Heliyon 9 (2023) e13409

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Heliyon
journal homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon

Research article

The study on designed gamified mobile learning model to assess

students’ learning outcome of accounting education
Meng-Chun Kao a, Yu-Hsi Yuan b, *, Yu-Xian Wang b
a
Department of Business Administration, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, No, 306, Yuanpei Street, Hsinchu, 30015, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Labor and Human Resources, Chinese Culture University, No. 55, Hwa-Kang Rd., Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei, 11114, Taiwan, ROC

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study constructs an innovative course for accounting teaching based on a student-centered
Accounting education strategy. The curriculum is designed through the effective teaching module (BOPPPS) to assist
Game-based learning students to understand accounting knowledge. A game-based mobile learning environment is
Mobile learning
created by developing an accounting mobile game and combining it with a mobile learning
IS success Model
system (TronClass). The private technology university students had been selected by purposive
BOPPPS
sampling. A total of 81 accounting majored students, among them, 41 students are in the
experimental group, and the rest were in the control group. The quasi-experimental design was to
be applied in curriculum development. Meanwhile, quantitative data were collected by ques­
tionnaires and the qualitative data were collected through interviews. The result shows that
game-based mobile learning can be beneficial to teaching effectiveness. And the regression model
supports that information quality and service quality have positive predictive power on use
intention. In addition, use intention and user satisfaction impacted learning engagement posi­
tively. Further, user satisfaction has a mediating effect. Finally, some suggestions are put forward
to provide references for accounting educators and researchers.

1. Introduction

In the era of advanced technology, mobile networks are popular, and the functions of mobile devices are changing with each
passing day to improve the convenience of mobile phones. In addition to the basic functions such as calling, taking pictures and videos,
and other built-in functions of mobile phones. Current smartphones have many other functions, such as instant messaging, social
media, online browsing information, learning, watching videos, listening to music, playing mobile games, etc. [1]. With increasingly
new mobile phone functions and applications being developed, it has become an essential tool in daily life. The Taiwan Communi­
cation Survey Database [2] analyzed Taiwanese use of mobile phones. The report pointed out that 88.2% of people used mobile phones
daily. In Taiwan, everyone had his or her own mobile phone and the average usage time was nearly 3 h per day. On an increasing trend,
people aged 18–29 spent more than 5 h using their mobile phones. Especially the average time spent on the mobile phone is as high as
5 h and 13 min per day for respondents aged 18–19. In other words, more than 1/5 of the day was occupied by mobile phones, showing
that the student group was heavy mobile phone users. If the mobile phone could be applied to the teaching field reasonably, it would
become a powerful mobile learning tool. Indeed, educators could combine online learning platforms and wireless communication
devices in online teaching and learning [3–5]. Mobile learning was born, and the teaching model has changed dramatically. This new

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ruth@mail.ypu.edu.tw (M.-C. Kao), yyx3@ulive.pccu.edu.tw (Y.-H. Yuan), B1105006@ulive.pccu.edu.tw (Y.-X. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13409
Received 11 October 2022; Received in revised form 29 January 2023; Accepted 30 January 2023
Available online 10 February 2023
2405-8440/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M.-C. Kao et al. Heliyon 9 (2023) e13409

type of learning provides learners with the possibility of “wireless” and ubiquitous learning opportunities [5–7]. Anyone who is willing
to learn can study at anytime and anywhere to enrich personal knowledge efficiently [8].
Moreover, thanks to the popularity of mobile devices, mobile games have become the largest market category in the global game
industry. More than half of the total revenue of the game industry comes from mobile games [9,10]. Kantar Insights Taiwan [11]
conducted a survey on netizens aged 16–65 in Taiwan in 2019. It showed up to 70% of the respondents were mobile game players and
44% were even heavy gamers who played every day. More than half of the younger group had a higher penetration rate of mobile
games. In the teaching scene, it is often seen that students are addicted to playing games in the mobile world. They cannot drop their
mobile phones to concentrate on their studies even in class. If students are not prohibited from using mobile phones, it might be tried to
integrate them into the learning environment. Moreover, Seow & Wong [12] incorporated the mobile game into the accounting
teaching scene and received positive feedback. Therefore, the researchers should think about how to make mobile phones helps rather
than a hindrance to teaching.
Game-based learning has flourished in recent years. Most research results directly support that game-based learning can improve
learning motivation and effectiveness [13–19]. However, the application of research in accounting education is still very lacking [19].
The game-based learning has a positive effect on accounting learning that supported by previous studies (e.g. Refs. [12,14–16,18,20]).
Yet, it is not fully applied in the higher education for accounting curricula. The reason is that there are few learning games suitable for
accounting disciplines at present. Further, it is difficult to collect relevant empirical data, resulting in few applications of game-based
learning in accounting education research. [19,21,22], thus the difficulty of its promotion is increased.
This study applies game-based mobile learning to the mobile research of accounting courses, and it constructs innovative cur­
riculum plans. The learners’ learning achievement was the goal of this study, and professional accounting knowledge was the
observation variable in this study. The BOPPPS (bridge in, outcomes, pre-assessment, participatory learning, post-assessment, and
summary) teaching model [23,24] has been employed in this study. It combines game-based learning and mobile learning to create a
game-based mobile learning environment. In the implementation process, the researchers pay attention to curriculum design, teaching
methods, learning assessment, curriculum reflection, and review loop mechanism. Further, the researchers carry out continuous
corrections to solve the problems in the teaching scene. It may reach the goal of excellent teaching and training targets. The research
object of this study is the students who took accounting courses in the division of continuing education of selected private technology
universities in Taiwan. Through the quasi-experimental design, the researchers will understand the influence of game-based mobile
learning on learning outcomes. It explores the success factors affecting game-based mobile learning with the information system
success model. In addition, the purposes of this study are.

