Effectiveness of H5P in improving student learning outcomes in an online tertiary education setting

Innovative, pedagogically informed instructional design is instrumental in increasing student engagement and improving learning outcomes in online learning environments. Interactive learning resources provide students with the opportunity to engage with content in a more personalised manner. H5P (HTML 5 Package) is a collaborative platform that allows developers to create interactive content and has been regularly used in education settings. Some evidence suggests using interactive H5P resources in online education courses could lead to greater student engagement. However, to date, there has been little investigation into whether H5P resources can improve student learning outcomes. The current study aimed to assess whether using interactive H5P resources improved assessed learning outcomes in an online undergraduate psychology course. A randomized cross-over design was utilized to test whether students exposed to H5P interactive videos had improved assessment results when compared to a control group. This study found no meaningful differences in assessment scores between students exposed to H5P versus those that were not. There was low overall engagement with the interactive content. However, students who did engage with the resources reported a positive experience and indicated a preference for more interactive elements in future courses. Future research should extend on the instructional design obstacles identified in this study, for example, by examining whether improved accessibility and education on the benefits of interactive resources would increase engagement and grades.