While some researchers are already working on it, currently there is still little work on this subject. Muntean made a theoretical analysis of gamification as a tool to increase engagement in e-learning platforms (Muntean, 2011). Based on Fogg’s Behavior Model, the author states that gamification mechanics can be used to motivate and trigger desired behaviors on students. Although he provides a list of gamification elements explaining how they could be included in an e-learning course, there is no empirical research so, in our opinion, more work will be required to give an implementation and obtain evidence about its effect on students.
Silva proposes another list of gamification elements, focusing specifically on social game mechanisms, that could be included in e- learning courses to increase student motivation by means of new interaction mechanisms with classmates (Silva, 2010). Customization, community interaction or leaderboards are some of the proposed mechanisms, but the author provides little guidance of how to apply them on education, so more work is needed in this area.