course: the Views of Game Participants and Game Conductors

Gamification gives opportunities for instructors and majors to attract more students. However, there are limited studies and understanding about gamification in education and its suitable implementation. So, this work guide a simple process to implement gamification in classroom environments and evaluate the results of implementation using self-reported from students who are assigned to be game conductors and game participants. The results from an experimental study show the increase of students’ perceived usefulness (understanding, problem solving skills, creativity, and topic interests) and their engagement intention (game engagement intention, class attendance intention, and class participation intention) after conducting or joining in-class games. Guidance to easily implement gameful experiences for students could be applied from an example in this study

Heterogeneity-Aware Digital Design of an Introductory Module in Computer Science

In Einführungsmodulen, die sowohl als Fachmodul als auch als Importmodul für verschiedene Studiengänge angeboten werden, unterscheiden sich die Vorkenntnisse, Ziele und Motivationen der Teilnehmenden erheblich. Im Zuge eines Projekts zur Digitalisierung der Lehre in der Informatik wurde daher über zwei Jahre ein Konzept für ein solches Einführungsmodul der Informatik entwickelt, das individuellere Lernangebote bereithält und synchrone mit asynchronen Lernphasen verbindet. Dabei wurden die Konzepte des Flipped Classroom und der Projektarbeit als didaktische Basis verwendet. Als Programmierumgebung und zur Bereitstellung der Lernmaterialien wurden Jupyter Notebooks genutzt. Durch verschiedene Evaluationsmethoden sowohl mit den Studierenden als auch mit den studentischen Tutor:innen, die diese betreuen, konnten nach dem ersten Jahr Aspekte identifiziert werden, die im zweiten Jahr weiter verbessert wurden. Trotz der Belastungen durch das digitale Coronasemester ist ergänzt um einen Gamification-Ansatz ein Konzept entstanden, das Studierenden individuelle Lerngelegenheiten bietet und zu einer hohen Zufriedenheit führt. Insbesondere scheint es durch asynchrone Lernmaterialien gelungen zu sein, die bei klassischen Vorlesungen häufig fehlende Vor- und Nachbereitung der Studierenden zu fördern.In introductory modules offered for different degree programmes with different impact on the study plan, the previous knowledge, goals and motivations of the participants differ considerably. As a part of a project on the digitalisation of teaching in computer science, a concept for such an introductory computer science module was therefore developed over two years. It provides individualised learning opportunities and combines synchronous with asynchronous learning phases. The concepts of flipped classroom and project work were used as a didactical basis, while Jupyter Notebook was used as a programming environment and for providing learning material. Through various evaluation methods involving both the students and the student tutors, who supervise them, it was possible to identify aspects that were improved further in the second year after the first year. Despite the burdens of the digital semester caused by the COVID-pandemic, a concept has been developed that offers more individual learning opportunities to the students and leads to a high level of satisfaction. A gamification concept was also included. In particular, asynchronous learning materials seem to have succeeded in encouraging students to prepare and follow up on their learning, which is often lacking in traditional lectures

Is it all about having Fun? – Developing a Taxonomy to gamify Information Systems

Gamification is a well-known approach that refers to the use of game design elements in information systems to make monotonous and tedious tasks more enjoyable. However, research and practice show that game design elements are oftentimes chosen and integrated in information systems randomly, therefore impeding the outcomes of such systems. In this regard, taxonomies can guide system developers, i.e., in selecting and combining game design elements to gamify their information system. Nonetheless, existing taxonomies do not provide such guidance for gamifying information systems. Therefore, the goal of our research is to consolidate the state of the art of gamification research and rigorously develop a gamification taxonomy. To achieve our goal, we conducted a systematic literature review and developed a taxonomy based on a rigorous taxonomy development process. We evaluate our theory by providing evidence of its feasibility with two practical cases: First, we show how the taxonomy helps to analyze existing gamification approaches, and, second, how the taxonomy guides to gamify information systems. Overall, we enrich theory by introducing a new taxonomy to better explain the meaning and characteristics of game design elements. Likewise, practitioners will be guided in selecting and combining game design elements for their gamification approaches

La Gamificación como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación: un mapeo sistemático de literatura

