Gamification Really Works Out! An Experiment among Adolescents Reading Gamified Electronic Books

Purpose: The current study examined the effectiveness of gamified reading of electronic books among adolescents in school libraries.Method: A randomized sample of students aged 11 to 12 years including two control and experimental groups from four schools participated in this study. According to the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Emotions (MDE) framework, six gamification elements were implemented as group challenges. The experiences were then evaluated based on a quasi-experimental design with a post-test via the GAMEX scale.Findings: Multiple independent t-tests using SPSS 26.0 showed that the gamified experience and its relevant subscales including enjoyment, absorption, creative thinking, activation, absence of negative affect, and dominance differed significantly between the two groups. Therefore, the results revealed that implementing gamification in the reading experience within a gamified environment is highly effective and will influence adolescents' interest, motivation and ability to read in library contexts, which can be of interest to experts and policymakers in education and computer science.Conclusion: Various game mechanisms can be integrated into the educational context or platforms like electronic books to make learning interesting and motivating to the students.