Abstract:

The dynamic development of communication and information systems currently favours the implementation the innovative solutions supporting human activities undertaken in various business and non-business areas. In recent years, new concepts are increasingly being used to strengthen human motivation towards initiating his various activities and behaviour change. An example of such an idea is gamification.

Gamification is the concept that utilizes the specific mechanisms and techniques taken from the games to increase the engagement as well as to modify the behaviour and habits of people. It is used in business, among others in marketing, sales, human resource management, and now increasingly in education.

The contemporary universities and academic teachers often experience problems with low motivation and low involvement of students. Findings of different studies indicate that one of the possible solutions to this situation may be to apply the mechanisms of gamification in higher education. An important advantage of this concept is its relationship with the fun, which means that the learning is not only more effective and motivating, but also enjoyable.

The paper presents the results of the survey, which aim was the evaluation of gamification as a method of increasing the engagement of students. The survey was conducted among students from Lublin universities in Poland. The analysis of their opinion about the utilization of the mechanisms of gamification in higher education constitutes a key content of this paper. The obtained results indicate a high level of acceptance the gamification by respondents.

Keywords:

Gamification, building engagement, higher education.