TASK 6. "GAMES" - Analyst

 ANALYST: Lidia Peñalver Martínez

During this week we have developed Task 6 which is based on developing a game-based learning strategy, that means, creating our own board game but focusing on one of the Assessment Criteria of the Spanish Curriculum. In our case, we chose: 4.1 Promover actitudes que fomenten el bienestar emocional y social, gestionando las emociones propias y respetando las de los demás, fomentando relaciones afectivas saludables y reflexionando ante los usos de la tecnología y la gestión del tiempo libre.

At first, we chose another Assessment Criteria. However, we realized that other groups were determined to also use that criterion. Therefore, we changed our minds, and then, we decided to go straight forward with the one we finally chose. Perhaps that happened because we were narrowed-minded in just one idea, and then we had to adapt to the circumstances, and we realized that, in these times when bullying is still a major problem in schools, it would be a very nice and useful idea to choose a topic like this one, which could help children to learn how to control and express their emotions and feel listened to. In fact, we don’t regret having chosen that criteria as we are pretty happy with our final result.

Regarding the activity, I would dare say that decorating the board has been a very entertaining and enjoyable part, and also, eventually playing with it has been a really nice experience. I suppose both these things have been the best part of the task since we have been able to see and play a specific game that we have thought of by ourselves and created with our own hands, and as I have said before, we found the final game very colorful, useful and didactic. By contrast, we also need to be realistic and admit that our game was not perfect, and thanks to the recommendation of Coconuts, we realized the Dominoes game inside Sonder Game was a bit long and, consequently, dull. So, we admit that because of that specific and boring minigame, Dominoes was the worst part of our activity.

With reference to the week, we have been discussing and we suppose that the hardest part of the week was the day we had to play with our own team (Tuesday the 15th) because of the mistakes (dynamic, elements and time) we found in our game which worried us. So we had to change a few things in order to perfect the Sonder Game. In fact, that bitter moment reminded us of our first and second task as Potential Teachers in the course of Resources and ICT, when we were determined to do a specific job and then figured out we had to modify certain parts. However, we have to admit that the whole process of developing the game has been very nice, and, as a matter of fact, on the presentation day all of the groups put the games in common, and we had to play The Puzzle Team’s game which was actually pretty fun and didactic. It was an awesome class and we admired the work our classmates did. Because of that, we assume it was the best part of the week.

We have learned quite a lot of things when developing this game-based learning strategy, for example, how to develop a game but always taking into account the curriculum and the amusement of the children. It was an inspiration for us related resources like this one: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/gamification-game-based-learning-unit-andrew-miller

We guess that due to the fact that in the previous course Educational Planning we studied game-based learning, it has been a nice topic to deal with, and to remember and interiorize more the concepts we studied previously in a more theoretical way. We suppose that because of the practical way or methodology of this course, different from the other course, it has been a really entertaining and different experience to see game-based learning from another perspective.

On the one hand, as a group, we are pretty efficient and hard-working, so we always try to do things in the right way in order to improve and learn. Perhaps, that is likely to happen since we are closer now than the first months of university, and also it could be due to the fact that we are more used to university and the methodology of Linda. Therefore, that effort and illusion to work hard and improve are some aspects we need to maintain, both individually and as a group. On the other hand, we have noticed that during this last week we have been a little bit sensitive and irritated. Maybe, this has been due to the personal circumstances of each one of us, and also because at this point in the course, we are tired and willing to finish soon but, at the same time, we want to make the most of ourselves. 

Summing up, game-based learning is a pretty dynamic and fun strategy to implement in a classroom setting which we have enjoyed 100%. We have reached that conclusion, not only by attending classes here at university but also by searching for information on the Internet: 

https://www.lanzadigital.com/provincia/ciudad-real/los-juegos-de-mesa-como-aprendizaje-para-desarrollar-habilidades-cognitivas-y-socializar/ 

https://acerforeducation.acer.com/education-trends/gamification/5-reasons-to-introduce-game-based-learning-at-school/  

https://www.getcleartouch.com/es/how-to-introduce-game-based-learning-in-classroom/ 

Thanks to web pages like those ones, we have delved into the world of game-based learning, and we have learned a lot about its benefits and strategies to use in a class.

We are determined to learn more about this strategy, and, for sure, due to its success in this course, we are motivated to still use it when we become future teachers.