| Introduction: Online education presents distinct challenges for regional universities, where students often face additional barriers, such as limited access to campus resources and a greater reliance on asynchronous learning. These challenges are particularly pronounced in analytical and algorithmic computer programming subjects, such as ITC322 Data Structures, a third-year subject in the Bachelor of Information Technology program. The Subject Experience Survey (SuES) score for ITC322 initially reflected these difficulties, with a 72% score indicating that traditional online teaching methods were not sufficiently engaging. Recognising the need for innovative approaches tailored to the unique context of a regional university, I explored strategies to enhance student engagement and improve learning experiences in online delivery. Objectives: This presentation explores the effectiveness of competition-based learning (Burguillo, 2010) in enhancing engagement and learning experiences in computer programming subjects delivered online. By integrating HackerRank, a coding and assessment platform widely used in the industry for hiring programmers, this study seeks to demonstrate how competition can foster a collaborative and motivating learning environment, leading to significant improvements in student satisfaction and performance. Methods: To address the engagement challenges, I incorporated HackerRank into the subject's weekly activities. Weekly programming challenges were designed to correspond with the topics covered in the subject and hosted on HackerRank, which provided automatic evaluation, real-time feedback, and rankings on a leaderboard. This competition-based approach was designed to increase participation by leveraging intrinsic motivators like gamification. The platform's immediate feedback also allowed students to iteratively refine their understanding of complex concepts. Results: The introduction of HackerRank into the ITC322 subject led to a remarkable increase in student engagement and satisfaction, as evidenced by qualitative and quantitative measures. The SuES score for the subject improved over the years, from 72% in 2017 to 98% in 2023, indicating a significant improvement in student satisfaction. Student feedback further underscored the positive impact of HackerRank on their learning experience. One student noted, "Ashad introduced us to HackerRank, which provides one with an interface to program; this was a pleasant surprise, and I wished more programming subjects utilized this..." Additionally, the practical relevance of the challenges was emphasised by a student who remarked, "HackerRank challenges helped to use the learnings in real-world problems." The engagement aspect was also celebrated, with a student sharing that "HackerRank weekly activities [were] also a fun and enjoyable way to practice coding from the weekly topics." Discussion: This approach was also applied in another programming subject, ITC538 Programming in Java 1, which yielded similarly positive results, with the SuES score increasing from 70% to 96%. These results exhibit the broader applicability of competition-based learning in the online context, demonstrating its effectiveness across different subjects within the IT curriculum. Conclusion: The integration of HackerRank as a competition-based learning tool in online programming subjects has proven to be an effective strategy for addressing engagement challenges in online education, particularly computer programming subjects, within the context of regional universities. By aligning with institutional values of inspiring learning and leveraging innovative technology, this approach led to significant improvements in student engagement and learning experience. Reference Burguillo, J. C. (2010). Using game theory and competition-based learning to stimulate student motivation and performance. Computer & Education, 55(2), 566-575. |