Background: Leaderboards are among the most popular gamification elements in education. Some studies have implemented leaderboards and reported their individual effects on students' learning. Despite the emergence of relevant empirical studies, most of the existing reviews have only investigated the holistic impact of gamification. No previous…

Effective educational interventions require sufficient learner engagement, which can be difficult to achieve if the learner is inadequately motivated. Games have been shown to possess powerful motivators that fuel a person's desire to engage in unattractive activities, such as learning theoretical material. However, to design an educational game…

This article aims to provide a systematic review of existing research on the use of digital game-based learning (DGBL) technology for foreign language (English) in preschool and elementary schools. Digital game-based technology enables learning to become more interactive and inspirational, thereby enhancing language acquisition. The authors…

Game-based learning (GBL) may address the unique characteristics of a single subject such as chemistry. Previous systematic reviews on the effects of GBL have yielded contradictory results concerning cognitive and motivational outcomes. This meta-analysis aims to: (a) estimate the overall effect size of GBL in chemistry education on cognitive,…

The advanced visualisation and interactive capabilities make immersive virtual reality (IVR) attractive for educators to investigate its educational benefits. This research reviewed 64 studies published in 2016-2020 to understand how science educators designed, implemented, and evaluated IVR-based learning. The immersive design features (sensory,…

A pedagogical agent is an anthropomorphic virtual character used in an online learning environment to serve instructional purposes. The design of pedagogical agents changes over time depending on the desired objectives for them. This article is a systematic review of the research from 2007 to 2017 related to the design factors of pedagogical…

The purpose of this review paper was to conduct a literature review on the effects of colors on learners' learning cognition and emotions. Findings of this review could inform practitioners about better color choices they could use to present information and design learning materials in ways that decrease learners' cognitive load, increase their…

Identifying and fulfilling adult learners' needs is critical to instructional designs aimed at enhancing their achievement and self-empowerment. In reviewing different theories and perspectives on adult learning and online and blended learning (OBL), it is noteworthy that there is not a comprehensive framework to guide the design of OBL…

This study aims to explore the current published research on Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs), outlining the types of papers, countries where studies were performed and institutions devoted to this field. Also, it intends to classify the reviewed literature following a general categorisation of MOOCs, and to identify the main trends…

Digital gamification has been argued to be a fun and enjoyable method to support Learning English as a Second Language (LESL) and to ease the gap between students' learning and educational practice. This systematic review presents an overview of the state of the art on the use of gamification for LESL in digital environments. Furthermore, this…

There is rising evidence that it is an increasingly difficult task for teachers to engage students in learning. This important problem in daily instruction has produced numerous research activities focusing on conditions and consequences of student engagement. However, these activities have led to a complex situation in which findings are widely…

This research examines a selection of academic articles, existing evidence, and early indications of newly-designed Learning Management System (LMS) tools/functions, and then analyzes and synthesizes the concepts to form a thorough description of the components within the concept of next-generation LMS. The comparison of conventional LMS and…

In this article we argue that to study or apply games as learning environments, multiple perspectives have to be taken into account. We first define game-based learning and gamification, and then discuss theoretical models that describe learning with games, arguing that playfulness is orthogonal to learning theory. We then review design elements…

Motivation is recognized as a vital component in successful second language learning, and has been the subject of intensive research in recent decades. This review focuses on a growing branch of this research effort, that which examines the motivational effects of language teaching. This is pertinent because, despite enhanced mobility and…

In this review, we investigated game design features that promote engagement and learning in game-based learning (GBL) settings. The aim was to address the lack of empirical evidence on the impact of game design on learning outcomes, identify how the design of game-based activities may affect learning and engagement, and develop a set of general…