They say: “Business (or studies) before pleasure”. What if I’d tell you, there has been progress towards new way to study? In Finnish working life gamification and games have been in use for a while know, but mostly as tools to increase team spirit and getting to know each other. Of course, some advanced companies worldwide have expanded the utilization of game in their business culture. Also, we all know games are used in pre-school and elementary school, but why educating yourself at upper levels should be any less fun? It shouldn ́t. Let me present you how to be educated playing, competing, and using stories.
Our project team introduced itself earlier this spring via the first blog: “On our way becoming wizards of green finance”. Our P2P- project, about green finance, is almost over and we must admit being quite pleased with the outcome. Now you can read what we accomplished and how. It was rocky road time to time, I ́m not going to lie. With strength of our versatile team, we managed to create utilizable version of Green Wizard- game. First, why Green wizard? We use background story in this game to help people absorb the information more easily. In this game teenagers in local wizard school have gotten interested in doing real life magic, like saving the earth.
We started our game design by educating our selves with 1) theory of game design and green finance and 2) got acquainted with preliminary game. At early stage we also visited our target group at upper secondary school at Kipinä Hyvinkää, to collect essential desires and feedback, for prepared materials. Kipinä students took us in with good spirit and we had bunch of great development ideas. For example, we created new questions, and most of were multichoice, due to Kipinä students. Also, in this new game participants are playing in groups, instead of as individuals. This seemed a good choice, to arouse discussion around topics, instead of just guessing correct answers. Easing the game and modifying it more interactive, increased students’ interest towards it. Not too easy, not difficult but something in between to remain the game fun, re-playable and still challenging. The most difficult level contains questions that are followed by short story, that goes together with the background story. We believe that learning new things through storytelling, even less motivating topics, can process be inspiring. Also, it has been proved by different research that storytelling helps us to memorize new things better. You don’t have to remember single cluster of new concepts yet memorizing interesting story which contains the teaching.
Though our project in coming to its end, we were happy to hear that the game will be developed further. Our hope is that especially running the game on-line would become smoother, because, well we are not programmers etc. In other words, we created good content and rules, now it should be moderated from players point of view. I hope we will see Green wizard someday in real action. Must add, this game is useful for university students as well, when beginning to study green finance
Suurin osa Showcasen blogeista on toteutettu osana Laurean opintojaksoja. Koko koulutustarjontaamme voi tutustua nettisivuillamme. Tarjoamme kymmenien tutkintoon johtavien koulutuksien lisäksi myös paljon täydennys- ja erikoistumiskoulutuksia sekä yksittäisiä opintojaksoja avoimen AMK:n kautta!