Higher-education students’ perceptions of point-based gamification in a learning management system

Research on gamified learning in higher education has displayed positive, negative, and non-significant results. To understand what makes gamification successful there is a need to study individual game elements over time. The aim of the present study is to investigate the game element points over time in a higher education context, in relation to the hedonic and utilitarian aspects of a gamified learning management system. A scale was developed based on utilitarian, hedonic and motivational elements of the point system, uncovering two main components: utilitarian and hedonic perception of points, and motivational perception of points. The results showed that the perception of the points was positively correlated to the utilitarian and hedonic perception of a gamified learning management system, and that novelty effects are present in terms of the perception of points.