Role of Gamification on Learning Information Literacy Skills of Students

Efforts to make information literacy education dynamic and adaptable to the changing generations and their preferences are on the agenda of policymakers in different countries. Attempts are made to encourage students to participate in information literacy courses using new tools. Information literacy includes identifying one's own information needs, the skill of discernment, location, organization, evaluation, and effective use of information that individuals use to solve their problems. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the role of gamification in teaching information literacy skills to middle school students in the city of Izeh.

The present study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all 9,612 middle school students in the city of Izeh who were studying in the academic year of 2021-2022. Based on this, 52 students were selected from among the students using the available sampling method to prevent potential dropouts, and were randomly assigned to two groups of 26 students: the control and experimental groups. Informed consent was the criterion for entry into the study, and the lack of willingness to continue participating in the study was the criterion for exit. The experimental group received information literacy education for 10 sessions using gamification, while the control group received traditional education. The data collection tool was Yazdani's information literacy concepts and skills questionnaire, and the results were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that there is a significant correlation between independent and dependent variables in pre-test and post-test in all cases. There is a significant difference between the mean scores of learning information evaluation skills, learning information organization skills, and learning information exchange and dissemination skills among the statistical samples in pre-test and post-test. In other words, the mean scores of learning information evaluation skills, learning information organization skills, and learning information exchange and dissemination skills in the experimental group in the post-test phase are significantly higher than the control group, and gamification has a significant effectiveness on these three dimensions of information literacy. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of learning information needs definition skills and learning information acquisition skills in the experimental group in the post-test phase, so it can be said that gamification has no significant effect on these two dimensions of information literacy.

The research results have shown that the use of gamification has played a role in improving the information literacy skills of middle school students in the city of Izeh and has led to an increase in their overall information literacy skills. Gamified learning environments increase social interaction and collaboration for effective learning. The results of this study also showed that Kahoot educational tools based on gamification elements had positive effects on competition, participation in learning, and motivation of learners. However, the results also showed that gamification has no role in improving students' information needs definition skills in middle school in Izeh. The results indicate that students' information needs, or in other words, their sense of competency in performing tasks and skills, their sense of usefulness and effectiveness, their sense of trust, competition and challenge, control over consequences, influence and dominance over the environment, and sense of success and efficiency, are met through active learning methods. Information-literate students should be able to express their information needs, and gamification should provide them with a platform to become familiar with their desired topic and define or review it. Additionally, the software should provide features that enable students to analyze their own questions and design information-based queries. This skill was not met in this study, indicating a gamification deficiency.Results also showed that gamification does not have a role in improving the information literacy skills of middle school students in the city of Izeh. Learners need to identify ways of finding knowledge and information, be able to easily access various information resources, evaluate them, and apply them. Studies have also shown that although students' information literacy skills improve after short-term educational interventions, it is not enough, and usually students cannot fully answer all questions or tasks after the educational intervention. Therefore, there is a need for more comprehensive educational interventions in more sessions to enhance students' overall information literacy skills. Gamification for children should help them become familiar with various information resources. Additionally, this software can help children develop skills in identifying, evaluating, and selecting information resources. In this study, this skill of students was not met, indicating a deficiency in gamification. The results of the third hypothesis showed that the use of gamification in learning the skill of information evaluation has a role in middle school students' information literacy. The skill of information evaluation can also save time during research, improve the quality of retrieved information, and ultimately improve the quality of the research based on this information. As users of these software, students should be familiar with the principles and criteria for evaluating resources and information and use critical thinking to collect and analyze information. Gamification should enhance students' cognitive skills in collecting and analyzing information to increase this skill.The results obtained from the fourth hypothesis showed that the use of gamification in learning the skill of organizing information has an impact on middle school students in the city of Izeh. The goal of this skill is for students to be able to compare information obtained critically and organize it. Therefore, technologies designed to teach information literacy to children should be effective in facilitating critical and analytical thinking in the collection, use, and organization of information. Students with information literacy skills organize information for better use and application. The design of gamification for students should help develop this skill in children by following the principles of designing databases and using various programs to categorize and organize information. This study has met this skill in students, indicating the positive impact of gamification on this skill. The results of the fifth hypothesis showed that the use of gamification in learning the skill of exchanging and disseminating information has a significant role and increases this skill among middle school students in Izeh. In the current world, the web has provided a new information space; individuals can publish information on the Internet, search and retrieve their desired information, or even interact with other users. Using this platform, like any other information resource, requires the skill of exchanging and disseminating information, which is one of the most important information literacy skills. Gamification can help children establish communication with others in teaching information literacy concepts. Students can use the features provided in these software programs to exchange ideas and opinions with others and expand their information range.