Integrating Gamification with ADDIE Instructional Design for Educational Robotics: A Usability Evaluation

The purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate the usability of a new training methodology approach in Robotics, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), and emerging technologies. The use of technology and STEAM by educational institutions creates modern teaching methods that improve the quality of education, foster new educational environments, and enhance creative thinking and problem-solving skills. In addition, they make learning an experiential process, grounded in real-world situations and more relevant to everyday life, thereby motivating learners to engage more actively. To further enhance learning motivation, curriculum designers encounter a relatively recent concept: Gamification. Gamification, as a modern innovation, establishes a new theoretical framework that serves as a powerful tool for learning and behavior shaping. Motivation is promoted through various gameplay techniques, such as goals, rewards, teamwork, competition, points, scores, and levels. These two components, namely STEAM (or technology ?) and Gamification lead to the development of a new STEAM training methodology, based on the well-established Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) / Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model, and further enriched by incorporating gaming techniques. After the methodology is developed, its usability is assessed by experienced trainers. Specifically, 60 trainers participate in a survey using the Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease (USE) questionnaire, which evaluates four usability subscales: Usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning, and user satisfaction.