(1) Understand the current situation of the barrier of accounting learning,

(2) The reasonable structure of the accounting learning game,
(3) The learning outcome of the game-based leaning course,
(4) Developing a useful game-based accounting learning course.

2. Literature review

2.1. Game-based mobile learning

Game-based learning allows students to learn in the context of games. Participating students must abide by the rules of the game,
and the competitive environment will enhance the willingness to actively participate in learning. Focus on finding problems and find
effective solutions to problems in the process to acquire knowledge in cognitive learning [25,26]. When it comes to digital game-based
learning, it is necessary to design an educational game that can combine teaching content and game characteristics. Further, this game
can immerse people in facing challenges and repeatedly trigger a positive cycle of judgment, execution, and system feedback. In the
end, the learning goals are achieved by investing in such games [27,28]. It is mentioned that the use of game situations can arouse
students’ curiosity. At the same time, it increased students’ intrinsic motivation and interest in learning and further improve students’
learning effect [29,30]. Nitkin [20] proposed strategies for introducing accounting cycles and encouraging cooperative learning
through games.
After the learners go through the teaching design of the “Life Chemistry Online Game Learning System”, significant improvement in
learning achievement. Mobile learning is a brand-new concept that is different from traditional learning, and it allow to interact with
other devices through mobile devices and wireless networks [31]. Because mobile devices are easy to carry and portable and integrated
with wireless networks. Learners can learn at the right time and place, and enjoy the convenience, immediacy, and suitability of mobile
technology [32,33]. This indicates that mobile devices are often used in education. In addition, mobile learning combined with big
data and mobile technology has become more useful in education applications [34].
It indicated that mobile learning could help learners overcome learning obstacles anytime and anywhere in the learning process. In
addition to the advantages of traditional distance teaching, it can also effectively solve problems. Mobile learning has been widely used
and has become a prominent study in educational research at home and abroad [35]. A summary of previous research points out that
mobile learning is based on mobile products, learning with mobile network support, and other conditions [15,16,36]. Learning is not
limited by time and space and can be continued anytime, anywhere. Therefore, mobile learning meets the urgency of learning needs
and makes learning content readily available. With the convenience of the internet, learners can actively search for information on the
internet from everywhere, obtain useful knowledge, become more mobile, and achieve the characteristics of “ubiquitous”, which
increases the convenience of learning [32,36].

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One of the challenges faced by current mobile learning is the lack of mobile learning teaching materials. If only the original written
teaching materials or digital teaching materials are transferred to the mobile vehicle for presentation. The results were only to take the
original teaching materials with them. It is only attractive to students, their motivation and interest in learning are like those in
traditional classrooms. They cannot give full play to the advantages of mobile learning [5,37]. Mobile learning allows learners to have
great flexibility and freedom. For those who are not enthusiastic about learning, it may become a good opportunity for laziness and
failure to achieve their learning goals. Even if there is a passion for learning, there is still the ability to learn methods and time
management. Therefore, how stimulating the enthusiasm for learning and enabling students to learn independently and obtain the
benefits of digital learning is a critical issue that mobile learning needs to face.
If teachers in the future can improve their professional knowledge and innovative teaching ability, they should integrate new-age
information technology into the existing curriculum structure and teaching connotation to enrich their teaching and create innovative
teaching. That conforms to the digital learning model and cultivate talents who can meet the trend of the new generation [10,38]. To
overcome the dilemma of mobile learning, many scholars have proposed a new learning model combining “game-based learning” with
“mobile learning” [39]. When designing a set of game-based mobile learning, the most crucial step is to appropriately present the
knowledge or training unit to be constructed and imported into the context of the mobile game [40]. Then it does not destroy the fun of
the game but can use the game immersion method to achieve the purpose of learning and training skillfully [29,41].
Indeed, put forward and analyze the concept of mobile learning combined with simulation games, combined with the learning
mode of operating virtual mobile in a real environment, which can enable learners to expand their learning experience and improve
their learning motivation [4,17]. Use games on mobile devices to construct a cooperative learning environment related to local urban
history. So that learners can be immersed in the learning process by playing distinct roles and effectively improve learning motivation
[13]. The developed English learning system on hand-held devices provides students with English teaching materials related to their
surrounding environment on campus. The research results confirm that the learning environment is better than a non-mobile game
learning environment for learning motivation and learning effect [42].
McDonald’s in Japan introduced Nintendo game consoles to replace the method of training hourly employees with traditional
manuals. It is allowing employees to master the knowledge required for work quickly through interactive games to effectively reduce
training costs [43]. A summary of previous research points out that game-based learning can transform learners’ motivation to
participate in game activities into motivation to participate in learning activities. Thereby, improving learners’ learning effectiveness
that the impact of game-based learning on learners lies in triggering intrinsic motivation for learning. In this interactive environment,
learners conduct independent or group operational activities. Students learn happily can enhance their sense of achievement and
improve their learning effectiveness [6,31]. Seow & Wong [12] introduced the first mobile game for accounting learning, allowing
students to learn accounting by answering questions and improving their learning motivation. Most of the user feedback is satisfied
with this mobile game.
Nowadays, most textbooks on mobile learning are based on commercial considerations and few are produced for specific learning
subjects. It results in the general shortage of learning software that really uses the characteristics of mobile vehicles [3,8]. There is a
lack of teaching software that combines games with mobile learning. In this study, accounting knowledge is put into the game in a
complete and contextual form, and more story-like situations and challenging levels are integrated into the practice questions for
learners to break through the levels. After learning the necessary knowledge of this unit, the most important thing after arousing
learning motivation is to maintain the learning motivation. By strengthen the interest and diversity of learning and improve the
learning effect.

