Assessing the Impact of Gamification in Higher Education: An Experimental Study using Kahoot! and Nearpod During COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed rapid and significant changes upon education systems. Most educational institutions transferred abruptly from traditional face-to-face delivery to distance learning formats through virtual classrooms. As a result of this shift, many faculty members have faced challenges in keeping their students engaged during lectures. Gamification is often proposed as a promising solution to enhance student motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes attainment. This study investigates the effectiveness of the gamification mechanism on undergraduate students in a computer programming course using Kahoot! and Nearpod during distance learning. The findings of the study show that there is some correlation between student engagement, learning motivation, academic performance, and the use of gamification.