PLAY-Protect, Learn, engAge and enjoY

<< Background >>PLAY aimed to educate young students on climate change and its consequences, as well as to promote the development of digital skills and technological teaching methods. This project aligns with the educational values of the DigCompOrg, which emphasises the importance of incorporating digital technologies in education and enhancing innovation capacity. The project addressed the urgent need to raise awareness among young people of the impact that our actions and lifestyle have on the planet, by making them more aware and responsible citizens. The education sector has a crucial role in promoting sustainable practices and the PLAY project has contributed to this effort. According to UNESCO, education for sustainable development “empowers people to change the way they think and work towards a sustainable future”. This means reorienting the education system to help people think and behave in ways that foster a more sustainable planet.Through the videogame, the partners addressed the need for more engaging and creative digital educational content that appeals to young students. The project gave students an active role in the development of the tool, to enhance their digital skills, promote inclusiveness and encourage participation.<< Objectives >>The project stemmed from the will to contribute to one of the Sustainable Development Goals envisaged by the 2030 Agenda, which highlights the need and urgency to take action to combat climate change and its impact. In particular the partners focused on: “improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning”. Education plays a critical role in raising awareness about environmental and sustainability issues and in training individuals to learn about the impacts of their actions and the benefits of sustainable practices. Through the project, the partners intended to reach these objectives: -providing students with the tools/skills necessary to think critically about environmental issues, so that they can make informed decisions that promote sustainability in their everyday lives.-enhancing students’ digital and programming skills, through their direct involvement in the development of an educational video game, to provide them with the key competencies required from the labour market.-supporting teachers in the implementation of innovative and engaging approaches and enhancing their digital competences.<< Implementation >>Video game :4 training sessions to support students and teachers’ ability to use Unity and on programming in C#;2 mobilities of 3 days each, the I was held in Poland in October 2022, where the Italian and Spanish students carried out some activities to increase their knowledge on environmental sustainability. On this occasion they have researched the main causes of pollution and possible solutions and have decided the settings. The II was held in Spain in January 2023, where the students tested the video game and identified the bugs that needed to be fixed.Toolkit:This activity has mainly engaged the partners, which have held some meetings to structure in detail the contents of the different units and review/validate its quality. The toolkit has been produced in English and translated into the partner languages.Dissemination:-creation of the project website and of an Instagram and Facebook account;-monthly newsletter from October 2022 to January 2023, targeted to organisations/schools/educational institutions/youth workers;- final event hosted by the IC Socrate Mallardo to present the project’s results and achievement;-online/in presence dissemination events to share the outputs with national educational institutions. << Results >>-Development of a videogame centred on climate change, on its effects and on our role in this process. The video game has been created in C# on the Unity 3D platform. The students have had an active role in its development, in fact they have joined a training in which they have familiarised with Unity and have learned how to programme using the above mentioned programming language, then they have made extensive research to identify the main causes of pollution, which led to the identification of the settings of the video game. They have been supported by technicians in the actual production of the video game and have contributed to its testing. The teachers of the partner schools have also taken part in the training to strengthen their digital skills and learn how to efficiently use innovative teaching methods.-Creation of a toolkit to help other schools replicate the project.The toolkit is divided into 2 modules: the first one is centred on the pedagogical principles the project is based on, the educational value of using an approach centred on technology from an educational and pedagogical standpoint and its objectives and results,while the second is a theoretical and practical manual on how to programme in C# and use Unity 3D.