Fig. 1. The information system success model.

Source: DeLone & McLean (2003).

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2.2. Delone and McLean IS success model

DeLone & McLean [44] proposed an information system success model to evaluate the impact of an organization’s use of infor­
mation systems, including six dimensions: System quality, information quality, system usage, user satisfaction, personal impact, and
organizational impact which revised in 2003. In the original model, the aspect of service quality is incorporated into the original
model, and the two aspects of personal impact and organizational impact are combined to call the net benefit. Temporal and
cause-and-effect models are proposed for the interrelationships measured between the various indicators, and the identification of
stakeholder groups at stake in the measurement process begins. “Information quality”, “system quality” and “service quality” indi­
vidually or simultaneously affect “intention to use” and “user satisfaction”. In addition, “use intention” and “user satisfaction” will
affect each other, and the two dimensions of “use intention” and “user satisfaction” will affect the “net benefit”. This is also the first
time measuring the success of an information system introduced the concept of a certain order [45,46]. Discuss the impact on the
intention to use the system and user satisfaction, and its mode structure is shown in Fig. 1.
The various aspects of the information system success model are introduced and explained as follows.

• Information quality: A measure of the quality of information produced by an information system which including the correctness,
reliability, completeness, relevance, timeliness, clarity, understandability, usefulness, and up-to-datedness of the output
information.
• System quality: Refers to the evaluation of the system quality of the information system itself. To measure whether the system has its
due characteristics, including ease of use, reliability, availability, adaptability, and response time of the system.
• Service quality: Refers to the overall service provided by the system service provider, or the quality of the service provider which
including the responsiveness, guarantee, immediacy, and consideration of service provision.
• Intention to use: It is used to measure whether the user is willing to use the information system, and the use of the information
system. Such as system use, system operation, information acquisition, and execution which including ease of use, degree of
guidance, use time, use frequency, use voluntariness and conversion processing times, etc.
• User satisfaction: Refers to whether users are satisfied with the information system after using the information system. The proposed
measurement items are decision satisfaction, hardware satisfaction, software satisfaction, overall satisfaction, information satis­
faction, and interface satisfaction. degree, etc.
• Net benefit: Refers to the benefit of the information system to the user itself and the performance of the organization which including
improving the work efficiency of personnel, service quality, communication effect, overall image, effectively saving manpower,
and reducing operating costs, etc.

In addition, the definition of learning engagement is the degree to which students actively participate in and engage in learning
activities of the learning process [47]. Webster & Ahuja [48] emphasized that user input is an important indicator of the future use
intention and performance of the system. Lalmas, O’Brien, & Yom-Tov [49] considered that user engagement is an important concept
in designing online applications. Regardless of whether desktop, tablet, or mobile systems are used successfully and the motivations for
successful applications include usage and engagement. Emphasizing active engagement enables students to actively adjust and enrich
their learning process in what they are learning, learning conditions, and environments.
This study attempts to explore the key success factors of students’ use of game-based mobile learning. When students use games to
learn, improving the information quality, system quality and service quality in the process of students using the game-based mobile
learning system can effectively enhance students’ willingness to continue using the system in the future [50]. Therefore, this study
applied the information system success model incorporating the learning engagement dimension to evaluate the factors that affect
students’ learning engagement [51].

2.3. Learning game design

The teaching model “BOPPPS” is widely used in curriculum design for game-based learning. Each English letter is an abbreviation
of teaching activity, namely: B is Bridge-in, O is Objective or Outcome, first P is Pre-assessment, second P is Participatory Learning,
third P is post-assessment, and S is Summary. Follow the objective laws of teaching activities to obtain as much teaching effect and
benefit as possible with as little time, material resources and energy as possible.
According to the learner’s conditions, students are instructed in accordance with their aptitude. Learning activities are designed
according to the content theme, and various classroom interactive modules are used to enhance the learning effect. Lesson plans and
teaching drills are developed in accordance with learners’ ability, willingness, and teachers’ expectations to obtain effective, efficient,
and effective teaching results [52]. This research follows the effective teaching module model, the accounting knowledge in the course
is closely combined with the game and the accounting mobile game is developed. The content of the course is the secret of game
clearance, to help students defeat evil, and put the course materials on the mobile learning platform (TronClass). So that Students can
learn independently according to their own situation.
The teaching topics include the following five subjects: Basic concepts of accounting, accounting entries, period-end adjustments,
financial report preparation, period-end closing procedures, and accounting for the trading industry. In the basic concepts of ac­
counting, basic accounting theory, terminology, and accounting items are taught. Thus, students can learn in the game through the
accounting mobile game - collecting elements and tasks for the elderly.
The second topic is accounting entries. Using the accounting mobile game “Synthetic Elf”. Students can familiarize themselves with

