Open-Source Gamification Plug-Ins: A Study on Usability and User Preferences
Authors: Walaszczyk Ludmiła , Arnab Sylvester 
Published: January 2025

In the current educational environment, e-learning and online education have gained significant prominence, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when their importance increased dramatically. Empirical evidence highlights the undeniable benefits of online learning, with learners globally appreciating the flexibility to access course materials at their convenience, free from geographic or time constraints. Despite many companies’ efforts to support online education, some educators are hesitant to adopt this new approach fully. Their concerns revolve around whether online instruction can match traditional classroom teaching's effectiveness, coupled with worries about the financial costs involved in transitioning and the extensive work needed to digitise course materials. Despite these challenges, the integration of plug-ins such as gamification plugins emerges as a transformative force in online education. Gamification plug-ins play a crucial role in infusing gamified elements and mechanics into online courses or digital content, thereby enhancing engagement, motivation, and overall learning experiences. Gamification involves applying game design principles, such as points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, and rewards, to non-game contexts like education or business. In contemporary application, gamification has evolved to include explicit game elements such as quizzes, puzzles, narratives, and mini-game techniques as complementary components in enhancing existing online learning environments. By integrating gamification plug-ins into e-learning platforms or content, educators can create a more interactive and enjoyable learning environment, ultimately leading to improved retention and participation. Thus, in the face of the challenges posed by the transition to online learning, strategically incorporating gamification plug-ins presents a promising approach to addressing concerns regarding efficacy and learner engagement in virtual classrooms. This paper aims to explore the efficacy of specific gamification plug-ins through the evaluation of open-source gamification plug-ins from a user-centric perspective, focusing on their usability and appropriateness. By employing both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, the research seeks to uncover the reasons behind user preferences and prioritise the plug-ins that best support engagement and functionality in their intended applications. Specifically, the study includes an in-depth review of the relevant literature on gamification in education to position the current investigation within a broader academic context. The gamification tools are assessed by VET trainers, learners, and other stakeholders across five European countries—Poland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom (n=258)—to address the need for practical, effective, and open-source gamification solutions compatible with popular LMS/CMS platforms. This study advances the field by offering a systematic analysis of widely used gamification plug-ins and providing new insights into how these tools can be applied to foster learner engagement. By situating the findings in the context of prior research, this paper highlights how gamification contributes to learning outcomes in ways that have not been sufficiently explored, filling an existing gap in the literature. The research questions aim to identify the most user-friendly open-source plug-ins for gamification and determine their usefulness in creating interactive learning content. Ultimately, these insights can inform the design of more engaging e-learning platforms, improving retention and participation rates.