Digital animation and smart environments: the effects of Animaker on student engagement in a lower secondary school
Parole chiave:
school, digital animation; teachingAbstract
This study examines the impact of using Animaker in a collaborative design process on student engagement in a lower secondary school. The experimental design involved 120 students (60 in the experimental group and 60 in the control group) who engaged in the same science and technology module for eight weeks. The experimental group created animated videos using Animaker, while the control group undertook traditional activities. A mixed-methods approach was adopted: the quantitative element involved administering the Student Engagement Scale (SES) pre- and post-intervention to assess behavioural, emotional, and cognitive dimensions, while the qualitative element comprised semi-structured interviews with students and teachers to explore perceptions, bodily and spatial dynamics, socio-technical processes, and metacognitive aspects.
The results showed a significant increase in engagement in the experimental group compared to the control group in terms of both total score and the three sub-scales, with the interaction between group and time favouring the experimental group. The interviews suggest that integrating digital animation, storyboards, peer review and public presentation promoted agency, collaboration and reflection, transforming the classroom into an active socio-technical environment.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gianluca Gravino, Maria Giovanna Tafuri, Federica Badii Esposito
Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