The incorporation of gamification into Programming courses has been identified as a potential strategy that could maximize student participation and have a positive impact on learning. To our knowledge, there is no study aimed at collecting and analyzing research results on this subject using a systematic method. To fill this gap, a systematic mapping of literature was carried out with the aim of summarizing the studies on the use of gamification as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning of Programming. Initially, through the search in four (4) digital libraries, 186 studies were obtained. Then, after a careful analysis of each of them, we verify that only 78 match our needs. Finally, we have categorized the contributions of these studies to present an overview of the results produced by the research community.La incorporación de la gamificación en cursos de Programación ha sido identificada como una estrategia potencial que podría maximizar la participación de los estudiantes y tener un impacto positivo en el aprendizaje. Hasta donde sabemos, no existe un estudio dirigido a recopilar y analizar los resultados de investigación sobre este tema utilizando un método sistemático. Para llenar este vacío, se realizó un mapeo sistemático de literatura con el objetivo de resumir los estudios sobre el uso de la gamificación como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la Programación. Inicialmente, mediante la búsqueda en cuatro (4) bibliotecas digitales, se obtuvieron 186 estudios. Luego, después de un cuidadoso análisis de cada uno de ellos, verificamos que sólo 78 coinciden con nuestras necesidades. Por último, hemos categorizado las contribuciones de estos estudios para presentar una visión general de los resultados producidos por la comunidad investigadora

Flipped classes for algorithm learning

Recent years have brought the need for new pedagogical approaches, that appeal to the involvement and participation of students in the learning process. One of this approaches is the flipped classroom, which gives to students the possibility to prepare for the next class, through pre-recorded video lectures and close-ended problems. There is some research going on around this model of teaching-learning, showing some promising results. The purpose of this work is to contribute to this line of research by designing and applying an experiment to compare the efficiency of the flipped classes methodology to the traditional classes. The research hypothesis is that the flipped classes methodology is an efficient method for teaching algorithms. The results were positive, although mildly. The reason for this was the fact that the experiment lasted only two weeks, not giving enough time for students to fully understand how to learn by the flipped classes and to get used to it. Thus, longer experiments are recommended in order to check full capacity of this method.Nos últimos anos, tem-se vindo a assistir ao aparecimento de várias técnicas e abordagens pedagógicas que procuram incrementar o papel ativo dos alunos no próprio processo de aprendizagem. Uma das abordagens, designada por aula invertida (do inglês flipped classes), incentiva o aluno a preparar a aula antecipadamente, por intermédio de vídeos, conteúdo teórico e problemas para resolver. Há alguma investigação em torno desta abordagem, com resultados positivos. O objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir para a investigação deste tipo de abordagem, investigando trabalho relacionado e comparando a eficiência das aulas invertidas com as aulas tradicionais. A hipótese colocada é que as aulas invertidas constituem um método eficiente para a aprendizagem de algoritmia. Os resultados obtidos foram positivos, o que confirma a recomendação feita em certos trabalhos relacionados no sentido de adotar aulas invertidas em algumas áreas. No entanto, os resultados não assinalam uma diferença considerável com as técnicas tradicionais, provavelmente devido ao facto de a experiência decorrer durante duas semanas apenas, não dando tempo suficiente para os alunos se ambientarem e incorporarem a filosofia desta abordagem.ბოლო წლებში განსაკუთრებით გამოიკვეთა ისეთი პედაგოგიური მოდელების არსებობის და გამოყენების საჭიროება, რომლებიც განაპირობებენ სტუდენტის აქტიურ ჩართულობას სასწავლო პროცესში. ერთ-ერთი ასეთი მოდელია „შებრუნებული საკლასო ოთახი“ (The Flipped Classroom), რომელიც საშუალებას აძლევს სტუდენტებს მოემზადონ ყოველი შემდეგი ლექციისთვის წინასწარ, ვიდეო ლექციის და სავარჯიშოების საშუალებით. ამ მოდელის გარშემო არაერთი კვლევა ჩატარდა ბოლო ხანებში, რომლებიც ძირითადად დადებითად აფასებენ მას. ამ ნაშრომის მიზანია გარკვეული წვლილის შეტანა შებრუნებული საკლასო ოთახის გარშემო მიმდინარე კვლევაში ექსპერიმენტის შექმნით და ჩატარებით, რომელიც შეადარებს ერთმანეთს შებრუნებული და ტრადიციული სწავლების მოდელების ეფექტურობას. კვლევის ჰიპოთეზა მდგომარეობს შემდეგში, შებრუნებული საკლასო ოთახი ეფექტური მოდელია ალგორითმების სწავლებისათვის. კვლევამ პოზიტიური შედეგები აჩვენა, თუმცა არცისე მკვეთრი. ამის მიზეზი ისაა, რომ ექსპერიმენტის ხანგრძლივობა მხოლოდ ორი კვირა იყო. რაც არ აღმოჩნდა საკმარისი იმისათვის რომ სტუდენტებს აეთვისებინად ის თუ როგორ უნდა ისწავლონ შებრუნებული საკლასო ოთახის მეშვეობით. აქედან გამომდინარე ამ სწავლების მეთოდის სრული პოტენციალის დასადგენად რეკომენდირებულია უფრო ხანგრძლივი ექსპერიმენტების ჩატარება

