“GAMIFY” Training Course in Estonia

We have been waiting for this training course to happen for a long time! Framed under the Strategic Partnership “Game On”, this week we will introduce youth workers and teachers from Estonia, Spain, Greece and Sweden to the magic worlds of board games in entrepreneurship education. The first day was all about getting to know one another, building the team and our own castle and discussing common challenges in education.

On the second day, ee started the morning by discussing the concept of entrepreneurship education, to later on link it with the field of game-based learning. What is a game? What elements form an educational game? Then, the afternoon was fully dedicated to playing the first two games developed during Game On: “Copper Bottomed” and “Pitch Perfect”, both developed by Shokkin Group International.

The third day started with the other three educational board games developed during Game On: “Roads to Entrepreneurship” (Sweden), “Intriga” (Spain) and “Start Up if you dare” (Greece). In the late afternoon, it was time to dive deeper in the world of educational game design by taking a look at the MDA model (Mechanics, Dynamic and Aesthetics) and analyze a few board games from a meta perspective.

The fourth and almost final day of “GAMIFY” was fully dedicated to get some hands-on experience in the game design field! Participants came together in mixed groups and had the opportunity (or challenge!?) to develop a board game prototype based on the learning needs spotted during the session “Challenges in Education” of the first day. And they totally exceeded the expectations for the task by producing three impressive games in just a few hours!

Lastly, on the last day of the training course each team held preparatory meetings with their sending coordinators to discuss the steps to follow regarding the dissemination stage of the project. This stage, which will take place until July, will include gaming events with youngsters, information meetings with youth workers and educators and one entrepreneurship weekend in each one of the participating countries. Stay tuned!