Evaluating a Gamified Learning App: Usability, User Experience and Learning in Higher Education

A variety of methods can be used to increase student motivation, for example different types of gamification strategies like leaderboards, badges or experience points. Among such methods, the StudiSQ app incorporates various gamification elements. In the app, students can independently repeat content from courses in the form of quizzes. Gamification elements such as badges, ranking lists and duels are used to increase motivation. Approximately 60 students took part in an evaluation of the app with a focus on usability, user experience and learning effect. The latter was measured using two tests, with some of the participants using StudiSQ to prepare for the second test and others using conventional learning methods. In terms of usability (65.9/100) and user experience (0.61/-3 to 3), results were medium to slightly positive. On average, the test results of all participants deteriorated; students who used StudiSQ performed slightly better (-0.36 vs. -0.63 points). No statistically significant difference was found between the two test groups during the evaluation. Appropriate measures for the design and implementation of follow-up studies were discussed. To promote use by students and teachers, it is also necessary to fix bugs and improve usability. Nevertheless, around 90% of the students would use the app again.

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