Digital platforms in learning: Three studies on gamified competitions, strategic pricing, and social media dynamics.

The central aim of this dissertation is therefore to understand how digital platforms shape students’ learning processes in a broad sense. Platforms influence what learners encounter, how they engage with content, and how they experience the learning as a process. Yet, these influences do not operate uniformly. Figure 1.1 illustrates the elements necessary to understand the digital platforms in the context of learning processes and how they appear in this research. The left side represents the domain of digital platforms, taking the perspective of their design components. First, we need to look into features, namely the material components of platform architecture, through which technological affordances become visible and actionable (Bucher, Helmond, et al. 2018; Faik, Barrett, and Oborn 2020). Second, the business model design, which describes how the platform structures value creation and capture
(M. Morris, Schindehutte, and Allen 2005). Finally, the content circulated on platforms, encompassing digital resources such as media, messages, and representations of information (Constantinides, Henfridsson, and Parker 2018). The right side represents the domain of learning processes, which include outcomes such as engagement, performance, motivation, and well-being. Three studies were chosen to examine each of the components through which platforms shape learning processes. The first study examines the design of a platform feature (leaderboards), the second the design of a business revenue model (sampling strategies for free content), and the third the design of content itself (study-related videos on social media). Together, they capture the range of ways in which platforms influence learning, from interface design, through strategic choices, to everyday media experiences.