Gamified Social Learning with TikTok: Boosting Student Motivation in Vocational Training

Today's students are digital natives, a generation raised with technology and constant connectivity. Their daily use of smart devices has reshaped social interaction and created new opportunities for education. The Web 3.0 promises more user-friendly environments that address the challenges of massive data growth. Education systems, however, must respond by adopting active methodologies that harness information and communication technologies (ICT) to meet students' learning needs.

Social networks are web-based services that let users build profiles, connect with others, and share content around common interests. Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, is another growing strategy. The two are not mutually exclusive: using social networks to generate content, reinforced by gamified rewards such as badges, can combine the communicative power of social media with the motivational appeal of play.

Research has highlighted the potential of platforms such as Facebook for collaborative knowledge building. Simply introducing a social network, however, does not guarantee success. Key conditions include establishing group norms, maintaining daily presence, providing timely feedback, sharing varied educational materials, supporting collaborative work, and promoting the group. Constructivist approaches align well with social media's exploratory nature, yet critics warn that insufficient guidance may weaken learning. Social networks can also frustrate teaching when teachers and students fail to see their value or lack the skills to use them toward learning goals. Teacher training is therefore essential.

Motivation is widely regarded as a central driver of learning success. According to self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), intrinsic motivation arises from interest and personal satisfaction, whereas extrinsic motivation involves acting to obtain outcomes unrelated to inner enjoyment. Previous studies have reported positive effects of social networks on motivation, particularly in physical education.

The study used a mixed-methods design, combining quantitative and qualitative data within a case study. The sample comprised 62 students (mean age 18) enrolled in the Basic Biological Fundamentals and Physical Conditioning Foundations course of the Higher Technician in Physical Activities and Sports Animation program. The group included 42 men (68%) and 20 women (32%). The research followed the ethical recommendations of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Motivation was measured with the CMELAC questionnaire, a 16-item, five-point Likert scale assessing motivation toward the task, learning, teamwork, and flow. Four open-ended questions complemented the quantitative data, addressing willingness to use social networks again, attention to peers' content, perceptions of pair-based work, and enjoyment during video creation.

After obtaining institutional permission and briefing participants, the researchers worked with the course teacher to identify content needing methodological change: human anatomy. Students were randomly organized into pairs and created and shared one TikTok video per day on the virtual campus, using any creative resources the platform allowed. A competitive team-based gamification dynamic ran throughout the week, with 31 pairs competing for the best video metrics. The teacher reviewed and evaluated the daily videos.

Participants reported high levels of motivation across all CMELAC dimensions. Students expressed enthusiasm for repeating the activity, valued the learning gains from peers' explanations, appreciated the teamwork involved, and described enjoying the creative process. These findings suggest that TikTok combined with a gamified dynamic can produce meaningful motivational benefits in vocational training, although the single-case design limits generalization.

The results support using social networks with a gamified dynamic as a teaching tool, since the combination is associated with improved academic motivation. Successful adoption, however, requires that teachers receive adequate training and tools to design structured activities, provide guidance, and evaluate outcomes. The wider volume to which this study belongs explores similar questions across contexts, including digital competence, early childhood and hospital education, cyberbullying, virtual learning communities, and online support for students with autism, reinforcing the need to prepare educators for the digital learning environment.