The Use of Gamification and Web-Based Apps for Sustainability Education

Abstract

This article dwells on the role of gamified digital tools in promoting environmental self-awareness and action. In particular, it unfolds the outreach of a web application, developed within the European GoBeEco project, aimed at encouraging users to adopt ecological and sustainability habits. In this article, the focus is on the implementation of the project in Portugal, and, therefore, the data presented in the results reflect the involvement of participants on a national level. Overall, more than two dozen participants were involved in the validation of the application, which comprised three evaluation phases involving the distribution of questionnaires and the organisation of a focus group aimed at assessing the role of GoBeEco in fostering sustainable personal change and also evaluating specifically the role that gamified elements played in that change. Results show that the application had a very positive impact on the users and helped mitigate the well-documented gap between sustainable awareness and action, and, also, that the gamification strategy contributed to that purpose. We argue that the potential of these applications in Portugal is latent but still has room for growth. In this sense, the study also highlights future paths for the development and implementation of these tools, based on the features most valued by users—access to statistical data, examples from real life, gamified and fun elements, and focus on daily, individual actions, among others.