Vortoj - interactive language game

"<< Background >>The reason for this innovative, interactive and multilingual game Vortoj is to address the key EU priorities of the Erasmus+ program, such as multilingualism and improving digital skills among students and teachers (and to include movement in them). Multilingualism has been one of the most defining aspects of the EU since its foundation. The motto ""Unity in diversity"" clearly demonstrates that the EU sees a better knowledge of foreign languages among its citizens as a necessity, as it has a positive impact on their employability as well as on cultural understanding and connectivity. In addition, the new Erasmus+ has set new priorities where multilingualism should be given more attention with a special focus on supporting language learning and linguistic diversity. Among other things, EC also defines multilingualism and the development of digital competences as ""Key competences"". These are crucial for all of us, starting from early childhood, but they are also necessary for personal fulfillment and development, employability, active citizenship and social inclusion.Currently, it is more than necessary to create new tools that will meet EC needs and help teachers to adapt faster. Vortoj will therefore reflect the above-mentioned.<< Objectives >>The main goal is to strengthen skills in a foreign language, with an emphasis on vocabulary, grammar, spelling, through gamification, involving movement and competition in this process.Vortoj, which means ""words"" in Esperanto, represents an innovative and revolutionary project in the field of education of (not only) elementary school pupils in foreign languages. It aims to use digital tools such as computers and dance pads to provide a new, fun way of learning that also involves movement - jumping on the mats that control the game. This project is designed to be multilingual and playable directly online and for free - and to be a game-based learning experience. The effort was to make Vortoj available in eleven languages and to create nine categories, four game modes and three levels of control - we managed to fulfill, even exceed, all of these planned parameters. The plan was also to enable the addition of new content (words, categories and languages), thus opening the way to endless possibilities for expanding the project. An equally important element of the game is physical activity - which is largely lacking in today's youth. By combining movement and a playful form of language learning, we can fulfill Comenius' desire ""school<< Implementation >>Most of the activities were directly devoted to the production of its results (PR1-4). We have set up a continuous monitoring and evaluation system throughout the entire project cycle. To ensure effective reporting, financial and administrative management rules were explained to all partners and included semi-annual financial reports. Another important aspect was the creation of a schedule. The 24 months allowed for the development of elaborate and comprehensive e-learning materials. The main goal of our project was to create an interactive game that should be multilingual and contain different categories, modes and difficulty levels.The work of the content team was crucial for the fulfillment of project activities dealing with content creation. Beta-testing was applied to guarantee high-quality content, during which feedback was collected from students and teachers, and then the necessary changes and their implementation were made. User feedback was integrated into the final game edit. The final design contained all the necessary activities to provide a comprehensive, interactive, multilingual digital game, primarily focused on language learning combined with physical activity.<< Results >>The game ""Vortoj"" is completely available as an innovative, free, additional educational tool. One of the main features of the game is the combination of movement (jumping) on the dancepads and consolidating knowledge of foreign languages. The game connects movement with learning, which is all the more beneficial because nowadays children and young people have much less exercise than in the past. The aim of the game is therefore, in addition to providing an entertaining form of language teaching, to ""get pupils and students moving"" and to provide them with a combination of movement, fun and informal learning. The aim of the game is for the players to jump on the arrow buttons on the dance mat (4 or 8 arrows), and with this movement they actually control the game = correctly answer the questions, that they see in front of them on the monitor/screen. Vortoj can be played by two players at the same time, which strengthens the development of another skill - competitiveness, and at the same time makes the game more fun. The game is completely accessible online, directly from the website (https://play.vortoj.net), therefore no installation is necessary and the game works on any operating system and in any browser."