Relevant initiatives

Play the learning game

FETE UGT PV

2011-2013

European

Yes

Leonardo da Vinci(TOI)

Play the Learning Game

FETE UGT PV

2011-1-ES1-LEO05-35968

Teaching Methodology, Didactical resource

Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Biology, Technology, ICT, Science , Other

Italian, Other EU, Spanish, English

Teachers

The Play The Learning Game project, is funded by the European Commission and the Spanish National Agency - OAPEE in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo Da Vinci Sub-programme – Transfer of Innovation Action.

The Play The Learning Game project aims to improve and transfer the results of the The Learning Game project (financed by the European Commision in the framework of the Socrates Programme Comenius 2.1 Action Nr. 128967-CP-1-2006-1-IT-Comenius-C 2.1) during which European teachers investigated and tested the use of videogames, multimedia and e-learning for educational and training purposes.

The aim of the Play The Learning Game project is to enhance teachers and trainers capability to use and combine Videogames, Multimedia and e-learning and in order to make learning more attractive and promote and enhance the involvement of pupils and trainees in Lifelong Learning.

The project aims to update and expand The Learning Game Portal (http://www.learningame.org/) integrating the existing results with the latest technical solutions:
o eLearning based teaching and training materials
o Videogames reviewed to explore and highlight their educational potential
o Softwares to be used to produce innovative e-learning based educational material and videogames with an educational purpose
o Tutorials, on the use of software for the development of e-learning material and educational videogames and providing guidelines for the development of educational videogames
o Training Manual on the development of videogames for educational purposes.

The Play the Learning game project aims to improve the learning and teaching experiences by using Video Games and Multimedia. The project is centered in Vocational Training schools and teachers, and includes several areas of video games activities directed towards different actors, taking advance of games from several aspects which we can summarize in three main ideas:
Showing teachers the basics of learning through gaming, based on relevant studies and researchers into these matters.
Recognizing capabilities from commercial fun games related to vocational training subjects, enabling them to evaluate and select the best games to advice to students.
Enabling teachers to take part in game development projects to develop games which are helpful for classes yet fun to play.

The Play the Learning Game poses several challenges to participants; Specifically the lack of awareness of benefits to the learning process from games, even from controversial ones; but also, the great knowledge necessary to build games in a collaborative way. To introduce teachers to the world of game and multimedia creation, there were several courses for them. During the courses several small games have been created as an example.
The project, which carries on work from a previous project, has created a set of resources:
A tutorial suited to be read by teachers which treats game development, from artistic work to programming: http://learningame.org/info/manual.php
A large database of commercial and free games has been reviewed and offered to the public to get a description of the convenience of the game to teachers and student: http://www.learningame.org/videogames/
The project has been, of course, a meeting point of teacher. Both, the experiences in the project and the ideas discussed about teaching with videogames have been done on a forum which has been part of the project.: http://forum.pixel-online.org/learningameteachers/forums/forum/teachers-and-trainers-forum-pltg/

This project is interesting for teachers and for students. Teachers have a lot to learn and many potential new activities to prepare thanks to the proposals of the project. The project tries to introduce videogames and multimedia into classes. Therefore, this requires a lot of change to the methodology and activities. The project tries to get teachers prepared for these changes.
The contents and tutorials then can be also transferred to students. Enabling them to design and even build simple games that are related to subjects they have to learn. The project benefit is that they can play and learn if the game played is adequate.

This project is very fun, and the classes are also less boring, I wish we could learn every subject with some kind of classes like these, either playing games or creating them to some degree.