Gamification resources in the system of specialist training for the agricultural complex

. Digital twins of real-world objects and phenomena are used extensively in the agricultural sector these days to solve and simulate various technological processes for developing agricultural households and enterprises, digitalization is progressing fast. The existing acute lack of specialists with digital competencies is further aggravated by widening the scope of gamified practices in the agricultural complex, which requires specialist training for the agricultural complex to incorporate gaming elements and plots in non-gaming processes into educational programs. This paper describes the factors responsible for the effectiveness of gamification development and application in the digital educational environment, shows the fundamental differences of the game mechanics employed in educational activities from the ordinary game. Design and game content that is compelling to participants is essential for keeping them motivated and engaged when working on solving important tasks. Amid the rapid development of ICT and digital tools, the learning process requires a certain level of students' and educators' proficiency in digital literacy and digital competencies. The present study examined by means of a questionnaire on a wide variety of issues the readiness of educators and students for a digital shift in the education system and their assessment of the importance of new roles and functions of training providers in the digital environment.


Introduction
The calm and measured world has become a thing of the past.A new stage of human development has come -the era of digital transition, when the industrial and educational landscape is fast changing.The influence of the fourth technological revolution finds its reflection in the domestic agricultural complex (APK).It began in the middle of the last century and is actively developing in the 21st century, characterized by the interpenetration of various technologies, blurring the lines between real and virtual processes and phenomena, biological and digital objects, digital twins, including work in the fields and livestock complexes.In real time, sensors provide data collection on the results of machine activity and the state of the environment.New and exciting opportunities are opening up for the use of robotics, digital and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies, genetics etc. in the agricultural complex.Artificial intelligence and satellite communication technologies (satellite monitoring) are being introduced at an accelerated pace in agriculture to manage various areas of production, animal husbandry, agronomy and product processing.In big data analysis, a combination of various digital technologies, network solutions and management systems, platforms and applications is used.The sector seemingly far removed from digital and information technologies is turning into a high-tech industry due to informatization and digitalization.However, the need to solve many problems accompanies this process, including those related to personnel.New equipment and new technologies require qualified personnel to service high-tech processes under conditions of transition of the agricultural complex to a new level of development.
The departmental project "Digital Agriculture" sets the goal of ensuring a technological breakthrough and a significant increase in labor productivity [1,2].The need to strengthen fundamental research of industrial processes in the processing industries of the agricultural complex comes into the foreground [3,4].More recently, the agricultural complex has been paying more attention to the use of gamification elements, case-based teaching methods and simulators visualizing and modeling various processes to develop skills necessary for working in the field, on farms and processing complexes.By means of gamification programs, potential employees can get acquainted with various smart processes on the farm, technological platforms can be used to introduce professional development training and to demonstrate the performance of the new equipment.In the workplace, gamification provides companies with many advantages, including better selection of personnel and employee retention, widespread implementation of professional development programs and growth in labor productivity [5].
To enhance these processes a large number of specialists are required including those who possess not only deep specialized knowledge of industry specifics and competencies in agricultural production, but also demonstrate digital literacy and digital competencies [6,7,8].Among a large number of important and necessary competencies, the need to master the following ones takes precedence: methods of generating, processing, storing, transmitting data; communication and cooperation in a digital environment; self-development under conditions of uncertainty using open digital educational platforms; creative thinking as a specialist's ability to generate new ideas, rebuild traditional ways of activity, put forward alternative solutions to complex problems, offer optimal algorithms and variants of production processes; critical thinking, assessment of the quality and reliability of information in the digital environment; building logical conclusions based on big data analysis; information and data management.Good command of digital literacies and digital competencies, the ability to use the potential of end-to-end digital technologies in high-tech industry for its re-equipment, development and transition to a new level acquire particular importance in today's world [9].The most commonly requested competencies in all types of activities are data collection and analysis, assessment of the quality of digital information, creating digital content, solving non-standard tasks in a digital environment, information management, communication in the digital space, modeling and teamwork.
Developing these and other competencies can be effective when introducing end-to-end digital technologies into professional agricultural education programs.The combination of so-called hard cognitive skills and soft competence skills will allow agricultural specialists to ensure the efficiency of modern agriculture.Accordingly, when training specialists in this field, it is necessary to pay attention to gamified technologies, including game elements in the educational process for solving various production tasks using information, communication and digital opportunities [10,11,12].
The purpose of this study is to show the problems of the agricultural complex and pedagogical science in the digital space, to identify the readiness of students and educators to use digital technologies in teaching, to assess their command of digital literacy, to reveal changes in the educators' functions in the new reality.

