Abstract:

P4I - Play for Interculturality is a Grudtvig Multilateral project, funded by the European Commission, ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP . The project has been approved in 2011 and will be implemented within the 2 years.

While the latest tendencies point at a rather low level of adult population participation in lifelong learning initiatives, despite the increasing efforts in promotions and diversity of programmes, the project partners believe that the use of social games can positively influence the access of European adults to lifelong learning experiences, increasing the access rates, offering innovative and attractive means to develop key competences. P4I – Play for Interculturality seeks to take step forward and create an innovative social game that promotes apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and media literacy in parallel.
During the conference, we would like to share the main conclusions and findings taken from the final report “Success stories – compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults’ education” that has been developed with the framework of work package 2 “Analysis on the use of game-based learning initiatives.” It aims at analyzing the pedagogical potential of games (especially social games) applied to competences development, identifying those variables that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning initiatives, as well as gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international levels to be used as inspirations for adults training practitioners. In each of the countries studied (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK and the US) the use of game-based learning is a rapidly growing trend that is pervading different areas of knowledge.

A wide range of success examples surfaced in the search and conversations. Each of the national reports lists a select few that should be played for inspiration. From wildly popular commercial games such as The Sims and Farmville, to effective transformational games such as Darfur is Dying, Peacemaker, Global Conflicts – Palestine, and PING (Poverty is Not a Game), all share designs that bring players back, encourage them to involve others, and promote envisioning the real world in a different way. From them designers should learn to define very specifically what they want to achieve, provide for a variety of contexts for play (including traditional classrooms), and find both a compelling story and engaging activities to advance it. Taken together, the national reports are a rich collection of experience and intelligence that should be re-visited regularly in any design, development, and deployment process involving games to promote adult competences.

Keywords:

Social gaming, intercultural competences, key competences, learning in informal environments.