Gamification and Advanced Technology to Enhance Motivation in Education
Rafael Molina-Carmona and Faraón Llorens-Largo
Informatics
ISSN: 2227-9709
Special Issue “Gamification and Advanced Technology to Enhance Motivation in Education”
Volume 7, issue 2
2020
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/2/20

Abstract
The aim of this Special Issue is to compile a set of research works that highlight the use of gamification and other advanced technologies as powerful tools for motivation during learning. We have been fortunate to obtain a representative sample of the current research activity in this field.

Keywords
gamification; serious games; motivation

Conclusions
Playing is a pleasant, motivating human activity from which much can be learned. Teachers can take advantage of the characteristics of games to impregnate their teaching methodologies and motivate their students. The interactive features of the games, the action, and the speed strengthens the neurons and links that are involved in the correct prediction by means of endorphins and dopamine, giving the player the sensation commonly known as fun. This is how learning and intrinsic motivation occur.
Motivation is one of the key aspects of good instructional design and becomes more important as the learner takes ownership of the process. In traditional teaching, the teacher in the classroom can react to the attitudes of the students. However, in online teaching, the interaction between teacher and students and students among themselves becomes less intense, and the interaction of students with learning resources becomes more important. In this sense, designing the learning experience with the aim of motivating the students will serve both face-to-face and remote teaching.
With the conviction that games, gamification, and other related technologies have this motivating potential, the call for participation in this Special Issue was made. The selected articles present innovative ideas, models, approaches, technologies, reviews, and case studies that contribute to creating a publication of high interest. The Guest Editors of this Special Issue would like to thank the authors for their great work, which enriches research on gamification and advanced technology to enhance motivation in education.