Materials and Methods
This study employs theoretical and empirical methods.The theoretical methods include working with information sources, gathering, generalizing and structuring of data, analyzing the use of digital opportunities in domestic and foreign education, methodological foundations of the training system in the present and future.In addition, we used our own experience in organizing and conducting various forms of the educational process, including the abrupt shift to distance education under conditions of pressing need.
The questionnaire survey method was used as an empirical method to collect data on teachers' and students' readiness to overcome the challenges of time and to use digital resources.The key questions of the questionnaire are aimed at identifying students' and teachers' level of command of digital competencies and skills in educational practice.The assessment of these abilities was carried out within the framework of quantitative and descriptive methodology; statistical, factorial and comparative data analysis were applied.The survey was conducted on a random sample of 560 respondents, of which educators constitute the percentage of 24.3% and students constitute the percentage of 75.7%.Of the total number of survey participants, males constitute the percentage of 34.6% and females constitute the percentage of 65.4%.The respondents participated in the survey voluntarily and participation was anonymous.The data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires through the platform Google Form.

Results
The term gamification means the use of gaming processes and thinking to train and involve participants in solving professionally significant tasks to help them achieve their goals by interacting in a common digital environment simultaneously.The history of gamification development begins with the emergence of its name, when Nick Pelling, an American programmer and inventor, first coined the term in 2002 [13].University of Essex professor Richard Bartle holds the view that gamification turns something not a game into a game [14].A traditional game is a certain model of interaction and obtaining the final product within certain limitations of time, space, and the number of players in the team.In contrast, gamification provides adaptation of game forms to real and educational processes in computer form with free planning of conditions, process, team participation and the end result, where game-like elements are incorporated in non-game contexts to make the process of solving complex problems more enjoyable, exciting, fun and informative.This technology makes complex and routine processes understandable, accessible and interesting [15,16].Thus, gamification is the use of game elements and game strategies, techniques, tools in various processes of industrial and agricultural production, healthcare, education, social sphere, etc.
In the book on game design K. Salen and E. Zimmerman, relying on the theoretical foundations of game design, offer various types of games ranging from board and sports games to video computer games [17].They developed the aesthetics of interactive systems, defined basic concepts like "game", "design" and "interactivity".Games are viewed through a series of eighteen "game design schemes" or conceptual frameworks of game designs as systems for the emergence and dissemination of information, contexts for game scenarios and means of narrating events.One of the advantages of such games is a certain freedom in choosing the ways and actions of participants in solving the problem in the mode of useful entertainment.There are several types of gamified games: structural, content, digital, analog.The structural game determines the way and trajectory of the player's promotion, motivating them to examine the content more deeply.The content game aims at bringing the game process to the end and getting a bonus as a reward.The digital game focuses on providing game process support by means of various applications and user experience.The analog game involves the use of various merit badges, loyalty cards, personal incentives and other stimuli.
Yukai Chou believes that the combination of game content and game dynamics, behavioral economics and motivational psychology, user experience and the interface of technological platforms contribute to the development of good design and gamification efficiency [18].In order for gamification to be effective, it is necessary to consider the behavioral factors of participants and methods of their motivation, which are necessary aspects of application in a non-gaming environment to save resources, costs and improve quality [19,20,21].Legaki N., Xi N., Hamari J., Karpouzis K. and Assimakopoulos V. have experimentally proved that gamification based on interesting and meaningful tasks has a positive effect on learning outcomes compared to traditional methods [22].
In education, gamification is used to support learning in order to integrate game-related elements such as progress indicators, fun, storytelling, immediate feedback, skill, player control, social communication, impact on the outcome [23].As a pedagogical technology for activating the educational motivation of university students, gamification is just beginning to take its place [24,25].Its main goal is to develop and apply new flexible and effective formats of learning to expand the possibilities of educational technologies and stimulate the collective behavior of participants.This changes the attitude, behavior and actions of students and increases their motivation, engagement, creativity, attention retention and overall learning outcomes.AI-powered training systems allow independent testing of students' achievements, tracking the progress of training and the level of their involvement, selecting games and simulators individually according to their interests, using training videos and other useful resources, building a system of personal recommendations related to the educational content.
A feature of gamification is the fact that there are no clear rules for its organizing and conducting, and the product of activity is not planned explicitly.There are general principles of game process, freedom of choice of tools and simulations, recommended activities that serve as guidelines.The results of activities can be educational and product ones, they may also be presented as developing ability to generate digital content, receive and transmit information, as self-organization, communication in the digital environment, reflecting on achievements, etc.Also included is mastering cross-cutting skills that will manifest themselves in situations like this during training, at work, in public and personal life.Gamification turns obtaining the product of educational activity into an exciting game, providing only a general framework of requirements and giving a lot of space for original solutions, behavioral manifestations, and the disclosure of creative potential.It is desirable in such educational technology for participants, when solving a problem at certain stages, to experience a shortage of necessary information so that they could independently replenish their knowledge using the digital educational space.Curiosity and desire to complete the task enhance interest in the game and contribute to self-development.
