Title:
FIUMLand: A Gamification Approach for Engineering Higher Education [Download]Authors:
Analía Conde, Carmen Blanco, Nicolás Serrano, Enrique Reina
Index Terms:
Abstract:
In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in educational methodologies within higher education. Traditional lecture-based approaches have become less effective in engaging newer generations of students. As a consequence, there has been an increase in the exploration of innovative pedagogical strategies. Among these, active learning methodologies have gained prominence, positioning students at the center of the teaching and learning process and encouraging their active participation. One such approach is gamification, which integrates game design elements into educational contexts to enhance student motivation and engagement. This study focuses on the implementation of gamification in the “Database Design I” course, which is a mandatory first-year subject in the curricula of Computer Engineering, Telematics, Civil, Industrial, and Data & AI Engineering programs at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Montevideo (FIUM), Uruguay. Addressing the observed lack of student motivation in the subject, a gamified application named FIUMLand was developed. This platform offers students an alternative and engaging way to review course content. An initial prototype was introduced to the 2024 cohort, featuring games designed to reinforce SQL knowledge covered in class. Students’ feedback is encouraging, indicating increased student motivation toward the subject. Students have reported that the gamified platform has been a valuable tool in consolidating the concepts learned during lectures.
DOI:
How to cite:
Analía Conde, Carmen Blanco, Nicolás Serrano, Enrique Reina, "FIUMLand: A Gamification Approach for Engineering Higher Education", IEEE-RITA, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 452-460, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.1109/RITA.2025.3639482