By Mark Anthony Camilleri | 3rd June 2026
Educational technology has evolved far beyond digital textbooks and online quizzes. Today’s learners are increasingly engaging with edutainment mobile applications that combine learning with leisure activities through storytelling, game mechanics and immersive audiovisual experiences. These technologies are transforming how people learn both inside and outside of the classroom, from language-learning apps to quiz-based platforms and via interactive games.
A recent study published in Technology, Knowledge and Learning provides important new insights into what makes learners embrace and continue using educational and entertaining gaming applications. The research introduces a robust new framework, the Experiential Design-Engagement Model that explains how game design and psychological factors work together to influence user engagement with edutainment apps.
Moving beyond traditional technology adoption models
For many years, researchers have relied on models such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand why people adopt digital technologies. These frameworks typically focus on factors such as attitudes, social influences, perceived usefulness and ease of use.
While these theories have usually proven to be valuable in some contexts, they do not fully capture the unique characteristics of educational games. Unlike many traditional educational technologies, edutainment applications blend learning and entertainment. Their users are influenced by practical considerations and by the enjoyment and quality of the experience itself.
To address this knowledge gap in the extant academic literature, the researchers of this study have developed the Experiential Design-Engagement Model, a framework that combines established behavioural factors with two important dimensions of game design, namely, game narratives and game aesthetics.
Game narratives refer to the stories, characters, themes and progression that create meaningful and engaging experiences for players. Game aesthetics, on the other hand, encompass the visual design, graphics, animations, sound effects and other sensory elements that enhance the overall gaming experience. Together, these factors provide a more comprehensive understanding of what drives users to adopt and what triggers them to continue engaging with edutainment games.
The result is a more comprehensive explanation of why learners choose to engage with certain educational gaming applications.
What did the study investigate?
Drawing on responses from 186 university students with experience in edutainment applications, this research explored the factors that are influencing the players’ ongoing engagement with educational games. Specifically, it examined the roles of game narratives, aesthetics, attitudes, social influences and perceived behavioural control. The results highlight the importance of experiential designs. They show that well-crafted gaming experiences can significantly enhance the learners’ willingness to keep using edutainment applications.
They report that the learners’ attitudes towards edutainment apps are the strongest predictor of their intention to continue using them. In simple terms, students who find these games to be enjoyable, tend to develop an emotional connection with them. As a result, they are more likely to return to these games and to engage with them on a regular basis.
This finding suggests that sustained engagement is not solely driven by functionality and/or by convenience. Rather, positive feelings such as enjoyment, excitement, satisfaction and emotional connection play a decisive role in determining whether learners return to an educational app or not.
For educators and developers, this means that creating positive learning experiences should be a central objective. Interestingly, design matters more than they realise. One of the most significant contributions of the study is that it confirmed that game design features have a powerful influence on user attitudes.
This research found that game aesthetics exerted one of the strongest effects on learner attitudes. Participants clearly appreciated high-quality audiovisual experiences, immersive graphics, expressive characters and engaging soundscapes.
These design elements do much more than make a game look attractive. They create emotional engagement, increase immersion and enhance the overall learning experience.
Hence, educational technologies should not treat design as an afterthought. Well-crafted aesthetics can significantly influence the learners’ willingness to engage with educational content.
Game narratives also played a significant role in shaping positive attitudes. Strong stories help learners connect emotionally with educational content. Notwithstanding, educational games can transform abstract concepts into engaging activities, by embedding learning objectives within meaningful adventures, challenges and character-driven experiences.
The study confirms that compelling narratives make educational experiences more enjoyable and memorable. Learners are more likely to remain engaged when they feel that they are part of a meaningful journey rather than by simply completing isolated tasks.
Moreover, this research also examined two established factors drawn from the Theory of Planned Behavior, including, perceived behavioural control (in plain words, this construct measures the ease of use of the app) and subjective norms (this is related to the influence of friends, family, peers, educators, et cetera, on the individuals’ perceptions, beliefs and interpretations of the world around them).
In this case, neither perceived behavioural control nor the subjective norms were having a direct impact on the learners’ intentions to continue using edutainment apps. However, both had important indirect effects, as the ease of use as well as social encouragement first shaped the learners’ attitudes. Afterwards, the latter factor (attitudes) had a significant effect on the students’ intentions to engage with edutainment games.
This finding emphasises that: making a game easy to use or receiving recommendations from other gamers are not enough on their own. The students must also develop positive emotional responses toward their gameplay experience. In other words, technical usability and social endorsement are valuable, but they only become effective when they can contribute to create favourable attitudes towards the game.
Why the Experiential Design-Engagement Model matters?
One of the strongest aspects of this research is the robustness of the proposed Experiential Design-Engagement Model. The model explained: 64.5% of the variance in learner attitudes as well as 43.2% of the variance in behavioural intentions. These results are substantial explanatory levels for behavioural research. They clearly demonstrate the model’s strong predictive power.
Arguably, Experiential Design-Engagement Model provides a practical bridge between educational technology research and game design theory. Rather than viewing educational games as learning tools, this model recognises them as experiential products. This research indicates that students are emotionally engaged with edutainment apps. They appreciate their gaming design elements, in terms of their aesthetics, narratives and storytelling, among other factors.
This integrated perspective offers a richer understanding of learner engagement than traditional technology acceptance models alone.
Implications for media and education
The findings carry important implications for educational institutions, developers and policymakers.
For developers, the message is clear. They need to invest in immersive designs, compelling storytelling and high-quality audiovisual experiences, as this research reported that these features directly contribute to learner engagement and continued usage.
For educators, the study suggests that selecting educational apps should involve evaluating both pedagogical value and experiential quality. Even the most educationally sound platform may struggle to sustain engagement if it lacks emotional appeal.
For policymakers, the research proves that successful educational technologies require more than content delivery. Therefore, funding and evaluation frameworks ought to encourage the development of engaging, evidence-based learning experiences that combine educational effectiveness with strong user-centred designs.
A new direction for educational gaming research
The study’s most important contribution is its recognition that learner engagement emerges from the interaction between behavioural psychology and experiential design.
This contribution’s Experiential Design-Engagement Model offers a powerful new framework for understanding why individuals (including students) adopt and continue using educational games. This framework provides valuable guidance for the next generation of edutainment applications by raising awareness of gaming narratives, aesthetics, the players’ attitudes and their emotional engagement.
As educational technologies continue to evolve, this research delivers a clear message: The most effective learning games do more than simply impart knowledge. They captivate learners, spark their curiosity and foster meaningful emotional connections. They transform learning into an insightful experience that is not only educational, but also engaging, enjoyable and memorable.
Ultimately, the true measure of success lies in creating learning experiences that learners willingly return to, not because they have to, but because they want to.
The full, open access paper is available here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10758-026-09991-6#
Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A. & Camilleri, A.C. (2026). User Acceptance of Edutainment Mobile Applications: Advancing an Experiential Design-Engagement Model (EDEM). Technology, Knowledge and Learning, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-026-09991-6
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