To date, one of the major problems in the field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is to engage students in meaningful interactions. Past research has addressed this issue by using scripts, a procedure that humans and computers can use to reduce extraneous interactions. Nevertheless, it has caused negative learning outcomes and motivational problems over time. Thus, in our work, we propose an innovative approach that combines gamification, a strategy to increase engagement, and personalization to improve the chances of successful learning. Both gamification and personalization of collaborative learning (CL) are complex tasks that require a specific organization of knowledge about game-design and theories of human learning. To deal with this, we formalize such knowledge into an ontology and, on top of it, we built computational tools, procedures, and mechanisms to support well-thought-out gamified CL activities. We conducted three full-scale empirical studies during a semester in real situations with around 60 students each. Findings of these studies have shown statistically significant differences between our approach and the current state of the art. We found positive effects of our approach on students' intrinsic motivation and skill/knowledge acquisition with a strong positive correlation among them. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that developed an effective and efficient method to deal with motivational problems.
The use of Computer-Support Collaborative Learning (CSCL) scripts is an effective approach to support meaningful interactions and better collaborative learning (CL). Unfortunately, in some situations, scripted collaboration decreases the motivation and engagement of students, which makes more difficult to use it over time. To deal with this problem, we propose the use of gamification as Persuasive Technology (PT) to induce the students to follow the intended learning behavior specified by CSCL scripts, with a positive change in the learners' attitude. Nevertheless, to achieve this goal, it is necessary an exhaustive knowledge on gamification and its impact on CL. Thus, we are developing an ontology to provide a formal systematization of the knowledge on gamification and its proper application in CL scenarios. In this paper, we focus in the formalization of basic concepts related to gamification as a PT in CL scenarios. Furthermore, to demonstrate the applicability of our approach in CL scenarios, we present a case study, where we built and apply a personalized gamification model based on the ontological structures defined in this work.
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