Contents I. Introduction
Emergency remote teaching has emerged as a necessity for all levels of education in global scale [1]. Its limitations and qualitative differences to distance education have emphasized the need for effective e-learning to supplement and/or replace in-class teaching [2]. The norm in formal distance learning in Higher Education is using a combination of web-based platforms for synchronous and asynchronous learning activities [3], [4]. Sustaining students’ interest and engagement in semester-long courses in distance learning settings is a tangible challenge [5]. In Open Education, indicatively, completion rates in Massive Open Online Courses are notoriously low [6], [7]. Gamification is a promising method which adds an additional, affective layer to learning in the direction of the enhancement of motivation [8]. Social Virtual Reality (VR) platforms have been used as reliable solutions for distance education with rich social interaction that can support among others gamification [9], [10] and game-based learning methods [11], [12] such as serious games [13]. The aim of this article is to explore the potential of gamified instructional design, teaching and learning strategies for active engagement in distance education.
