Conceptual Framework for Gamified E-Learning Programs

The advance of the Information and Communication Technologies had a significant impact on the pedagogical approaches adopted in the teaching-learning process: the traditional repetitive and behavioural models seem to be no longer appropriate to meet the growing learning needs of students, thus requiring the transformation to adaptive practices which include active participation and collaboration between learners (C. Gütl, C. Cheong, F. Cheong, V. Chang, S. Z. Nau, J. Pirker, Expectations of the generation NeXt in higher education, 2015; J. Chauhan, S. Taneja, A. Goel, Enhancing MOOC with Augmented Reality, Adaptive Learning and Gamification, 2015). Many educational games were developed to respond to this issue, in order to increase the engagement and motivation of students in learning, increasingly unmotivated with the current educational system (B. B. Lambruschini, W. G. Pizarro, Tech—Gamification in university engineering education: Captivating students, generating SBC, 2015). Nevertheless, these tools are not often used by teachers and trainers, due to, inter alia, the difficulty of balancing pedagogical objectives and entertainment (D. Dicheva, K. Irwin, C. Dichev, S. Talasila, A course gamification platform supporting student motivation and engagement, 2014). In this context, the consortium of the Sparks project, Strategic Partnership for Digital Education Readiness co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, through this Conceptual Framework for Gamified E-Learning Programs aimed at providing vocational teachers and trainers with a reference structure to design gamified learning experiences through an iterative and incremental approach.

About the project

The project Sparks brings togheter six partner institutions from six countries: Lascò, project Coordinator (Italy); Bexley-C Level IT (Romania); Center for Innovative Education (Poland); ECOS-Cooperativa de Educação, Cooperação e Desenvolvimento, CRL (Portugal); Femxa Formación S.L.U. (Spain); Kyttaro Enallaktikon Anazitiseon Neaon - KEAN (Greece). The main objectives of the project are developing innovative practices and tools for VET providers to use digital technologies for learning in a creative and collaborative way, and increasing the ability of VET learners, teachers and trainers to adapt to online learning. In a 24-month journey, since May 2021, the consortium will produce the following results:

• International Research on "Gamification and Game-Based Learning: Best Practices and Requirements for Digital Environments", carried out in the six countries involved. The six national and the comparative research reports, including the findings and conclusions of transnational research of best practices and focus groups with VET teachers, trainers and learners, are available at www.projectsparks.eu. 
• This Conceptual Framework for Gamified E-Learning Programs, to support teachers and trainers in designing their own gamified courses, combining game elements in different online learning stages.
• Templates of Gamified E-Learning Programs, applying the Conceptual Framework and designed with mixed groups of VET teachers and trainers, through Co-design Labs, to be customizable, flexible and work with any curriculum.
• An E-Learning Platform, which will provide a builder to create gamified learning programs by choosing and filling out the desired Template, manage the program and monitor learners' progress, behaviour and engagement. The platform will be tested in pilot with VET providers and learners and refined accordingly. The platform will also host a long-term virtual transnational community of education and training providers interested in innovating their practices through digital game-based learning and sharing knowledge and experiences.
• Support Material for the platform users, including video tutorials, e-learning modules and use cases for teachers and trainers, and an interactive user manual for learners.