Evaluation framework for the integration of gamification elements in Massive Open Online Courses for Professional Development (MOOCs4PD)

Κορίνη, Χριστίνα

Μέθοδος αξιολόγησης ενσωμάτωσης στοιχείων παιχνιδοποίησης στον εκπαιδευτικό σχεδιασμό μαζικών ανοικτών διαδικτυακών μαθημάτων για επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη

Master Thesis

Author

Κορίνη, Χριστίνα

Date

2021-07

Abstract

Gamification has been used as a successful strategy for users’ motivation and engagement in various fields, including education and training. In the context of digital teaching and learning, gamification is considered as an effective educational design intervention to enhance learner’s motivation, engagement, and eventually performance. When it comes to MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), gamification is recognized as one of the most common strategies to improve MOOC participants’ learning experience and reduce the high drop-out rates that characterized them. Yet, the appropriate gamified elements need to be carefully selected to enhance effectiveness of MOOC's design, especially in professional development MOOCs. In this thesis, an evaluation framework is proposed for evaluating the gamification’s integration in MOOCs for professional development (MOOCs4PD), based on the psychological, behavioral, and learning outcomes along with their potential factors regarding the learners’ profile and overall success of MOOCs4PD. A pre-course survey is used to collect data about the general characteristics of participants, their gamification profile, their intention towards the MOOC and their initial competence level. Data about the psychological outcomes that participants experienced regarding to the overall gamification experience, the gamification experience per element and the attitude towards gamification after the course completion are collected by a post-course survey. This gamification experience is based on how the gamification elements made the participants feel during the course (the sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, motivation, competence, autonomy, accomplishment, challenge, competition, guided, social experience, usefulness). In the same post-course survey, participants also self-reflect on their behavioral outcomes, namely, the perceived use, the continued use intention, the platform experience, and the achieved competence level. In addition, the behavioral outcomes’ data about the engagement of participants with the course and the personal completion rate are retrieved and analysed from the MOOC’s platform. This evaluation framework was implemented and validated through a real-life case scenario, that is, the Learn2Analyzed MOOC (L2A MOOC 2021). The L2A MOOC 2021 is a competence based MOOC4PD that integrates specific gamification elements, aiming to support the development and accreditation of both core and advanced competences for Educational Data Analytics of Online and Blended teaching and learning. The L2A MOOC 2021 started on March 1st, 2021, and closed on June 6th, 2021, with 2188 enrolled participants from 83 countries. From the enrolled participants, 1235 unique participants started the L2A MOOC (56,44% of the enrolled), namely, the participants that answered the pre-course survey, with 282 to have completed the post-course survey and the assessment requirements for the L2A MOOC certification (Completion Rate=22,83% from those who started the course and 12,88% from those initially enrolled). In regard to the self-reported intention of course completion and the personal completion rate of the 1235 participants, they achieved, on average, almost the half of their initial goal (Overall Goal Achievement Ratio = 0,438). The 282 participants, that successfully completed the MOOC, presented a perceived Educational Data Literacy (EDL) competence advancement of one level, from Advanced Beginner (initial level=2) to Competent (achieved level=3). With regard to gamification, the post-course survey indicated that participants who completed the L2A MOOC showed positive psychological and behavioral outcomes. The overall gamification experience, the gamification experience per element, the platform experience and the continued use intention presented strong and positive relationships among them. The attitude towards gamification was strongly affected by the psychological outcomes, but moderately by the behavioral outcomes, while the perceived use showed only a low positive relationship with overall gamification experience. The positive relationship between the sense of competence that participants got from the integration of gamification and the achieved competence level indicated that elements being directly connected with EDL competences helped users to self-assess their achieved level. Among the different gamification profiles, the participants that had already used themselves gamification in their educational design in the past showed significantly better psychological and behavioral outcomes, while participants who were familiar with the gamification were indicated with significantly greater continued intention and more earned Points. The analysis of the participants’ gamification profile based on the player types showed that a participant was more likely to complete the course if he/she had been characterized as Player and/or Disruptor compared with the other player types. In respect of earned Points, engagement did not seem to have been affected or have affected any of the outcomes. Personal Goal Achievement and EDL competence level advancement did not show any effect, even though the achieved EDL competence level was slightly affected by the psychological and behavioral outcomes.

Postgraduate Studies Programme

Ηλεκτρονική Μάθηση

Department

Σχολή Τεχνολογιών Πληροφορικής και Επικοινωνιών. Τμήμα Ψηφιακών Συστημάτων

Number of pages

246

Language

English

URI

https://dione.lib.unipi.gr/xmlui/handle/unipi/13643
http://dx.doi.org/10.26267/unipi_dione/1066

Collections

Τμήμα Ψηφιακών Συστημάτων

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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as
Αναφορά Δημιουργού-Μη Εμπορική Χρήση-Όχι Παράγωγα Έργα 3.0 Ελλάδα