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accounting rules and accounting items, and then be able to write reasonable entries and explain transaction matters. The third theme
was an adjustment that through the accounting mobile game - Helping the “Tiaogi Clan”. Hence, students become familiar with the
adjustment points and methods and then be able to write adjustment entries. The accounting mobile game - Fight against Evil, let
students learn about checkout assignments (the fourth theme) and accounting for the trading industry (the fifth theme) to familiarize
themselves with accounting knowledge. In addition, through the holding of golden note selection and game competitions. Therefore,
students can increase their learning input and deepen their learning effectiveness, and conduct assessments, feedback sheets and
questionnaires in line with the course content. Further, the collected quantitative and qualitative data and conduct course reviews and
reflections was conducted in the course. The problems found in the teaching site are adjusted and corrected, and the curriculum
improvement mobile is actively carried out. Specifically, the concept of this study is shown in Fig. 2.
In addition, the exploration of research gap of this study is focused on the learning outcome and its effectiveness toward designed
accounting learning game and the game-based accounting education. Further, the novelty of this study is to discover the performance
of game-based accounting learning that still lack on current accounting education by designed accounting game as mentioned before.

2.4. The hypotheses development

Based on the literature argument, the information quality will affect the users’ intention to use the system, especially in the mobile
learning environment [53]. Thus, the hypothesis was setup accordantly.
H1. The information quality will impact the users’ intention to use positively.
Further, the system quality could influence the users’ intention to use the e-learning system obviously [54]. Thus, the hypothesis
was established.
H2. The system quality will impact the users’ intention to use positively.
Moreover, the service quality of the system will affect the users’ intention to use it as well. E.g., Mugion, Toni, Raharjo, Di Pietro, &
Sebathu [55] survey the citizens of Rome, Italy. The result demonstrated that users will be affected by service quality significantly.
Thus, the hypothesis was established.
H3. The service quality will impact the users’ intention to use positively.
Indeed, Wan, Xie, & Shu [56] found that user satisfaction with MOOCs will be influenced by students’ intention to use the system
dramatically. Thus, the hypothesis was established.
H4. The users’ intention to use will influence user satisfaction toward the system positively.
Bitrián, Buil, & Catalán [57] argued that gamification enhances users’ engagement with their mobile apps, and the users’ satis­
faction with the used system will impact their engagement directly. It was supported in their study. Thus, the hypothesis was
established.
H5. The user satisfaction will influence users’ learning engagement positively.
H6. The users’ intention to use will influence users’ learning engagement positively.

3. Research methodology

3.1. Research design and framework

This research explores whether the use of accounting mobile games and mobile teaching platforms combined with game-based
learning and mobile learning in accounting teaching. It gained a positive impact on college students learning engagement and
learning effectiveness. This study used a quasi-experimental design method of one-group pretest-posttest design shown in Table 1.

Fig. 2. The concept of this study.

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Table 1
Quasi-experimental design table.
Group Pre-measurement Experimental intervention Post-measurement

experiment group (n = 41) O1 X1 O2

control group (n = 40) O3

Note: O1 is the knowledge test before the experiment; X1 is a five-week gamified learning implementation; O2 is the test and questionnaire after the
experiment; O3 is the post-test of the control group.

The research objects were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group used TronClass
combined with the game learning platform to integrate the accounting teaching method. The control group only maintained the
original general traditional teaching method. The experimental period was five weeks in total. To verify the effectiveness of game-
based mobile learning in accounting courses, the independent variable was game-based mobile learning. The dependent variables
were the test scores of learning effectiveness. Which were the factors affecting the use of the accounting mobile game and learning
engagement. And the control variable was that all learners have the same number of teaching hours, learning objectives, and learning
materials, etc. In the collection of learning effectiveness data, before the course, the experimental group was given a subject test as a
pre-test. After the curriculum incorporated game-based mobile learning, the subject test was given as a post-test. Through the analysis
and comparison of pre-test and post-test results, the impact of game-based mobile learning on students’ learning effectiveness was
explored. In addition, the control group was also given the subject test after the course to compare the impact of different teaching
methods on students’ learning effectiveness.
After the experimental teaching, students were asked to fill in a questionnaire to understand the factors that affect students’ game-
based learning motivations and perspectives. The questionnaire consisted of six dimensions of information quality that were system
quality, service quality, intention to use, user satisfaction, and learning engagement. The original questionnaire was modified from
DeLone & McLean [50] in terms of information quality, system quality, service quality, intention to use, and user satisfaction. The
reliability coefficient of the original questionnaire was 0.92.
Learning engagement was defined as the time and effort devoted by students to educationally purposeful activities, which could be
further divided into behavior, emotion, and cognition. The behavioral engagement was the explicit manifestation, and emotion and
cognition were the inner psychological manifestation [58–61]. The questionnaire questions in measuring learning engagement di­
mensions were modified by Blasco-Arcas et al. [59]. The Likert five-scale scale was used, including 4 items on information quality, 3
items on system quality, 3 items on service quality, and 3 items on intention to use. The reliability coefficient of the original ques­
tionnaire was 0.94. The Cronbach’s α value of the overall questionnaire in this study was 0.985, and the Cronbach’s α value of each
dimension was above 0.8 which indicated the questionnaire had good reliability. In addition, qualitative information was collected by
the study feedback form filled out through the students. Fig. 3 describes the independent and dependent variables.

