DESIGNING A GAMIFIED WEB APPLICATION FOR TRAINING ACADEMIC READING SKILLS

In this paper, we present didactical, technical, and interaction design aspects of a learning environment for training academic text reading skills in higher education that is currently being developed. The concept is built on experience gained from a gamified learning environment for academic abilities in the domain of German orthography standards. It uses spaced repetition for skill training instead of just memorizing facts and maintains user models that allow for adaptive task selection using expert-designed skill lists and task-skill allocations. Gamification components such as levels and ranks have been incorporated to boost motivation. Only 19% of users (n=121) ceased using the application when they reached the minimum obligatory goal in homework assignments, indicating that the motivational effects work for the target group. The foundation for transferring these experiences to a new domain is laid by analyzing academic reading skills and competencies to be trained. In the design phase, task categories, interface mockups, and gamification mechanisms for the envisioned web application have been sketched, and it will now be implemented as an open-source application.