Abstract:

Gamification is a strategy currently on the rise to increase the motivation and commitment of students in the classroom. Recently, many online tools that provide real-time interactive experiences have emerged. Some of them provide an Application Program Interface (API) that lets instructors integrate them into existing university online courses. One of the most widespread of these tools is Wooclap, which lets students answer questionnaires and take part in other real-time activities from their smartphones or laptop computers.

In this work, we make use of some Wooclap activities in the classroom to engage students in game-like assessments. The activities provide points, a classification showing the most successful students, and grades which can be loaded into the University’s Moodle-based student portal. Instructors of subjects from seven different Computer and Telecommunications Engineering degrees have been involved in this experience.

We also examine the answers to a survey in which students give their opinions on the use of gamification in the classroom. The results show that most students understand that using Wooclap makes the subject more attractive, its content more accessible, and it increases their motivation and interest. The majority also believe that Competition mode, including points and public rankings, increases their participation and that these activities have been useful in reviewing main concepts and consolidating their knowledge.

To conclude, we analyze whether the use of gamification can improve quantitatively the student’s performance.

Keywords:

Gamification, methodology, motivation, teaching experience.