Beyond Points and Badges: Deepening Engagement in MOOCs through Gamification

Abstract

Despite massive open online courses (MOOCs’) widespread acceptance, the substantial dropout rate among learners remains a significant challenge in remote education. Although gamification has been identified as a potential strategy to address this issue, preliminary research on this topic is limited in scope and methodology. Therefore, this study aims to explore the application of gamification in MOOCs and its impact on participant engagement and course completion rates. Twenty-two articles were systematically nominated and reviewed under preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. They were extracted from 225 articles indexed in the Scopus database for various criteria, including peer-reviewed articles published within the last five years to ensure we use articles with the latest technological developments. The analysis emphasizes that despite its limitations, gamification in MOOCs positively influenced learner engagement and completion rates through strategies such as badges, leaderboards, and challenges. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the potential of gamification to enhance learner engagement and improve course completion rates in MOOCs, contributing to more effective remote education strategies. The study concludes by identifying the need for future research on long-term effects across different types of MOOCs and the sustainability of engagement over time.