SINTOK, 29 July - The innovation lecturer at the Multimedia and Communication Technology Study Center (SMMTC) at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) was chosen as a finalist for the Special Award of the Minister of Higher Education: Innovative Curriculum Design and Delivery (AKRI) 2024 through the innovative learning module, GamiKelas.

The development of GamiKelas, spearheaded by Abd. Hadi Abd. Razak, represents a cutting-edge approach to blended teaching and learning. By integrating gamification elements, this innovative method aims to boost student engagement.

"This project began to be implemented in the second semester of the 2021/2022 session through the UUM teaching and learning platform which is the UUM Online Learning Management System (LMS) or UUM-OL for students taking the Basic Multimedia System course at SMMTC.

"The module is designed to help students achieve the learning outcomes of the first course (CLO1) of the subject. Based on the implementation of GamiKelas, we found that students more easily follow the learning and show a high level of motivation. This was detected based on the active involvement of students who were influenced by the concept of interactive learning and teaching," explained Abd. Hadi.

He will represent UUM at the final presentation session for the GamiKelas project in Putrajaya on August 17, competing for one of the AKRI award categories.

This award was introduced in 2017 as an annual event known as the Malaysian Higher Education Rethinking and Redesign Award (APRS) before being branded as AKRI in 2018.

This prestigious event became a platform for sharing practices and redesigning the country's higher education as well as aiming to identify and recognize initiatives related to learning and teaching innovation at the national higher education level.

There are 4 main AKRI award categories, namely Innovative Study Program Curriculum, Transformative Teaching, Alternative Assessment and Virtual, Blended or Face-to-face Immersive Learning Experiences.

Abd. Hadi said the first implementation of GamiKelas involved 30 students who used the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework to create a more immersive learning experience.

"GamiKelas is made in a way that combines face-to-face classes and online activities through the UUM-OL platform. The elements were game aesthetics, missions and challenges, leaderboards and achievement badges. We found that the elements used to motivate students to be more actively involved in class activities in addition to students being able to compete positively. Most importantly, students voluntarily will engage in this blended class. It has a positive impact on students in terms of skills, student attitude and learning experience," he said.

According to the Dean of SMMTC, Prof. Associate Dr. Mohd Khairie Ahmad, the nomination of GamiKelas proves the commitment of SMMTC and UUM to continue producing innovative interactive teaching and learning modules.

"It is not only a proud achievement for the study center, but GamiKelas has been proven in terms of the module's effectiveness when it helps to improve students' academic achievement, increase their involvement in lecture room activities and achieve higher course learning results compared to the previous semester," explained Dr. Mohd Khairie.

GamiKelas has the potential to be expanded to other subjects and may be applied in other institutions of higher learning across the country as one of the blended teaching and learning modules.