Abstract:

Hall Immersive Room (HIR) is an immersive classroom, designed for the delivery and transmission of virtual courses that, with the integration of video, communication, and interaction technology, break the barriers of distance and improves the relationship between students and teacher, favoring verbal and non-verbal communication of the participants and facilitates high proximity of the teacher with his students in an immersive environment.
The HIR modality emerged to offer a different learning experience in which students from different geographical locations could converge in the same class. The courses given in this type of classroom are taught by outstanding teachers in their discipline applying various didactic resources to promote active learning. This allowed the active learning experience during academic confinement to unfold in an environment of collaboration and accompaniment, because, in addition, one of the pillars of active learning is to promote positive interactions.
In this sense, Gamification based on a reward mechanism contributes to increasing these interactions. Gamification is a didactic strategy that uses elements of the game in non-game contexts with the aim of motivating students [1], promoting sustained attention [2], and engagement [3].
The objective of this study is to show how Gamification based on reward mechanics promoted engagement and attention in the HIR modality and in a Matrix Modeling course for engineering students. The course was made up of 106 students from different geographical locations, the teaching professor, four assistant professors who were in charge of reviewing the activities, tasks, and exams, as well as the production team and academic assistants who observed the class with the aim of giving feedback for improvement. The reward mechanics were based on badges, avatars, and a leadership board. Each badge is intended to recognize some aspect of the student, such as outstanding participation, collaborative work, or outstanding performance.
The methodological approach was concurrent mixed [4], in which qualitative information complemented quantitative information, and vice versa. For the collection of information, an instrument was applied to the students on the previously validated Gamification experience, in which the dimensions of attention, motivation, and engagement are addressed. Qualitative information was collected through observations and interviews with academic assistants.
Among the results obtained are students' sustained participation during the course, an improvement in the task’s quality, and assignments done during the course. Students’ experience was more immersive and enjoyable compared to other classes without these practices.

References:
[1] Özhan, ¸S.Ç.; Kocadere, S.A. The Effects of Flow, Emotional Engagement, and Motivation on Success in a Gamified Online Learning Environment. J. Educ. Comput. Res. 2020, 57, 2006–2031.
[2] Rincon-Flores, E. G. et al. (2023) ‘Gamit! Icing on the Cake for Mathematics Gamification’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(3), pp. 1–13. doi: 10.3390/su15032334.
[3] Hamari, J.; Hassan, L.; Dias, A. Gamification, quantified-self or social networking? Matching users’ goals with motivational technology. User Model. User-Adapt. Interact. 2018, 28, 35–74.
[4] Johnson, R.B.; Onwuegbuzie, A. Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educ. Res. 2004, 33, 14–26.

Keywords:

Higher education, Educative Innovation, Educational Gamification, Immersive Education.