“As a teacher and youth worker who loves playing board games in my free time, I was really excited to join the Gamifying Training in Galicia. I had already joined a Shokkin Kamp and taken part in other erasmus+ activities, but it was my first Erasmus training and I was really curious to see how everything would go.
The training was divided into different parts: playing educational board games and facilitating them, getting to know each other and building a team spirit, learning about education through games and finally getting to work on a prototype for our own game.
I really liked some of the activities that were used to make us learn about each other, and I definitely want to use them again in the future. Since the training was pretty short, it was a bit tough to get to know each other, but the games really made us create strong bonds.
When it came to educational board-games, it was really exciting to get to play with prototypes and give our feedback. I would lie if I said I loved all of the games, but even when I got bored playing a game I was always happy to share feedback and see what the others felt when they played.
Comparing our emotions and validating our feelings was really valued during the training and I appreciated the possibility to say what I had in mind without feeling judged by anyone.
One of the key elements for me was all of the learning that was provided to us by Pavel. It really helped me understand why we should use games in educational settings. The tips given and the clear reasoning behind the tools were extremely valuable and will help me facilitate some games in the future.
Finally, creating a prototype of a board-game was a really challenging task. It made me realize how much time and effort has to be put into what seems to be an “easy” task. I still want to create my own educational game some day, but now I’m aware of the challenges and difficulties I might be facing on the way.
The venue and the staff were also absolutely amazing! I am so glad I got to discover Galicia and I was surrounded by such lovely people. Whether it was the other participants or the trainers, it was a huge pleasure to get to know everyone. The trainers were always making sure we had a great time, and quickly became our friends!”
Philo
“Gamifying Education was my first Erasmus+ training course, and I am extremely happy with the results of my experience. During the very short training we managed to play many educational board games, facilitate one with a team of people, and even conceptualize and slightly develop one of our own.
Every aspect of the content we were given had its own value points; I think I learned something even from the fun name-games we played at the beginning of the training. Everything was well thought-out and balanced, and we stayed in such a beautiful location!
Before the training, I had only had a basic understanding of what an educational board game was and how it could be utilized. Because I’m now working with young kids, this training gave me practical knowledge about how to facilitate these games and use them to promote fun and learning together.
The trainers impressed me with their ability to even make the more technical parts of the training interesting and fun. They did a wonderful job of providing the best experience they could for us! I’m motivated for and looking forward to any future trainings I can be a part of!“
Kaitlin
“I was very happy to participate in the Gamifying Education training in Galicia. As a youth worker and game lover, this was very interesting and useful for me. In this training course, we learned about what board games are.
We played new educational games, and in the end, we tried to create our own educational game for one of the topics presented. I chose the theme for creating a game about mental health. For a long time in my team we could not decide how exactly our game would be played, and what exactly it would be about. But at the end everything turned out well.
The training itself was just super, and the place where we lived was very comfortable and beautiful. Food was a separate pleasure (as a cook, I squealed with joy).
Of course, there were a few downsides for me too. It was sometimes a little difficult for me to concentrate due to the fact that my English is not super good. And unfortunately, I could not participate in some games and discussions with more enthusiasm, for the same reason. But I was still happy to be a part of it all. 🙂
Alena