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Gamification for development: a case of collaborative learning in Sri Lankan primary schools

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Abstract

Mobile applications and gamification approaches have the potential to provide a better learning experience to children. However, these practices are rarely applied in the developing world. This paper presents a case study of a tablet-based application designed for primary school students in rural Sri Lanka for learning mathematics. In contrast to the previous studies done in developing countries, we carried out an in situ field study over 2 weeks with grade three students (8-year-olds) in two different under-resourced government schools. A comparison study was performed between students who learned through the traditional teaching methods and the ones who learned through the gamified tablet application. Using the post-colonial computing perspective, we report how some of the assumptions commonly applied in the developed countries do not work in a developing country such as Sri Lanka and how the introduction of gamified tablet applications afforded an environment that defied certain cultural norms making students feel comfortable around the teacher. We also observed the traditional teacher-centric learning transforming into a balanced mix of student-centric learning where students took ownership of their learning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia

    Thilina Halloluwa & Dhaval Vyas

  2. University of Colombo School of Computing, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Hakim Usoof & K. P. Hewagamage

Authors
  1. Thilina Halloluwa
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  2. Dhaval Vyas
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  3. Hakim Usoof
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  4. K. P. Hewagamage
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dhaval Vyas.

Appendix

Appendix

1.1 Interview—schedule, script, and questions

1.1.1 Schedule

  • Introduction and set-up (1 min)

  • Questions (8–10 min)

  • Conclusion (2 min)

1.1.2 Script

Introduction

Introduce myself and my research.

Hi, my name is <interviewer name>.

Thank you for taking part in the field trial of the “shopper” application.

Questions (8–10 min)

The following is a list of questions that will be asked (not more than 10 min)

  • Are you using a mobile device? How?

  • Do you know how to interact with money? How did you learn?

  • What are the most engaging parts of the mobile application?

  • What are the most motivating parts of the mobile application?

  • How did you find the challenges? Any comments?

  • Did you interact with your friends while using the application? How? Why?

  • Did you interact with your teacher while using the application? How? Why?

  • What types of issues or problems did you face during the field trial?

Conclusion (1 min)

Any other further comments you’d like to add?

Wrap up and thank the participant.

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Halloluwa, T., Vyas, D., Usoof, H. et al. Gamification for development: a case of collaborative learning in Sri Lankan primary schools. Pers Ubiquit Comput 22, 391–407 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-017-1073-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-017-1073-6

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