Gamification as a Strategy for Enhancing Participation in e-Learning Environments

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the effects of a proposed gamification strategy in eLearning environments through integrating roles of school community members (school principal, educational supervisor, teacher, student, and parent) in order to improve their levels of participation in eLearning. A mixed methods research approach was used: Quantitative data were collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to a sample of 41 faculty members specializing in educational technology in Saudi public universities, while qualitative data were collected through interviews with eight experts in the same field. The results showed that all factors had a medium impact, except for the impact of student performance on teacher performance, which showed the highest average impact, and the impact of student performance on the performance of the school principal, which showed the lowest average impact. Additionally, the results of the interviews were discussed as interpretation of the quantitative data, which confirmed—from the points of view of both the experts and the questionnaire recipients—the effectiveness of the proposed gamification strategy in improving the level of participation of all school community members. Based on the results, the study recommended the use of the proposed gamification strategy.