3.1.1. Game unit design and subject correspondence

In terms of content, this study takes accounting as the research scope, and the curriculum is planned as a series, from the basic
concepts of accounting, the complete accounting cycle, business accounting, etc. And it is planned into five major topics as shown in
Fig. 4.
This study developed the accounting mobile game combined with the theme of the course. The researchers constituted stories,
scenes, and characters through different accounting themes to increase game tasks and improve the richness of the game. Meanwhile,
the design of gamification mechanisms such as peer competition, feedback, and rewards could provide learning incentives. These
features make students more expectations and fresh for the game, so as to increase the stickiness of the game. Gamification could
enhance learning motivation and encourage learning engagement [62–64].

Fig. 3. Hypothesis model.

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Fig. 4. The teaching units of accounting learning units.

The detailed accounting curriculum combined game-based mechanism was, first, the teacher explains and interprets the accounting
unit. Then students download the app from the internet and register as players in the designed accounting game. Thus, students can
access the specified stage corresponding to the teaching unit and start the game stage. This teaching model can help students be
familiar with and become proficient in accounting knowledge. The combination of course themes and game design were shown in
Table 2.

Table 2
The screen shot of the designed accounting game.
Designed game units Game units Accounting learning units

Gathering Elements - Recognizing Accounting item classification

Accounting Items

Cultivating elves - Law of Accounting Accounting Entry Highlights

Help the tangerines - adjust the focus Adjust entry focus

Redeem Blessing - Checkout Item Checkout method

Identification

Combat - Familiarize yourself with Accounting knowledge such as entry, adjustment, closing and
accounting trading accounting

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3.2. Curriculum design

The curriculum design is shown in Table 3. A total of five weeks of experimental teaching activities are implemented. The selected
textbooks and the self-edited teaching materials were placed on the online digital teaching platform and matched with accounting
mobile games to create a game-based mobile learning environment. It allowed students to learn in the game situation. The students
could master professional accounting knowledge and skills through repeated practice at anytime and anywhere.
The method of course implementation was based on the online digital teaching platform to build accounting knowledge chapters as
the curriculum foundation. Further combined with the accounting mobile game which developed according to the teaching content.
The procedure of this research was that before the course started, a pre-test was carried out to understand the students’ prior
knowledge and learning initial behavior. Through the game process, students must memorize and apply them before they can cope
with the knowledge point challenges of the game level and complete the game tasks. Through the game, students could become
proficient in accounting learning units and knowledge points, and help students construct their own accounting knowledge.
In the five-week experimental teaching, each student played the accounting mobile game for 1 h each week in the classroom to
implement game-based learning. The researchers collected data on students’ learning outcomes for statistical analysis and verification
to understand students’ learning outcomes. The control group was taught in the traditional way of lecture, and the teaching content,
tests, and hours were the same as those in the experimental group.

3.3. Participants

The subjects of the experimental group were sophomores who were taking the accounting course in the continuing education
division of the Department of Business Administration. A total of 46 students participated in the course, completed the quiz, and
answered the questionnaire. Among them, males accounted for 48.8%, females accounted for 51.2%, and females were slightly more
than males.
It is found that 75.6% of the students have first time to learn accounting, only 24.4% were experienced. Then only four students had
accounting certificates. There were only 22% from business management groups. In addition, 80.5% of the students liked to play
mobile games. As shown in Table 4, total 19.5% of the students did not like to play mobile games and 65.9% of the students usually
play mobile games. Among the 40 students in the control group, 24 females were the majority (60%), 17 students have taken the
accounting course, and only two students had accounting certificates.

4. Ethics statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu,
Taiwan. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

5. 3.6 author contributions

1 - Conceived and designed the experiments: Meng-Chun, Kao, and Yu-Hsi, Yuan, 2 - Performed the experiments: Meng-Chun, Kao,
and Yu-Hsi, Yuan, 3 - Analyzed and interpreted the data: Meng-Chun, Kao, Yu-Hsi, Yuan, and Yu-Xian, Wang, 4 - Contributed reagents,
materials, analysis tools or data: Meng-Chun, Kao, Yu-Hsi, Yuan, and Yu-Xian, Wang, 5 - Wrote the paper: Meng-Chun, Kao, Yu-Hsi,
Yuan, and Yu-Xian, Wang.

6. Results and discussions

6.1. The impact of game-based mobile learning on learning outcomes

At the beginning of learning, students are given a pre-test. After introducing the game-based mobile learning method, a post-test is
given at the end of the semester. After that, in each course theme, in the same way, subject tests are given before and after the class. The

Table 3
Course topics and schedules.
Week Class subject Week Class subject

W1 Course Introduction/Research Quiz Pre-Test W10 Adjust concept and focus

W2 Basic Concepts of Accounting W11* Adjusting Entry Types and Implementation
W3* Accounting item W12 Financial Statements
W4 Accounting cycle W13 Checkout Concepts & Highlights
W5 Lending Law and Double Entry Bookkeeping W14* Checkout implementation
W6* Accounting entry implementation W15 Business Accounting
W7 Posting Methods and Implementation W16* Business accounting practice
W8 Trial method and practice W17 Review/Research Questionnaire
W9 Midterm exam W18 Final exam

Note: * for game teaching.

