Can gamification turn passive students into active participants?

The Solution

The Problem

Drawing from my experience as a digital learning technologist and a former student myself, I identified a common challenge in how students engage with online learning platforms like QMplus.

I started to notice a pattern in how students were engaging with QMplus (our Moodle-based platform). Using Moodle’s built-in activity reports and engagement analytics, I tracked student interaction across several modules and found that most learners were logging in mainly around deadlines. Their participation in formative tasks like quizzes, discussion forums, and self-paced activities was low throughout the rest of the term.

This pattern can lead to shallow engagement, reduced knowledge retention, and limited opportunities for academic staff to identify struggling students early on.

Using Moodle’s built-in activity reports and engagement analytics, I tracked student interaction within a particular undergraduate module and identified a clear pattern: most students were logging in only around assessment deadlines, with minimal engagement in formative activities spread across the term.

To address this challenge, and in collaboration with an academic, I led the design and implementation of a gamified experience using the XP plugin in Moodle. This approach introduced game elements such as experience points, level progression, progress bars, and leaderboards to incentivise regular interaction, create curiousity and encourage a sense of accomplishment.

The course was gamified by assigning poitns (XP) to key learning actions — including quizzes, forum participation, and resource views — from Week 1 through Week 12. The aim was to reward students for consistent, meaningful engagement throughout the semester rather than last-minute activity.

Visual Design

To support the gamified experience, I designed a cohesive set of visual assets (badges) inspired by iconic films like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Marvel, as well as coding languages such as HTML, CSS, and Java. These themes helped make the experience more relatable and engaging for students, while all visuals were custom-made to ensure originality and copyright compliance.

Tools used:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, InDesign) – for designing XP badges, icons, and visual assets

  • Figma – for planning layouts and refining the user interface

  • A consistent colour scheme and visual style maintained across Level 1 to Level 10

My Process

  • I began by analysing engagement data from the Moodle activity reports for the module. This helped me identify which activities students were interacting with — and when.

    The data confirmed that most students were logging in close to assesment deadlines, with low engagement to learning materials during earlier weeks.

  • I worked closely with the module organiser to map out the learning journey across Week 1 to Week 12. We identified key touchpoints — such as videos, quizzes, and discussion forums — that aligned with weekly outcomes.

  • Using the LevelUp XP plugin, we structured a reward system where students could earn points for completing weekly tasks. We focused on encouraging continuous interaction, rather than last-minute activity spikes. The XP system included:

    • Points for viewing resources

    • Participation in forums

    • Completion of weekly quizzes

    • Accessing feedback

To build the visual side of the gamified experience, I followed a structured and creative design workflow:

• I used Adobe Photoshop to develop all visual assets, including badges, level icons, and progress visuals. (A screenshot of the workspace is included below.)

• I explored layout variations and interface structure in Figma, focusing on clarity, progression, and student engagement.

• I used AI tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm gamification mechanics, visual metaphors, and UI ideas to speed up ideation and improve flow.

Before launching the XP system for students, I conducted several rounds of testing within QMplus using dummy student accounts. This allowed me to simulate the learner journey from start to finish and verify that XP and badges were being awarded correctly based on the activity completion conditions.

Each test account was enrolled in the module and assigned specific tasks — such as viewing resources, completing quizzes, or posting in forums — to ensure that the LevelUp XP plugin was accurately tracking behaviour and triggering the corresponding badge unlocks.

To validate this, I configured activity completion settings on selected items (e.g. “view resource,” “achieve quiz grade,” “post in forum”) and confirmed that the XP values and badge rewards displayed correctly in the LevelUp Info and Leaderboard tabs.

Results & Takeways

“In his project, Gamifying Moodle with XP, Chris demonstrated a strong blend of design thinking and technical skill. The visual experience is clean, engaging, and thoughtfully aligned with the learning objectives. His use of gamification elements like XP badges and leaderboards brings a fresh, motivating layer to online learning’’

I really appreciated how Chris approached this project from both a pedagogical and learner-centered perspective. The XP system didn’t just reward task completion — it created a meaningful sense of progression

‘‘That was really straight forward and
pleasing! Thank you Chris, you are the Moodle Guru!

Managing this project from concept to implementation has been a valuable opportunity to deepen my skills in instructional design, UX thinking, and collaborative problem-solving within a higher education setting.

One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of balancing function and creativity — making sure that each gamified element felt purposeful, not just decorative. From badge systems to progress visualisation, I was constantly refining the user journey to ensure that design choices supported actual learning engagement.

Working with an academic partner taught me a lot about aligning instructional goals with technical limitations — especially within a VLE like Moodle. It also reminded me how impactful thoughtful design can be, even when you're working within a familiar platform.

Investing time in planning and testing — from mapping weekly learning objectives to trialling badge logic with dummy accounts — made all the difference. I’ve come to appreciate just how much value early iteration brings to later-stage development.

So, can gamification turn passive students into active participants? Based on this pilot, the answer is yes — when it’s done with purpose. By tying XP rewards to meaningful weekly actions, visualising progress in real time, and creating a sense of friendly competition, we saw learners re-engage with content earlier and more consistently. This project has shown me how thoughtful design and collaboration can reshape how students experience a course — and it’s a strategy I’m excited to explore further in future modules.

Let’s make meaningful learning
experiences together.

Email
christiannivanovv@gmail.com

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London Area Based