Learning with gamified information systems

Abstract

Gamification is increasingly used in both private and work life domains. Whereas research on gamification has shown that gamification can have a positive impact on motivational and performance-related outcomes, some contradictory findings suggest that the specific design and implementation of gamification as well as the contexts in which gamification takes place play a crucial role for the specific effects on learning-related outcomes. Moreover, it is still unclear which specific gamification design elements are effective, how they can be combined, and how the implementation of specific gamification design elements might affect learning-related outcomes. Against this background, this thesis investigates the effects of gamification and the contexts in which gamification may take place using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that individualized gamification design elements can positively affect motivational and performance-related outcomes. Additionally, the specific learning opportunities of the contexts in which gamification is implemented should be considered in the design of suitable gamification design elements.