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Table 4
Sample data summary table.
Variable name Project Visits Percentage Cumulative percentage

Gender Male 20 48.8 48.8

Female 21 51.2 100.0
Have you taken an Yes 10 24.4 24.4
accounting course No 31 75.6 100.0
Do you have an accounting certificate Group Yes 4 9.8 9.8
No 37 90.2 100.0
Business management 9 22.0 22.0
Restaurant 13 31.7 53.7
Foreign language 2 4.9 58.5
Others 17 41.5 100.0
Do you like to play Like very much 4 9.8 9.8
mobile games Like 21 51.2 61.0
Ordinary 8 19.5 80.5
Do not like 8 19.5 100.0
Do you play mobile Yes 27 65.9 65.9
games No 14 34.1 100.0

pre and post-test scores were analyzed and compared by paired-sample t-test. The results showed that the post-test scores were
significantly higher than the pre-test in each item (see Table 5). It indicates that game-based mobile learning can help improve learning
outcomes.
To further compare the discrepancy of post-test mean score between experimental group and control group, the independent
sample t-test was used to check it (see Table 6).
The average post-test mean score of the experimental group is 69.41, which is significantly higher than that of the control group.

6.2. Information system success model explores factors influencing game-based learning

6.2.1. Descriptive and correlation analysis among factors

This study added the learning engagement dimension according to the success model of the information system [50] and a pro­
posed structural equation model was established. To deal with the potential error of bias or validity threat caused by small samples
and/or abnormal distribution. Partial least squares (PLS) and bootstrapping were applied [65,66] to explore the relationship between
information quality, system quality, and service quality on learning engagement, user satisfaction, and intention to use. To understand
whether game-based mobile learning affects learning engagement and user satisfaction and whether it affects students’ intention to use
the mobile game. The descriptive statistics of each research variable and the results of the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis (see
Table 7). The scores of each dimension are above 4 points, and there is a significant positive correlation between each dimension.

6.2.2. The verification result of hypothesized model

In this study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the measurement mode. The factor loadings of all observed
variables for their individual latent variables ranged from 0.876 to 0.977. These values reach above the proposed threshold of 0.45
[67]. In terms of average variation extraction, the average variation extraction (AVE) of the six facets is all greater than 0.50. Higher
AVE of the facet indicates that the facet has a higher convergent validity. It shows that the scale of this study has a considerable degree
of convergent validity [67,68]. The values of compositional reliability, Cronbach’s α and the rho_A are all above 0.80, indicating that
the dimensions are reliable. The reliability and validity of each of the dimensions is shown in Appendix 1.
The parameter estimation results of the theoretical model are as follows. Information quality (β = 0.419, p < .01) and service

Table 5
The effect of game-based learning on learning outcomes Pre-test and post-test mean paired sample t-test coefficient summary table.
Project Number Average Standard deviation T value

Accounting project post-test 41 71.95 26.098 12.048**

Accounting Project Pre-Test 41 35.37 27.577
Post-entry test 41 70.49 19.487 13.828**
Pre-entry test 41 34.39 20.006
Post-adjustment 41 69.27 25.114 14.603**
Adjust the pretest 41 33.05 25.712
Checkout posttest 41 71.22 17.349 9.815**
Pre-checkout 41 36.59 24.760
Accounting post-test in the trading industry 41 73.90 19.220 14.535**
Pre-assessment of trading accounting 41 33.17 20.909
Accounting full post-test 41 69.41 21.951 12.378**
Accounting full pre-test 41 29.71 19.399

Note: **p < .01.

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Table 6
Summary table of independent sample t-test coefficients for the post-test mean of the whole unit of accounting in the experimental group and the
control group.
Group Number Average Standard deviation T value

Test group 41 69.41 21.951 3.766***

Control group 40 51.00 22.049

Note: ***p < .001.

Table 7
List of narrative statistics and correlation analysis (n = 41).
Structure 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Information quality ─
2. System quality .827** ─
3. Service quality .812** .919** ─
4. Intention to use .879** .876** .899** ─
5. User satisfaction .807** .850** .899** .843** ─
6. Learning engagement .940** .886** .900** .948** .889** ─
Average: 4.409 4.350 4.415 4.301 4.457 4.372
Standard deviation: 0.689 0.687 0.706 0.748 0.622 0.698

Note：*p < .05; **p < .01.

quality (β = 0.509, p < .01) have a positive and significant impact on usage intention (R2 = 0.901). System quality (β = 0.070, p > .05)
was no influence on usage intent. The intention to use (β = 0.864, p < .01) has a significant positive correlation with user satisfaction
(R2 = 0.746). Intention to use (β = 0.756, p < .01) and user satisfaction (β = 0.241, p < .01) significantly and positively affect learning
engagement (R2 = 0.946). The research results show that the information quality and service quality provided by this accounting
game-based mobile learning system has a significant positive impact on the use intention. The higher the students’ use intention is, the
higher the user satisfaction. And the use intention has a significant impact on learning engagement. In addition to the direct
enhancement effect, user satisfaction also has a partial mediating effect on learning engagement (Sobel Test = 2.788, p < .01) [69]. The
relationship between the structural equation model variables is shown in Fig. 5 below.

6.3. Qualitative learning feedback

6.3.1. Game-based mobile learning is not limited by time and space

Students feedback that he can use it anytime, anywhere, making learning more convenient:
“Mobile games can help you learn to use without being limited by a computer"(Interview Record Code: S-20-03)
“You can discuss with your friends and classmates at any time, without the limitation of use time, you can start learning and use at any
time when you are free” (Interview Record Code: S-12-03)
“I think it’s not bad to use mobile games to help study” (Interview Record Code: S-10-04)
“Convenient, you can practice wherever you go, and the music is full of good music” (Interview Record Code: S-05-02)

Fig. 5. The test results of the hypothesized model with standardized path coefficients.
Note: n.s. p > .05; *p < .05; **p < .01.