Thus, the essence of gamification in education lies in the widespread implementation of game techniques in a non-game context that allow improving practical skills, getting an assessment of actions with error analysis without risking destruction of real objects (Fig. 1).The main aim of gamification in the educational process is to change the behavior of students, increase their motivation, involvement and activity in the educational and gaming space, as well as the development of universal and professionally significant competencies, including digital ones.Games influence cognitive, emotional and social spheres of players thus increasing student involvement in the educational process.In a gaming environment they demonstrate a willingness to perform repetitive tasks, they fail and make repeated attempts despite the risk.In general, when using gamification in education organizing and conducting it as a full-fledged game is not the goal, instead, certain bright game fragments are used in the educational process.Ushinsky K. noted that the use of game elements in the educational process helps to activate the emotional sphere of students, allows them to escape a rigid framework of educational activities.
Creating gamification is a rather complex process that requires developers to do theoretical and analytical work, search for an interesting and professionally significant situation that requires solving a problem associated with the goals and training program, building a game construct with educational and cognitive attributes and the expected result (educational or product one).Its organization forms can logically vary in obtaining and using knowledge, interdisciplinarity, the development of meta-subject skills, the organization of project activities, the identification of an individual process or the results of group project activities.Various types of rewards for participants are considered the strong point of this technology (badges, emblems, certificates, bonus points, etc.).In group format, ensuring conditions for competition and competitiveness is a practice [26].The correct gamification model can significantly increase the efficiency of mastering the content of the program material of the studied subject area.
Implementation of learning technology using gamification elements requires participants to possess digital literacy and digital competencies.No one can say today what the next generations will have to face in the future in the new world and in an everexpanding digital space.For future generations, the real and virtual worlds have somewhat complementary properties, become everyday phenomenon, and, consequently, the forms of education somehow begin to copy the existing living environment.Thanks to the digital shift and the creation of highly efficient ecosystems, new priority areas of professional activity are opening up, employers' requests for graduates' preparedness, and, consequently, technologies and learning tools are changing.These include digital education (infrastructure, digital equipment, communications, high-quality educational content, secure educational platforms, ethical standards in the digital environment); improving the competence of educators in the field of digital skills and competencies for digital transformation; the formation and development of basic digital skills and competencies among students from an early age.
The survey results show that more than 90% of educators and students possess the skills to copy, move, save files; rename, delete, restore and transfer information; print design and technological documentation; scan text and graphic documents; analyze table data and perform other operations in a digital environment.But only 69.6% of them use digital technologies for teaching and learning.A critical attitude to digital information (assessment of the reliability of information, logical conclusions based on data) was indicated by 58.2%.The importance of digital tools and technologies for self-development was noted by 71.8%, self-education and time saving by 68.1%, and the ability to create media products by 44.8%.
Information on the assessment of the significance of new didactic opportunities by students and teachers is shown in Table 1.Most respondents note the growing learning opportunities in the digital environment.The expansion of educational activities puts educators in front of the need to master new functions and roles for teaching students.41.4% of educators note the importance of the digital educational product developer.A trainer of project activity in the digital environment is singled out by 39.4%.A specialist in the examination of online educational resources is considered important by 33.0%; 28.7% noted a tutor developing trajectory of an individual educational movement; 32.3% noted a networking teacher mentor; 27.7% emphasized the role of an online psychologist.Online instructors providing navigation support in learning space were indicated by 27.3%, and analysts of students' digital data by 16.6%.It is clear that this process will continue in the future.However, there is still uncertainty regarding the training quality of specialists using such methods.
According to the survey results, the quality of education in the digital format is evaluated ambiguously by respondents within a wide range of opinions (Table 2).The use of digital opportunities and involvement in the digital educational environment are noted by 23% of the survey participants; 34.3% are exploring the possibilities of the digital environment; 28.6% believe that they are not related to this problem; 9.5% are planning transition and 4.6% strongly oppose transition to digital education.There is a wide variety of opinions on the choice of format of education (Table 3).Most respondents prefer a blended format of education and different approaches to different disciplines.This approach combines online learning materials and online interaction with in-person teaching methods, provides sufficient freedom of action for educators and students, allows controlling the pace of mastering the content together with feedback and evaluation, making meaningful decisions regarding self-motivation.20% of educators and students approve of in-person format exclusively.According to the survey results, the use of online MOOC courses is marked by a diversity of approaches, opportunities and awareness levels, but only 9.3% showed that they have already received such training and support this training format (Figure 2).The students note that the activity could be higher if the work results obtained on open online educational platforms were accepted in university (15.2%).

