The Effects of Gamification in Online Learning Environments: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Gamification has recently been presented as a successful strategy to engage users, with potential for online education. However, while the number of publications on gamification has been increasing in recent years, a classification of its empirical effects is still missing. We present a systematic literature review conducted with the purpose of closing this gap by clarifying what effects gamification generates on users’ behaviour in online learning. Based on the studies analysed, the game elements most used in the literature are identified and mapped with the effects they produced on learners. Furthermore, we cluster these empirical effects of gamification into six areas: performance, motivation, engagement, attitude towards gamification, collaboration, and social awareness. The findings of our systematic literature review point out that gamification and its application in online learning and in particular in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are still a young field, lacking in empirical experiments and evidence with a tendency of using gamification mainly as external rewards. Based on these results, important considerations for the gamification design of MOOCs are drawn.

Visualizing research trends and research theme evolution in E-learning field: 1999–2018

“…Previous studies have made a few important attempts to scrutinize a specific theme in e-learning research, such as that of workplace e-learning (Cheng et al 2014), learning style (Özyurt and Özyurt 2015), digital collaborative learning in nursing education (Männistö et al 2020), evaluation of e-learning in medicine education for postgraduates (De Leeuw et al 2019) and in low-and middle-income countries (Barteit et al 2020), gamification in e-learning (Antonaci et al 2019), and mobile learning for language learning (Elaish et al 2019). Even though these research endeavors have provided scholars with an improved understanding of a certain research theme in e-learning, a more comprehensive understanding of the overall picture and development of research themes in the field-here being built upon recent literature-is missing.…”

Policy brief on e-learning and digital business diagnostic tools for entrepreneurs

“…Animations include avatars performing business tasks, or participating in business-related games, often with narration to reinforce learning. Animations can motivate learners by generating an emotional commitment to games that facilitate learning (Mayer, 2020), although the design of game elements requires careful thought about planning the possible sequences of anticipated learning outcomes, including how to test whether knowledge has been acquired (Antonaci et al, 2019).…”

A synthesis of systematic review research on emerging learning environments and technologies

“…In another review, Antonaci et al ( 2019 ) studied the effects of gamification in MOOC-based online learning environments. Their review included 61 studies focusing on six areas, performance, motivation, engagement, attitude towards gamification, collaboration, and social awareness.…”