Our project, “Let's learn! Let's play!” aims at challenging traditional teaching methodologies and opening up to more innovative game-based learning (GBL) and project-based learning (PBL). Four European Secondary Schools from Poland, Spain, Slovenia, and Turkey, will work together to rethink education patterns, methods, and tools. The project will be opened for students aged 13-18. Our main objectives will be to analyse the potential of new technologies and open educational resources (OER) and to experiment new teaching and learning techniques, experimenting with Game-Based Learning (GBL) and Project-Based Learning (PBL), and to enhance the professional development of educators by innovating and increasing the quality of their training, including new teaching techniques, ICT-based methodologies and the use of OER. Throughout the project, we will use Project Management Cycle and Design Cycle. The main result is a "Let's learn, let's play" flipbook with 16 games, plus a kit of 4 projects. It will include a tips chapter (how to implement GBL and PBL in every classroom) and a recompilation of OER webpages where to find games and projects by subject and language. It is going to be freely accessible and open to being used by anybody. We expect a highly positive impact on the students that participate in the project, such as: increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily study; increased level of digital competence; increased competence in foreign languages; greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity; more active participation in society; increased sense of initiative; development of autonomy, independence and professional competence in both students and teachers; more strategic and integrated use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER) by the students; increased motivation for learning through innovative teaching methods. In long distance, we aim at disseminating the products throughout European schools.
It is obvious that both teachers and students like games so why not implement them in education? What may be the benefits coming from such an approach? Should educators challenge traditional methods of teaching to face the raising problem of the lack of students’ engagement? Should we keep up with the rapid changes in the way students learn or stick to our “tested” and traditional teaching techniques? What is the place of education in the digital era and how to foster its importance and effectiveness? The project “Let’s learn! Let’s play” embarked on the challenge to answer these crucial questions and showed the school communities how to embrace GBL and PBL, which in turn allows them to experience the effectiveness and enjoyment of learning and teaching strategies combined with gamification. This project was a response to the main problem of schools which is linearity. Only one correct answer is expected, students are provided with only one way leading to it, and once they get it, they’re required to learn it by heart. Nowadays we must be aware that students have access to many sources of information, which serves as a foundation for a claim that traditional learning methods lose their efficiency and can bore contemporary students comprised mainly of game users. Therefore, the main aim of our project was to develop innovative and fun learning activities which required students to use a variety of ICT tools efficiently and critically. Our products include a set of 16 games and 4 products, which are the effects of the successful collaboration between four European Secondary Schools from Poland, Spain, Slovenia, and Turkey, who worked together to rethink education patterns, methods, and tools. The project was opened for students aged 13-18. In light of the importance of PBL and GBL, we strived to broaden both students and teachers knowledge on open educational resources (OER) and offered new learning and teaching opportunities for them. The implementation of gamification made it possible by introducing students to a personalised and safe environment where they can acquire knowledge and experience the process of learning by trial and error without any school-related consequences. Allowing students to fail encourages them to discover and explore knowledge and stimulates their curiosity. Owing to GBL and PBL teachers may employ inquiry-based learning. Knowing that it is possible to restart the game, students have a sense of freedom and autonomy, which translates into a variety of strategies and choices in the game. Consequently, students look forward to lessons during which they can make a mistake several times before achieving success. Such strategy increases the value of learning and gives the possibility to self-reflection and the process itself becomes more student-friendly. We believe our project teaches the whole school community that effort should be rewarded and we should avoid punishing the failure. All products created in the project combine various school subjects, which make them useful resources for interdisciplinary learning and teaching. They may also serve as an example of the collaboration of teachers who embedded the project activities in the curriculum and planned them together. Basing on both qualitative and quantitative data, our project has contributed to the understanding of the importance and benefits of GBL and PBL, which are now integrated into all school activities. It proves that “Let’s learn! Let’s play!” is not just a two-year project but a revolutionary change in our school community that will make use of gamification. We observed a highly positive impact on the students that participated in the project, such as increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily study; increased level of digital competence; increased competence in foreign languages; greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity; more active participation in society; increased sense of initiative; development of autonomy, independence and professional competence in both students and teachers; more strategic and integrated use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER) by the students; increased motivation for learning through innovative teaching methods.