Collaborative work as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning programming: a systematic literature review

La incorporación del trabajo colaborativo en cursos de programación ha sido identificada como una estrategia potencial que podría maximizar la participación de los estudiantes y tener un impacto positivo en el aprendizaje. En las fuentes consultadas no se ha encontrado un estudio dirigido a recopilar y analizar los resultados de investigación sobre este tema utilizando un método sistemático. Para tratar de llenar este vacío, se realizó una revisión sistemática de literatura con el objetivo de resumir los estudios sobre el uso del trabajo colaborativo como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación. Inicialmente, mediante la búsqueda en cuatro bases de datos de publicaciones científicas, se obtuvieron 95 estudios publicados en los últimos cinco años. Luego de un cuidadoso análisis de cada uno de ellos, se verifica que 40 coinciden con los requerimientos de la revisión, análisis que dio como resultado la síntesis de once Técnicas de Aprendizaje Colaborativo (TAC) que llevan a la práctica la estrategia, que a su vez agrupan a 19 denominaciones comunes de estrategias encontradas en los documentos, es decir, las estrategias o técnicas colaborativas asociadas a cada estudio. La revisión arrojó también una cantidad importante de aportes de la comunidad investigadora que sientan una base importante para trabajos futuros, dejando en claro que el trabajo colaborativo se consolida cada vez más como una estrategia didáctica válida y pertinente, no solo en la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación, sino también en otras áreas del conocimiento incluyendo las ciencias de la computación.The incorporation of Collaborative Work into programming courses has been identified as a potential strategy that could maximize student participation and have a positive impact on learning. In the consulted sources, no study has been found to collect and analyze the results of research on this subject using a systematic method. To try to fill this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted with the aim of summarizing the studies on the use of Collaborative Work as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning programming. Initially, through a search in four (4) databases of scientific publications, 95 studies published in the last five (5) years were obtained. After careful analysis of each one of them, only 40 were found to meet the review requirements. This analysis resulted in the synthesis of eleven (11) Collaborative Learning Techniques (CLT) that implement such strategy. Subsequently, they were grouped into 19 common names of strategies found in the documents, i.e. the collaborative strategies or techniques associated with each study. The review also showed a significant amount of contributions from the research community that constitute an important basis for future work. This demonstrates that Collaborative Work is increasingly consolidated as a valid and relevant didactic strategy, not only in programming teaching/learning, but also in other areas of knowledge including computer science

Explore the relations between personality and gamification

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Successful gamification motivates users to engage in systems using game-like experiences. However, a one-size-fits-all approach to gamification is often unsuccessful; prior studies suggest that personality serves as a key differentiator in the effectiveness of the approach. To advance the understanding of personality differences and their influence on users’ behavior and motivation in gamification, this dissertation is comprised of three studies that: 1) explore the relationships among individuals’ personality traits and preferences for different gamification features through an online survey; 2) investigate how people with different personality traits respond to the motivational affordances in a gamified application over a period of time through a diary study; and 3) reveal how individuals respond differentially to different kinds of leaderboard experiences based on their leaderboard rankings, the application domain, and the individuals’ personality traits through their responses to 9 dynamic leaderboards. The results from the first study show that extraversion and emotional stability are the two primary personality traits that differentiate users’ preferences for gamification. Among the 10 types of motivational affordances, extraverts are more likely to be motivated by Points, Levels, and Leaderboards. However, the results from the second (diary) study indicate that, after the first week, extraverts’ preferences for Points decreased. The motivation effects of Points and Leaderboards changed over the course of using the gamified application. The results from the third study confirm the findings from the first two studies about extraversion and revealed that ranking and domain differences are also effective factors in users’ experiences of Leaderboards in gamification. Design guidelines for gamification are presented based on the results of each of the three studies. Based on a synthesis of the results from these three studies, this dissertation proposes a conceptual model for gamification design. The model describes not only the impact of personality traits, domain differences, and users’ experience over time, but also illustrates the importance of considering individual differences, application context, and the potential significance of user persistence in gamification design. This research contributes to the HCI and gamification communities by uncovering factors that will affect the way that people respond to gamification systems, considered holistically