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M.-C. Kao et al. Heliyon 9 (2023) e13409

6.3.2. Game-based learning stimulates interest and reduces study pressure

Students think that the course is interesting and lively, which can effectively reduce learning pressure:
“It turns out that accounting classes can be so much fun” (Interview Record Code: S-18-02)
“It’s very interesting, I can also fight monsters when I study accounting, I’m interested” (Interview Record Code: S-24-03)
“Since accounting combined with mobile games, I really feel that accounting is no longer a boring course!" (Interview No.：S-08-04)
“Playing games made me feel livelier in the course and made me more aware that accounting study can be better” (Interview Record
Code: S-36-02)
“I feel that this game made by the teacher is very thoughtful and specially designed.” (Interview Record Code: S-06-02)
“Students will communicate with each other on how to fight monsters, and they will also take the initiative to ask me about gameplay and
answers to questions, increasing the interaction between teachers and students.” (Teaching Note: T-0530)

6.3.3. The content of the game can strengthen the learning effect
Students agree that this teaching mode can effectively strengthen the memory and effect of the accounting subject content:
“I think this mobile game made me learn a lot about accounting” (Interview Record Code: S-9-02)
“This mobile game makes me feel that learning accounting is much easier” (Interview Record Code: S-14-01)
“The game is very interesting and makes my study more efficient” (Interview Record Code: S-07-03)

6.3.4. Games play a role in promoting active learning

Students respond that they are willing to spend more time in active learning:
“You can play it whenever you have time.” (Interview Record Code: S-11-02)
“After the game is broken, borrow family members to play again without a mobile phone” (Interview Record Code: S-05-03)
“Some students install the game on different mobile phones and increase their own practice, hoping to break the level perfectly, which
makes me very happy and reflects the learning effect of the game.” (Teaching Note: T-0605)

6.3.5. Suggestions for the future improvement of accounting mobile games

“I don’t know how to use a mobile phone, the characters are a little small, and it’s tiring to watch for too long” (Interview Record Code: S-
42-01)
“There are many games in the accounting mobile game. It would be better if you could add more annotations. Otherwise, you must
explain it again through the teacher.” (Interview Record Code: S-02-03)
The feedback from the students on the quality of teaching shows that the students feel the benefits of game-based mobile learning
that are not limited by time and space. Especially the students in the division of continuing education. In learning, reduce the pressure
of learning. Through the repeated practice of games, let professional knowledge no longer be a book from heaven. Integrate games into
the curriculum to improve learning interest and motivation. It encourages students to spend extra time on learning and stimulate
students’ willingness to learn actively.
According to the content of students’ study sheets, it is found that students’ learning effectiveness has been significantly improved.
At the same time, the reflection of teachers’ teaching logs and classroom observations were collected as well. It is found that the
introduction of game-based mobile learning in accounting classrooms can stimulate students’ learning motivation. There are more
opportunities for classroom interaction and practical application which not only makes learning more interesting but also significantly
improves learning efficiency.
Thus, due to individual differences among classmates, some classmates should pay special attention to the areas where they need
assistance when they have difficulty using the mobile game. Meanwhile, they are limited by the screen of the mobile phone. Moreover,
the game description is expressed in an essential way and will be discussed and modified according to the suggestions of the students in
the future to optimize the students’ experience.

6.4. Discussion

Previous studies [15,21,70] mentioned that students thought that learning accounting is boring and difficult to understand, with
mostly negative evaluations. Based on researchers’ teaching experience and previous studies [35,71], students feared accounting
learning and being used to absent courses as well. Regardless of whether they have learned accounting before. They thought that
accounting knowledge was difficult for them. Most of them wished the accounting course could be designed easier to understand.
During interaction with students, the researchers found that most have studied accounting before and have a mentality of exclusion
towards accounting. They felt that there were lots of mathematical theories in accounting courses, and they also encountered

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bottlenecks in the calculation of given exercises. They never understand debit and credit in accounting, so they gave up easily after
learning [72]. As a teacher, the researchers can also feel the pressure and pain of students deeply when their academic achievement in
accounting is compared too low. To break through traditional teaching methods, this study provides a lively, interactive, and moti­
vating teaching method for students. The self-developed accounting mobile game is integrated into accounting teaching so that stu­
dents can learn accounting knowledge on mobile devices. The mobile device itself has mobility and is not restricted by geographical
areas. It allows learners to study at anytime and anywhere. Thus, a ubiquitous learning environment is created. At the same time, the
game is richer in the gamification mechanism and designing tasks based on the accounting theme. It is expected that the game can
stimulate students’ enthusiasm for learning and guide students to study independently. The prior studies [73,74] pointed out that
students’ learning engagement is positively related to their learning effectiveness. Thus, students will improve their learning per­
formance once they are willing to spend time in study. To solve the problems in the teaching field and make up for the gap in ac­
counting research.
The results both gained from quantitative and qualitative data analysis significantly supported that the designed gamified mobile
learning model will positively impact students’ learning outcomes in accounting education. This result complied with related studies
[52,53,55–57]. The only rejected prediction was the path of system quality to users’ intention, this results against Alkhawaja et al.‘s
[54] finding. Further, the partial mediation between user satisfaction, users’ intention, and users’ learning engagement are to be
supported by analysis results in this study. The reason to be discussed by researchers is based on quantitative and qualitative data
review and researchers’ teaching note review.
Based on the results, the system quality could not affect students’ intention to use appeared in Taiwan studies [75,76]. The cur­
riculum requirements may cause the reason for this result that students were not aware of the designed game quality and the game
didn’t persecute them when they are using the game to learn accounting subject. Many studies argued that mobile game-based learning
was a useful learning approach to enhance the efficiency of students’ learning performance [5,26,27,36,57,62]. This perspective is
supported by this study. Even though the factor ‘system quality’ without the prediction power affects students’ intention to use the
designed accounting game, however, this finding should be checked by future studies.
Further, user satisfaction plays a partial mediation effect between the intention to use and learning engagement significantly. Thus,
using a mobile game-based learning method could inspire students to engage in accounting learning through the satisfaction of using a
designed accounting game directly. The results of this study present a practical model for facilitating undergraduates’ accounting
learning with technological tools [26]. In general, the students responded positively to the developed teaching and learning model.
Thus, the verified mobile game-based learning model is a useful solution to coping with students’ low motivation for accounting
learning in Taiwan.

