From 22nd to 26th of March we hosted “Edugame”, the main training activity of the long-term project “Learn2Play” focused on educational games that develop soft skills of young people.
During these days, youth workers and educators from Poland, Malta and Estonia got familiar with the eight edugames developed in the scope of the project and had a chance to explore educational game design themselves.
We asked Katja and Veronika, the Estonian participants, to share with us some highlights about their experience:
What were your main learning points?
“During the project, I learned quite a lot, but I will highlight the four main learning points:
- I understood where to start creating an educational game and how to organize the work on its creation.
- Language is, first of all, a tool with which you can convey your idea. Yes, I can make mistakes in grammar and forget words, but this does not mean that I am poorly educated. On the contrary, it shows my desire to share my thoughts with different people, my courage and breadth of thinking.
- I have identified for myself some points on how best to conduct games (what kind of game, goal, rules, game, debriefing, conclusion, questions / tips for conducting). There is a similar structure in the lesson, but for myself I realized the importance of their sequence.
- Daily schedule. Previously, I didn’t really think about its importance, but now I see how productive I can be in a day, with breaks between work. I liked that in this way I kept my interest and desire to continue working. I realized that long pauses between work and loss of interest after a long period of work is normal. Rest is not idleness and you need to treat yourself with love. Loving yourself is not selfish.”
“During the training I remembered some learning points which were important to me. I learned more about edugames and games in general and the process of their creation. Also, the training structure was very logic and full, cause we had a lot to do and learn, but it was not overwhelming. This was an important learning point for me because in my opinion the result of training also to a large extent depends on the schedule.”
What surprised you the most about the interpersonal connections?
“What surprised me the most was to discover similar situations/issues with the educational system in other countries. When I heard that in some countries the situation with higher education is even more difficult than in my country, which is why many people go to study abroad, I thought about the possibility of studying outside my country. In fact, if I get the first degree in Estonia (in Estonian), then I will certainly be able to cope with studying in English abroad.”
“The attitude and passion of other participants towards the topic of the training and their occupation. Also, similarities between lifestyles and educational systems in different countries.”
Do you think anything in you changed after having attended the project?
“After having attended the project, I feel that I have become more courageous. Previously, I was afraid of making mistakes in my studies and of speaking in a foreign language. Now I understand that I can make mistakes and this is normal, because this is how you learn. I see that in this world there are many enthusiasts like me. They also want to bring something new to the education system, despite all the difficulties of their profession.
Thanks to these people and the project that brought us together, I received inspiration and a great surge of strength to implement my ideas in the field of education. Now I see that my ideas about creating interactive and playful lessons are really important, and also quite feasible.”
“I learned lots of things which are very interesting to me and now I feel more confident in the topic. I also improved my English and became more open and sociable.“
Katja Kulikova and Veronika Spiljova
