RU EU? A GAME-BASED APPROACH TO EXPLORING 21ST CENTURY EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND VALUES

The RU EU game and support materials are clearly relevant to specific themes of the conference in describing the research and development tasks required for developing a sophisticated and engaging approach to pedagogical Innovations in Education, especially in the field of game based learning. Our paper specifically encourages individuals to think about the nature of both European and National identity, specifically with the context of the EU.

At a time when the European Union is subject to significant challenges, the need to better understand and appreciate the role of national and supra-national identity in the European sphere, and the need for people to better understand their own sense of belonging and that of others, is clear. RU EU, an Erasmus + funded project, aims to develop an innovative online game that will help students, and others, across Europe to develop a better understanding of their own National and European identity. The game will allow individuals, and groups of students within the educational environment, understand their own perspectives and values, as well as those of others, and to further examine and reflect upon the impact of such on their identity. The game will seek to challenge attitudes and prejudices by allowing people to engage with real world problems, solving tasks involving a sense of both National and European identities. The game will be a platform for the discussion and analysis of complex and confusing issues relating to a wide range of issues.

The development of such a game, in terms of content scenarios and focus has been a major interdisciplinary enterprise bringing together experts with content knowledge, pedagogical understanding and technical expertise. We are still in the early stages of the game development process, specifically in the areas of content, design and future development. Our international team have amassed material ranging from widespread literature reviews, academic interviews and student focus groups and surveys. Our paper describes the process of engaging with these outputs and how we have created an academically sound context for developing the innovative game. In particular, the use of these tasks in designing the game are considered, with an eye to how they will impact the final game design and operation.