Jasperactive as a Gamification Tool for Motivation and Engagement in Adult Learners

Abstract

Gamification is the use of game elements in non-gaming contexts. This paper explored how gamification can be a motivation and engagement tool for adult learners in an End-user Computing (EUC) course. Due to their high workloads and limited practice opportunities, staff members at the University of Technology (UoT) struggled to find time to enhance their EUC skills. The researchers used the Jasperactive platform to teach EUC skills to adult learners. A conceptual framework using motivation and engagement theories and elements was used as a conceptual lens for this study. The study followed an interpretive case study design with a qualitative approach. The sample comprised thirty participants who were purposefully selected and regarded as adult learners. Data was collected through the researcher’s observations and one-on-one interviews with six participants. Thematic data analysis was conducted using the elements included in the conceptual framework. The findings revealed how certain gamification elements influenced the motivation and engagement of adult learners. The study findings, furthermore, indicated that gamification may be used to solve motivation and engagement issues in training and working environments if it is well-designed and founded on well-established execution principles. Moreover, when adult learners are motivated and involved in the learning process, current motivation and engagement theories might be useful to explain the phenomenon. Adult learners seemed to be motivated and engaged in the effort to enhance their EUC abilities when using a gamified platform like Jasperactive. The study suggested that the participants were further motivated to complete the course to obtain their Microsoft Office Specialist certificate.