Student engagement is a key factor for success in online education, and there is a persistent need to identify and implement effective strategies to foster it, particularly in the increasingly common hybrid learning environments.
Addressing this need, the present study evaluated the impact of interactive activities, designed using the H5P tool, on the engagement levels of 87 undergraduate students from two Ecuadorian universities. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was employed to compare control and experimental groups. Data were collected through a 12-item questionnaire assessing cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of engagement, supplemented by open-ended questions to gather qualitative data.
The H5P intervention significantly improved cognitive aspects, such as concept understanding, knowledge application, and perceived depth of learning, as well as enjoyment; however, it did not significantly affect content relevance or collaboration.
These findings suggest that while H5P can be a valuable tool for fostering specific components of student engagement, particularly cognitive and affective engagement, its effectiveness is limited when considered in isolation.
Therefore, to maximize its impact, it is crucial to complement H5P with additional pedagogical strategies that actively promote collaboration, critical thinking, and connect the learning material with students' existing interests, experiences, and real-world applications. H5P offers considerable potential in online education, but requires a pedagogically informed, context-sensitive, and holistic approach.
Future research is strongly recommended, employing rigorous experimental designs, larger and more diverse sample sizes, and multidimensional measurements of engagement, to provide deeper insights into optimizing the use of technology to effectively and sustainably foster all dimensions of student engagement, leading to improved learning outcomes.
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How to Cite: Ramos-Azcuy, F. J., Rodríguez-Gámez, M., Benavides-Bailón, J. M., Bonilla-Jiménez, M. M., & Arroba-Cárdenas, Ángel E. (2025). Igniting student engagement: H5P’s transformative potential in higher education. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.2.43542
