Adaptive Gamification: Application in Online Learning and Collaboration

This paper examines the application of adaptive gamification in digital learning environments to enable desired learning outcomes. Online learning has become more prevalent since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, remote learning lacks the external stimuli and face-to-face interaction essential to promote motivation, engagement, and collaboration (Walter & Woolery, 2021). There is a pressing need for a new model of education where students can learn and collaborate remotely. Even though an increasing number of literatures has shown the potential effect of gamification in promoting motivation and engagement among students, there is a lack of systematic frameworks that guide educators to apply gamified experience in their classrooms (Alhammad & Moreno, 2018). Using studies on gamification, motivation, and collaborative learning, this Major Research paper analyzes how adaptive gamification can be best applied in online learning and collaboration. Along with this MRP, a minimum viable product, Sandbox, was created. Sandbox is an online training platform that can be used to enhance collaborative learning in a wide variety of contexts and subject areas. This prototype illustrates the interplay of two core features used to enable engagement towards desired learning outcomes: (1) personalized gamified experience drawn from individual motivational affordance and (2) productive online collaboration frameworks that overcome the limitation of remote learning.