Fig. 2. Use of online MOOC courses.
Thus, the overall result of the survey shows a fairly high digital culture and respondents' interest in expanding learning opportunities using technologies and tools of the digital environment.However, new educational technologies are not yet widely implemented.The majority of educators and students, as the questionnaire survey showed, possess digital literacy and digital competencies in order to start conducting and providing educational activities in a digital environment.Difficulties arise due to the lack of programming skills and the development of digital educational content, the expansion of the functional diversity of online courses.Nevertheless, the process of digital transition is gaining momentum, there are sufficient starting conditions and opportunities for this to happen.Digital education has already become an important part in the system of training specialists for the country's digital economy, but, according to students and educators, it should not completely replace traditional in-person education.

Discussion
Against the backdrop of changing technological, cultural and social landscapes, digital technologies today determine where, when and how new conditions for professional and educational activities are created.These technologies in the life of society will now remain forever, being modified, improved and extended to all forms of human existence.Of special interest is the adaptation of the use of gaming methods to non-gaming processes and events in agricultural production, which contributes to greater involvement of employees in solving complex tasks and creating emotional connections between participants, increasing motivation in work and training.Some authors, however, warn the academic community against excessive enthusiasm for digitalization and the transfer of all educational activities to a digital format [27,28].Others claim that distance education is education for the poor, who cannot afford the luxury of human communication and real contacts with highly qualified teachers [29].These concerns should surely be taken into consideration and optimal ratios of digital and in-person methods should be found.The complexity of the development of engineering competencies and skills of the 21st century, not only in the digital environment, but also in face-to-face mode of learning can best testify to this [30].Another problem is ensuring information security, eliminating the negative consequences of digital learning for users' physical and mental health, exposure to prohibited, aggressive, illegitimate, unethical information, and the use of low-quality information products.The results of the study showed that currently the attitude of educators and students towards digital modes of learning varies widely, ranging from cautious attitude to full acknowledgement.

Conclusion
If the norms, rules and reasonable volumes are observed, digital learning can shift the results of educational activities for the better by expanding methodological, methodical and organizational components, including the possibilities of using ICT and digital technologies, artificial intelligence achievements, gamification and other techniques and tools.While preserving the best in the traditional teaching methodology, gamification technologies enrich educational activities with new content, new tools and techniques based on digital education opportunities.

Table 1 .
New didactic opportunities in the digital environment

Table 2 .
Change in the quality of education in the digital format of education

Table 3 .
Attitude to the formats of education.