Virtual Escape Rooms: a gamification tool to enhance motivation in distance education

This study addresses the challenge of student demotivation in distance higher education and how it affects content assimilation. Moreover, it proposes an innovative solution through the application of the Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA) model and the design and creation of a Virtual Escape Room, which focuses on the content of the International Trade subject. The AIDA model was implemented to capture students' attention, arouse their interest through challenges, maintain their desire to learn, and promote action in solving the necessary questions to advance to the next level and obtain a reward. To measure how respondents perceived this tool, a self-managed survey was launched at the end of the Escape Room, both to UCAM students and an external group of various nationalities via social media. The results show a significant increase in the commitment and motivation of the students, which translates into better content assimilation. The Virtual Escape Room proved to be an effective tool to increase students' interaction with study materials. The findings suggest that the application of the AIDA model in distance education can offer a revolutionary approach to teaching in higher education. The Virtual Escape Room, as a means to implement this model, demonstrates its potential in combating student demotivation and improving content assimilation.