HONOURS PROJECT LITERATURE SYNTHESIS Improving student engagement with educational material Deon Takpuie Supervised by: Professor Sonia Berman Category Min Max Chosen 1 Requirement Analysis and Design 0 20 20 2 Theoretical Analysis 0 25 0 3 Experiment Design and Execution 0 20 15 4 System Development and Implementation 0 15 5 5 Results, Findings and Conclusion 10 20 10 6 Aim Formulation and Background Work 10 15 10 7 Quality of Report Writing and Presentation 10 10 8 Adherence to Project Proposal and Quality of Deliverables 10 10 9 Overall General Project Evaluation 0 10 0 Total marks 80 DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE UNIVERISTY OF CAPE TOWN 2012 NRF FUNDED RESEARCH The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. Abstract The Vula wiki tool is under-utilized in the computer science department at UCT, and in some other departments has been replaced by alternative wiki tools that are easier to use. Since the wiki can be a valuable educational tool, it was decided thatgamificiation should be used to increase the usability of the Vula wiki on mobile phones. This led to the development of a system for computer science undergraduate students which used an iterative user-centered design approach; consisting of a design, implementation and evaluation of a prototype in each stage. Initially, two low-fidelity then two high-fidelity prototypes are developed whilst incorporating user feedback from the previous iteration. At the same time, gamification rules, which are influenced largely by the GameFlow criteria for player enjoyment in games, are refined continually. Thereafter, the final system is completed and evaluated with a summative evaluation using the experimental process (on just 10 users). Overall, there has been no (significant) improvement in the usability of the Vula wiki through gamification, but was statistically significantly faster for 1(out of 5) tasks and had statistically significantly less errors for 1(out of 5) tasks. However, this is the first time gamification has been introduced to the Vula wiki and has been met by positive user feedback (although honesty is not assured). We believe this project to be a first step in tackling an important problem because it seems not many students do use the Vula wiki based on this research. Future extensions include improvement of game rules and general wiki functionality of the system. 1 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my main supervisor, Professor Sonia Berman, who helped every step of the way and provided valuable feedback on my writing. Also, I am grateful for the idea of making the wiki more usable for students. I would also like to thank the co-supervisor, Mr. Stephen Marquad, for always willing to answer questions about the Vula system, of which he is the coordinator. I would also like to thank my project partner, Reitumetse Chaka, who suggested the idea of gamification, which is essential to our project solution. Furthermore, I hereby acknowledge his wonderful work ethic and timeliness in meeting deliverables. I would also like to thank Samsung for sponsoring me with a mobile phone for the duration of the project. I hereby acknowledged all the students who participated in user testing for this project, I am most grateful for the time (and even extra) that you have given me. I would also like to thank my mother for her endless sacrifices and support, as well as my late father for instilling a passion for technology in me. Likewise, I also hereby acknowledge my High School computer science teacher, Mr. Dale Mckenzie, for introducing programming to me and his constant encouragement. I would also to thank my family and friends for their support as well. Last but not least, I thank Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, as I could not have done this without Him. He has given me strength, passion and much needed perseverance to finish this project. 2 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 2 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... 8 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 11 1.3 Research Design..................................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................... 12 1.5 System Overview ................................................................................................................... 12 1.6 Ethical Issues ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.7 Outline ................................................................................................................................... 13 2 Previous Work ............................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Gamification .......................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Essential Game Elements ................................................................................................ 17 2.2.3 Benefits .......................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.4 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.5 Psychology ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Gamification methods at university ........................................................................................ 18 2.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Types ............................................................................................................................. 19 2.3.3 Chosen gamification tool ................................................................................................ 21 2.3.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Wiki ....................................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.2 Structure ......................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 22 2.5 Gamification of the wiki ......................................................................................................... 23 2.5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 23 3 2.5.2 Gamifying the wiki ......................................................................................................... 23 2.5.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 23 2.6 Mobile Usability .................................................................................................................... 24 2.6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 24 2.6.2 Techniques ..................................................................................................................... 24 2.6.3 Wiki UI Techniques ....................................................................................................... 26 2.6.4 User Evaluations ............................................................................................................ 27 2.6.5 Conclusion