Implementation of gamification elements in online learning using lms moodle

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Implementation of gamification elements in online learning using lms moodle

Volodymyr But, Deputy Director; Anastasiia Horozhankina, Head of Laboratory of electronic means for distance learning, Institute of Innovative Educational Technologies

Annotation

Key words: e-learning, gamification, Moodle, motivation

Introduction

Gamification as an methodology in learning triggers rewards system in order to achieve higher learners' satisfaction level, which is crucial in a reality of online learning due to reduced social interactions. Elements of the gamification are relatively easy added to Moodle, as this system already offers features, which can be set in a way to provide learners with gamified interface.

Gamification potential lies in harnessing motivation and involvement, which suffered greatly once students involuntary became online learners. Most educational institutes in Ukraine are using traditional methodology in education process, that are suited for a face-to-face communication, and this concern not only teachers but students as well, because online learning requires different set of both teaching and learning skills.

The basic principle of adding gamification elements to Moddle is identifying desirable learners' behavior and setting some type of reward. But in order to implement working system it is crucial to consider major areas that are influenced by gamification.

First of all, it's cognitive system. It is implied, that games have some set of rules and mechanisms, that are discovered by players through active discovery in order to win. Plus, it is possible to success in different ways, so player can choose the most suitable strategy. Another important point is that game propose immediate rewards and prospective (next level), which might help students establish their study trajectory.

gamification online studying moodle

Secondly, emotional sphere

Games trigger wide spectrum of emotion, such as joy, curiosity, frustration etc. For sure, players aka learners experience failures sometimes, even repeated failures, but in game space failure is a part of discovery process, the feedback is quick and stakes are relatively low, thus player can keep experimenting. When it comes to educational institutions, stakes are usually quite high, which results in anxiety.

Thirdly, social interactions

Games might or not might imply interaction between students, but creating shared discourse is one of the educational institutions merits. Online learning provides a unique opportunity to try new identities for participants and explore new way to interact with each others.

In order to illustrate gamification phenomenon Kevin Werbach proposed a pyramid scheme, that represents three key elements of gamification:

- Dynamics (structure of the game, e.g. rules: limitations, emotions, narrative, progression, etc).

- Mechanisms (progression routes).

- Components (avatars, points, achievements, leaderbords, levels, etc).

Moodle is a popular open platform, designed for module-oriented study. It provides lots of application in order to manage learning process and allows to create dynamic environment for both students and teachers. LMS also collects data on participants, which can be used to identify struggles and build objective assessment of learner's progress.

Thus, this work is concerned with a way to provider quick and effective feedback in order to increase online learning efficiency and increase students' s satisfaction level in LMS Moodle.

Gamification elements in LMS Moodle. Analyzing Moodle plugins following table of gamification elements were conducted (Table 1).

Table 1. Gamification elements