User-based evaluation of gamification elements in an educational application

Abstract

Gamification has increasingly been utilised to motivate students to use technological tools and applications to learn. Although the existing research seems to recognise the benefits that gamification has in and outside classroom, little has been explored about individual gamification elements. To bridge this gap, we conducted a user-based evaluation of an educational application, Knowma+, with different gamification elements to understand which are more desirable to use from the teacher and student perspectives. Knowma+ is built upon relevant pedagogical concepts such as learning by questioning that fit well with the inclusion of gamification elements to enhance learning experience. Results of eye-tracking data suggest that more visually attractive gamification elements could capture the initial attention of both teacher and student participants. However, there were slight differences between the two groups in self-reported preferences with regard to the perceived usefulness of each gamification element as part of their teaching or learning approaches.