Using Digital Tools for Gamification in Schools

Abstract

Gamification in education represents the application of game design elements and game principles in teaching with the aim of increasing student motivation and engagement. Although it is important to motivate students in classroom teaching, it is even more important in online or hybrid teaching models that are increasingly being implemented nowadays due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Gamification can be used in education at different levels, from primary and secondary schools to universities. The analysis of literature on the use of gamification in Croatian education showed that it is more present in university education and less in primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, experience shows that games and many digital tools are used in schools for the purpose of gamification, although there is a gap in the literature on this topic. The research presented in this paper is a work-in-progress on the use of gamification in education. The paper gives an overview of digital tools used for gamification in schools to increase students' motivation and the quality of teaching. Systematic research on gamification should be continued in order to propose appropriate pedagogical-technological frameworks that facilitate the application of gamification in schools.