Educational gamification has become increasingly applied in recent years. In a nutshell, it consists in adopting a game design approach and using game elements to influence learning-related behaviours and attitudes, with the ultimate aim of fostering the formation of positive learning habits and increasing the motivation to learn.

Differences between Gamification, Serious Games, Game-based learning

The term “gamification” is relatively recent since it entered more widespread use in industry and academia only around 2010, and it can be defined according to Deterding et al. as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts”¹.

So, it is possible to distinguish gamified apps from serious games since serious games are complete games designed mainly for non-entertainment purposes ².

On the other hand, gamification, rather than creating entire games, foresees just the application of game elements. Furthermore, specifying that gamified applications are meant to be used in non-gaming contexts enables us to draw a line between the world of gamified applications (as well as serious games) and the world of games, since the latter’s primary purpose is entertainment ³.

Finally, there are relevant differences between gamification and game-based learning, as game-based learning occurs when students play actual games, both analogical and digital, for the purpose of learning ⁴.

1. Deterding, S., Khaled, R., Nacke, L., & Dixon, D. (2011). Gamification: toward a definition. Chi 2011
2. Barca, S., Botte, B., Marinensi, G., Matera, C., & Medaglia, C. M. (2012). A taxonomy and a proposal for a classification of serious game. In Handbook of Research on Serious Games as Educational, Business and Research Tools (Vol. I, pp. 1–1233).
3. Marczewski, A. (2018). Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Unicorn Edition. Gamified UK.
4.  Schmidt, R., Emmerich, K., & Schmidt, B. (2015). Applied Games – In Search of a New Definition. In Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 9353). Springer, Cham. 

Gamification in Higher Education

Numerous studies have been conducted, in recent years, on the effectiveness of educational gamification, specifically in Higher Education. Most of these studies reported positive results in terms of learning outcomes, students’ attendance and engagement and students’ perceived motivation.

Most Relevant Benefits of a Gamified Higher Education Course

The results of studies conducted over the past few years show the following positive effects from students who participated in gamified Higher Education courses:

• Attitude: students generally showed increased effort, confidence, and participation as a positive effect of participating in gamified educational experiences.

• Learning outcomes: several studies indicated that students who used a gamified application achieved better learning results than those who did not.

• Motivation: an improvement in the level of motivation is one of the most common benefits of educational gamification reported in the literature.

• Engagement: students involved in gamified learning experiences often manifest a higher level of engagement in their learning process.