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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted traditional learning from primary to tertiary levels. UiTM lecturers were forced to embrace online learning. Academics were asked to learn, create, and implement open and distance learning (ODL) using a variety of platforms, even if they did not feel adequately prepared or had previously expressed little interest in online teaching. The primary goals of the study were to investigate their readiness for online teaching as well as the challenges they faced. Two sets of survey questions were sent to all lecturers teaching in Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Shah Alam. The findings show that participants not only adapted to online teaching but also learned new knowledge during the online teaching and learning. Participants also stated that the main issues they encountered were internet connectivity among students and lecturers. This indicates that internet connectivity plays a major challenge during ODL. It is hoped that this research will serve as a guide for Akademi Pengajian Bahasa management in assisting lecturers who are still struggling with ODL.

Universities, researchers and practitioners are looking for effective ways to engage, enhance, and promote students’ learning in the classroom. Gamification is the integration of game-like design elements into non-game context to motivate action, engage, and solve problems. This paper presents the effectiveness of gamification through leaderboards to improve student engagement in subjects for Company Website Design (EIC552) and Communication through Drama (EPE530) at Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Questionnaires were given to examine the effects of gamification on student learning and engagement. Results suggest that gamification through leaderboards are effective in improving student participation and encouraging extracurricular learning.