Ahora o nunca: un estudio empírico de la gamificación en la educación superior en línea sobre la motivación de los estudiantes de ELE

La ludificació representa una eina amb un gran potencial dins del context educatiu per aprofundir en aspectes que tenen a veure amb la motivació, la implicació, l'esforç i la col·laboració. Aquesta metodologia innovadora és motivadora i activa en l'alumne un vincle amb els continguts que promourà, principalment, la millora en l'adquisició de coneixements i habilitats. Tanmateix, calen més estudis empírics per identificar els factors clau que afecten l'efectivitat de la ludificació amb la finalitat d'augmentar la motivació dels estudiants dins l'àmbit de l'educació superior en línia. En conseqüència, aquest projecte sorgeix de la importància de continuar l'estudi del potencial de la ludificació per sistematitzar-ne l'aplicació i, així, oferir als estudiants un aprenentatge de més qualitat i més significatiu. Per tant, el propòsit d'aquesta investigació és determinar els factors clau que impulsen l'efectivitat de la ludificació i proposar un model d'aplicació en l'educació superior en línia. Les dades recopilades s'han analitzat aplicant una metodologia mixta en què s'utilitza una anàlisi estadística quantitativa i una anàlisi qualitativa per validar el sistema ludificat i demostrar-ne la validesa. L'avaluació en profunditat del sistema ha demostrat que el model proposat és estadísticament significatiu i té un impacte positiu en l'efectivitat de l'aplicació de la ludificació en un context educatiu superior en línia.Gamification represents a tool with great potential in education. It allows for going into greater depth in aspects linked to motivation, engagement, effort and collaboration. This innovative methodology is motivating. It leads to students engaging with content that fosters, above all, improvements in the acquisition of knowledge and skills. However, more empirical studies are required to identify the key factors that affect the effectiveness of gamification, with the aim of increasing levels of motivation among students in online higher education. As a result, this project responds to the important need to continue studying the potential to systematize the use of gamification and, thus, offer students higher quality and more meaningful learning. The aim of this study, then, is to determine the key factors that boost the effectiveness of gamification and propose a model for developing its use in online higher education. The data collected have been analyzed using a mixed method approach, involving both a quantitative statistical analysis and a qualitative analysis, to validate the gamified system and demonstrate its effectiveness. In-depth evaluation of the system has shown that the model proposed is statistically significant and has a positive impact on the effectiveness of gamification in an online higher education setting.La ludificación representa una herramienta con un gran potencial dentro del contexto educativo para profundizar en aspectos que tienen que ver con la motivación, la implicación, el esfuerzo y la colaboración. Esta metodología innovadora es motivadora y activa en el alumno un vínculo con los contenidos que promoverá, principalmente, la mejora en la adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades. Sin embargo, se necesitan más estudios empíricos para identificar los factores clave que afectan la efectividad de la ludificación para aumentar la motivación de los estudiantes en la educación superior en línea. En consecuencia, este proyecto surge de la importancia de continuar con el estudio del potencial de la ludificación con el fin de sistematizar su aplicación y brindar, así, a los estudiantes un aprendizaje de mayor calidad y más significativo. Por tanto, el propósito de esta investigación es determinar los factores clave que impulsan la efectividad de la ludificación y proponer un modelo para su aplicación en la educación superior en línea. Los datos recogidos han sido analizados aplicando una metodología mixta en la que se utiliza un análisis estadístico cuantitativo y un análisis cualitativo para validar el sistema ludificado y demostrar su validez. La evaluación en profundidad del sistema ha demostrado que el modelo propuesto es estadísticamente significativo y tiene un impacto positivo en la efectividad de la aplicación de la ludificación en un contexto educativo superior en línea.E-learnin