Communicative Functions of Gamified Learning Management Systems in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper examines how gamified Learning Management Systems (LMSs) shape communication processes in higher education by mediating feedback, transmitting visual signals, and structuring social interactions between students and instructors. The paper synthesizes findings from contemporary research on gamification, digital pedagogy, user–system interaction and visual communication design to analyze how core gamified components such as points, badges, progress bars, leaderboards and dashboards operate as communicative cues that guide learners’ interpretations of their performance, status and expected behaviors. Special emphasis is placed on the communicative function of automated feedback, including its immediacy, frequency and framing, as well as on the role of interface design in shaping how messages are perceived and acted upon. The paper further considers how gamified environments influence interpersonal communication by encouraging competitive or collaborative discourses and by redistributing visibility and recognition among learners. The findings highlight both the opportunities of gamified communication, such as increased clarity of expectations, enhanced engagement through transparent signaling and richer multimodal feedback, and its risks, including potential misinterpretation of signals, overreliance on automated messages and reinforcement of status disparities among students. The paper concludes that communication within gamified LMSs is a complex, layered process that requires careful pedagogical and design considerations, and proposes directions for future research focused on communicative effectiveness, ethical transparency and inclusivity in digitally mediated higher education.

DOI:10.5671/ca.49.1.5