7. Conclusion and recommendation

This research developed an accounting mobile game, combined with the mobile teaching platform, to create a game-based mobile
learning environment. An innovative course plan was constructed for accounting teaching and the course content was designed
through an effective teaching model (BOPPPS) to assist students to understand accounting knowledge easily. Meanwhile, various
classroom interactions were applied to enhance the learning effect. Quantitative and qualitative data collected in the course are
analyzed by several analytical techniques. The curriculum improvement was implemented by teaching reflection to review and making
rolling corrections to the problems. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of few studies of game-based mobile learning in ac­
counting education to fill the gap in accounting education research.
The results of the study found that after the experience of game-based mobile learning, students’ learning effect was significantly
improved. Secondly, through the collection of game-based mobile learning experience data through questionnaires, most of the stu­
dents have positive feedback on the experience of using accounting mobile games and further explore the impact of game-based mobile
learning on accounting education through the successful model of information systems. The empirical results show that information
quality and service quality have a significant positive impact on intention to use, and there is a significant positive correlation between
intention to use, user satisfaction, and learning engagement. Intention to use has a direct positive impact on learning engagement, and
user satisfaction also has a partial mediating effect on learning engagement. The results indicate that the accounting mobile game
developed by this research integrated accounting knowledge into the game to provide students with useful, reliable, and convenient
accounting learning information. When students used accounting mobile games to learn, the system would give feedback and rewards
in a timely manner. If students make mistakes in the challenge, the system will also give correct answers, providing timeliness,
responsiveness, and assurance. These two features strengthen students’ intention to use, thereby enhancing user satisfaction and
learning engagement.
The research subjects of this study are the students from the division of continuing education usually at work, with limited study
time, and from different fields and backgrounds. The accounting courses are even more unfamiliar to them, and the educational games
are different from ordinary games. Students must be able to understand professional accounting knowledge in advance, then they can
play the game successfully. The guidance of the teacher and the cooperation of the students are particularly important. Therefore,
during the course, adjustments and corrections will be made according to the situation of the students. Using modern technology and
innovative teaching methods requires patience to explain and communicate with the students so that they can learn online and enjoy
the fun of learning. Meanwhile, teachers should care for, counsel, and arrange teaching assistants to aid students with learning
problems. The design of teaching activities should not only consider the load level of students, but also be able to maintain students’
enthusiasm for learning, guide students to acquire knowledge, and cultivate professional knowledge. Students are the protagonists of
the classroom. Diversified course activities require students to have more learning engagement. The cooperation of the classmates is a

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key factor affecting the teaching effect. Due to the diverse composition of classmates, the course needs to be adjusted according to the
situation of individual students. In addition, the support of hardware and software equipment is also important. Students sometimes
reported that the game was stuck, the teaching platform could not be used, or the mobile phone capacity was limited, and there was no
space to install the APP. It is necessary to eliminate the problem in a timely manner or provide other alternatives, such as bringing a
tablet for students to use, etc. The status of software and hardware equipment would affect the learning experience of students.
The practical experience gained from the implementation of the course can provide teachers with a reference when implementing
game-based mobile learning in the future, which can be helpful to accounting education. The subjects taught in this experiment are
primary accounting, which cannot be deduced from other subjects such as intermediate accounting, management accounting, and
auditing. In addition, the sampling of this study only deliberately selects specific students as the research objects, and there are
limitations in the inference and validity of the research results. It is suggested that follow-up research can be extended to students from
different universities or related institutions to make the research results more appropriate inference.

Funding statement

This study was funded by Teaching Practice Research Program, Ministry of Education, Taiwan (No. PBM1080125).

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13409.

Appendix 1. Summary table of individual reliability, component reliability, and mean extraction of variance coefficients
(n ¼ 41)

Structure Items Factor loading t-value Cronbach’s α rho_A CR AVE

Information quality 4 0.903–0.953 17..802–46.013 0.948 0.950 0.962 0.865

System quality 3 0.876–0.914 18.914–25.673 0.879 0.889 0.925 0.805
Service quality 3 0.912–0.977 17.231–104.025 0.947 0.948 0.966 0.904
Intention to use 3 0.922–0.958 23.475–53.742 0.929 0.932 0.955 0.876
User satisfaction 4 0.882–0.949 12.65–38.217 0.942 0.948 0.959 0.853
Learning input 4 0.888–0.953 17.802–68.536 0.940 0.942 0.957 0.848

Appendix 2. Declaration of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Appendix 3. Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be
directed to the corresponding authors.

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