Quiz Tools in Algorithms Courses: Applying Educational Gamification Design Principles and Encouraging Students' Interaction

摘要

One of the main obstacles faced by students initiating their academic life in the courses of the computing field is the difficulty to comprehend the concepts related to the construction of algorithms. To promote interaction of students with these concepts, their peers and with the teacher, one of the methodological resources used is gamification. To investigate the potential use of this resource, specifically in relation to quiz tools and their contributions to the teaching and learning process in this scenario, the following methodological steps were taken: (a) analysis of gamified quiz tools in relation to principles of educational gamification design; (b) selection of one of the analyzed tools; (c) use of the selected tool in class; and (d) discussion about its potential and questions related to the design of this kind of tool for use in this context. For the analysis of the potential use of gamification and the chosen tool, a practice of exploratory nature was made, in a classroom environment with a total of 31 students, in the first semester of a course of Computer Science. Highlighting only the question of potential use in the scenario in question, gamification motivated the class and constituted challenges for both the professor and the students, insofar as establishing flexibility, creativity and partnership among professor and students.