International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

Project‑Based Learning is widely regarded as an effective pedagogical approach for fostering both technical competencies (hard skills) and interpersonal competencies (soft skills) in higher education. The development of an application for Project‑Based Learning in 2D Animation Production is proposed in this study to evaluate its potential effectiveness, compare learners’ pre‑test and post‑test achievement scores following its utilization, and assess learners’ hard skills and soft skills. The participants consisted of 51 undergraduate students, purposively sampled, majoring in Multimedia Technology, and enrolled in a 2D Animation Production course at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University (one‑group pre-test–post-test design). The research instruments included the developed application, an expert‑quality evaluation questionnaire, pre‑test and post‑test measures, and rubric‑based performance assessments for hard skills and soft skills. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired‑samples t‑tests, and inter‑rater reliability (Cohen’s κ). The results showed that experts rated the overall quality of the application at the highest level (Mean = 4.67, SD = 0.48). The Meguigan’s effectiveness index was 1.12 (>1.00), exceeding the acceptable criterion and suggesting the potential effectiveness of the application in this context. Learners’ post-test achievement scores were significantly higher than their pre-test scores (p < 0.001), and they demonstrated high levels of hard skills and soft skills, with high inter-rater reliability. The findings suggest the potential effectiveness of the application in supporting the development of hard skills and soft skills in higher education within this context.