An Open-Source Platform for Using Gamification and Social Learning Methodologies in Engineering Education: Design and Experience

It is commonly accepted that contemporary cohorts of students witness and experience the benefits of information technologies in their learning processes. The so-called "digital natives" acquire, as a consequence of their early exposure to these technologies, different patterns of work, distinct attention conducts, new learning preferences and, generally, better skills for learning and working within rich online social contexts. So, it seems reasonable that the traditional education systems evolve and shape their practice to leverage those new patterns. Despite the fact that online social networks (osns) are widely recognized as a powerful vector for adding a new social dimension to the learning management systems (lmss), osns do not fully integrate the specific features of the learning process yet and traditional lmss do not exploit the advantages of an active social environment for reinforcing the learning experience. In this paper, we report the design, implementation, and use of a software platform (SocialWire) that leverages on the basic capabilities of an osn and extends the functionality toward its use in very general learning environments. We argue that this approach, together with gamification elements, is helpful in increasing the students' motivation, besides improving the learning experience and performance. This software system has been in use for 3 years in different subject areas in our university. Our outcomes and the feedback provided both by teachers and students support the introduction of social features, gamification elements, and informal processes into the traditional teaching practices. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.