ENHANCE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT: A GAMIFIED ENVIRONMENT FOR ORGANISING AND DOING HOMEWORK
A. Fotopoulos1, P. Vlachogianni1, M. Xenos1, N. Tselios1, G. Theodoropoulos2, M. Carvalheira3, L. Meira4, V. Coelho4, H. Azevedo4, F. Machado4, A. Mallas1, M. Stamati1
This paper presents an online learning platform designed to enhance the engagement of primary and secondary school students. This platform helps students organize their homework by providing an environment where they can access it with their smartphone or tablet and can see the daily list of activities that they must perform to prepare for the next day. Furthermore, the platform incorporates gamification elements to keep students engaged, prevent them from skipping their assignments and raise their productivity. Subsequently, it includes a monitoring tool for teachers, so that they can track students' progress and tailor the learning process to individual needs. The gamified homework environment allows the easy creation of gamified experiences independent of the specifics of each course, thus providing a versatile educational tool encouraging the take-up, use, and adoption in all schools regardless of the courses they provide. Combining the functionalities of a gamified environment with an assignment scheduling tool that provides also interactive educational materials, personalised for students' needs, the platform has been positively evaluated by students and teachers from Greece, Portugal, and Lithuania in terms of overall experience, engagement, and learning outcomes.
Keywords: Gamification, engagement, e-learning, homework, education.