The Learning Games Romania
This is a Grundtvig Workshop using the Personal Development method EQUILITRI™ to tackle adult literacy problems
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
“The Learning Games” is a methodology & know how transfer workshop on the Alternate Virtual Reality (AVR) method adapted to adults with literacy problems. AVR is a new approach to teaching that “makes use of game-thinking and game mechanics in a non-game context in order to engage users and solve problems”. The entire programme of the workshop is built on an Alternative Reality environment, to facilitate immersion and a proper understanding of the method. AVR is an essential part of the EQUILITRI™method. Equilitri is a self-manageable Personal Development method based on the principles of balance, simplicity and flexibility.
A brief example should make the method easier to understand at first glance. Our favourite example is the Tetris game, and we always give this example as people are quite familiar with the game and its addictivity. Tetris is an old electronic game where the player arranges falling blocks of various shapes into lines. It has been enormously successful worldwide. The game is highly addictive, although no real reward or outcome can be gained from it. Experiments show that if you were to give a task of arranging blocks as a task in class, students would quickly get bored and lose interest. What makes the same activity a source of fun and addiction as a game and a source of boredom as a task? What are the psychological mechanisms behind it? What are the motivating factors it uses? These were a few of the questions that started us thinking whether we could use the same psychological factors and mechanisms in teaching adults with literacy problems. And this is how Alternate Virtual reality came to life.
AVR “studies the psychological mechanisms that computer games use and bring them to class in order to improve learner engagement, motivation, participation and efficiency of the learning process”.
In a SMARTer reformulation, “The Learning Games” aims to provide 10 learners with simple and balanced personal development tools, based on AVR methodology, that they can use to enhance professional development and link education and career.
This project is for professionals working with adults with literacy problems
Workshop reference number in the Grundtvig Workshops Catalogue, Workshop Reference number: 2013-1-RO1-GRU13-31063 page 229.
DATE & PLACE: 27th of July – 2nd of August 2014, Timisoara, ROMANIA (7 days, plus travel days).
NOTE: travel dates are 26th of July and 3rd of August (dates are different from the ones from Grundtvig Catalogue!)
