Innovative GAming Methodologies in Education

<< Background >>Serious games are one of the most effective forms of learning. Board games especially can offer a variety of advantages such as their social aspect, as people are required to socially interact with their peers, decision making and other cognitive and soft skills development, lower budget needed to print and play or buy a game (instead of having ownership of a computer or/and other digital devices), inclusive aspects and intricate game mechanics that can offer extra immersion to any topic. Moreover the recreational nature of games allows the participant to enjoy the learning process, thus paying more attention and absorbing the offered knowledge and skills.However, most educational projects and their results focus on serious games that are based on old concepts (eg. Snakes and Ladders), lacking understanding of the capabilities the modern gaming industry and mechanics offer, or are limited to digital game versions. I-GAME project was envisioned to bridge the knowledge gap of creating inclusive serious board games, by bringing together organizations with a variable set of expertise and facilitating a modern understanding of the potential uses of board games within education, for different target groups.<< Objectives >>I_Game aimed to bring together partners working in different fields of board game industry (manufacturing, structure & design, needs analysis, inclusion of people with disabilities, Minorities and/or Socially Excluded people) through 4 Learning Training Teaching Activities (LTTAs) in order to combine their different perspectives, experiences and expertises and to make the design of a serious board game up-to-date with modern board game industry techniques and mechanics that all can capitalize. The specific objectives were:OBJ1-Improve competencies of educators and other adult staffOBJ2-Inclusion and diversity in all fields of educationOBJ3-Create upskilling pathways, improve accessibility and increasing take-up of adult educationOur scope was through the series of 4 LTTAs, to update the pedagogy and didactics of Game Based Learning (GBL) and empower the utilization of board games as learning methodology.The project aimed also to disseminate the gained experience to relevant stakeholders (organizations and individuals supporting people with Disability and/or Minorities or Socially Excluded people, board game Industry professionals and societies) in order to enable more institutions to benefit from the project’s results.<< Implementation >>Partners implemented the following activities:- Kick-off meeting, 8 participants- Interim TPM in Arad, 8 participants- LTTA 1 in Pila (manufacturing and technical aspect of Board Games), 13 participants- LTTA 2 in Karditsa (structure and design), 10 participants- LTTA 3 in Athens (needs analysis and application for people belonging to Minorities or being Socially Excluded), 10 participants- LTTA 4 in Arad (needs analysis and application for people with Disability), 11 participants- Creation of 4 informational videos- Creation of 4 documents with experiences- Creation of an inclusive Board Game (extra activity not required from application, serving as a practical example, based on the gain knowledge)- 25 local, national and international events and trainings for presenting, disseminating and/implementing I_Game practices - 11 online meetings for creating project results and monitoring project advancement-other dissemination activities (eg. social media posts, website, newsletters, press release) All these activities aimed to provide training, inform and achieve an impact on the project's target groups not only during the project’s life cycle but also after its completion.<< Results >>The project brought together organizations and businesses in the field of using Modern Board Games as a Learning Tool. During the project, partners developed the following results in order to promote best practices shared and implemented among partnership -4 Documents with the experiences of the professional that took part in the training activities-4 videos highlighting the experiences and the knowledge gained in the training activities.Those two tools aimed to dictate the advantages of the integration of modern board game mechanics into the educational process via GBL.-1 collaborative Board Game, created during LTTA 3 via a co-creation workshop as a practical example of an inclusive board game.Further than these the consortium created extra material that promoted and disseminated the project’s aims, results and activities (in english and all partners’ national languages)5 newsletters 1 press release Website of the project - i-gameproject.eu1 leaflet /flyerPresentations from TPM’s and LTTAs (in English)1 interim & 1 Final Dissemination report1 interim & 1 Final Evaluation reportAll these materials are uploaded as Open Education Resources on the project's website and Erasmus + platform results, and EPALE.