Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback

Virtual Game Method in Higher Education

Funder: European CommissionProject code: 2014-1-PL01-KA203-003548
Funded under: ERASMUS+ | Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices | Strategic Partnerships for higher education Funder Contribution: 198,217 EUR

Virtual Game Method in Higher Education

Description

In nowadays world the human capital became the most important factor of the level of development of countries, regions and companies which reasons the efforts put in the raising the quality of human capital by the education. In EU strategy Europa 2020 education is one of the five aims of European strategy.According to the experience of teachers and research results the problem with education is not just the question of the content of learning but also the question of the most effective learning/ teaching methods. During the GAMES project we worked on the development and introduction of virtual games in higher education as innovative education method. The use the games is education (also called as edutainment) combines education and fun, involves students in education and allows to experiment with different aspects of eduction. One of the area where games are used is business education. A business game is a simulation or model of either the whole or a part of a business organization. Simulations and games are experimental training activities which incorporate and utilize the different mental abilities of the students. The students as players put themselves in the position of business managers in various aspects of company management. During the game, their task is to make decisions within their area of competence, and the quality of those decisions has an impact on the virtual company's performance. Business games force the participants to take a sequence of managerial decisions and later the players receive feedback regarding the consequences of those decisions. Business games are considered as a trial-and-error method which permits a deeper insight into business management problems. Simulations increase the level of organizational reality during training and provide the trainees with an opportunity for unstructured learning. Moreover, the simulation games let to introduce the constructivism approach towards education, as it requares the learner center and active learning attitudes. Teachers become the facilitator of education process while the most important are students who use their prio-knowledge, thanks to getting new experience and reflective experinants they develop their skills and competences. All of these advantages of virtual games as teaching methods reasoned the application for the project.In the GAMES project we reached the following objectives:- we trained teachers from partner organizations to teach with virtual games and to prepare own game scenarios (2 workshops for teachers, 13 teachers trained),- we developed the software (engine) of game produced in previous project by implementing new business logic to the software; in our previous project the logic of production companies was introduced, now the service provider as the framework of the game is introduced,- we developed own new scenarios of virtual games (4 scenarios), possible to use in business, social and social care education- we tested the scenarios with students at partner organizations (158 students) and conducted a survey among them about their perception on the virtual games as teaching tool (118 responders)- we organized the conference and seminars to disseminate the GAMES project results and to make edutainment better known to the audience (together 109 national and 98 international participants)- we published a textbook on using virtual games in higher education (150 pages, 300 hard copies, 22 authors).There were 4 partners in the GAMES project from different part of European Union (Finland, Estonia, Poland, Spain). This geographical and economic diversification of partners assured the better effects of the GAMES project in the field of contribution and dissemination. Partner organizations represent different teaching areas (management, social care, labour market, statistics).We used the following method in the GAMES project:1. Workshop for teachers to introduce the virtual games as education tool, teachers were put at the position of students and played a virtual game by themselves, we conducted the lectures and open discussion how to teach with virtual games nad we discussed how to prepare the own scenarios.2. After the first workshop, there was own work of teachers (home based) on the preparation of data for scenarios (all partners), on improvement of the engine and setting up the parameters of scenarios into the software (partner from Poznan University of Economics). 3. Having this done, the second workshop for teachers was organized. On one hand, teachers played their own scenarios to understand it better and to get the experience with. On the other hand, practical discussion and lectures on preparing and conducting education process with games were part of the workshop.4. Finally, to assess the quality of own virtual game scenarios, we tested them with students and gothered their opinions.We also prepared and published 2 additional papers on games in education as the results of the project.

Data Management Plans
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback

Do the share buttons not appear? Please make sure, any blocking addon is disabled, and then reload the page.

All Research products
arrow_drop_down
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write('<div id="oa_widget"></div>');
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.openaire.eu/index.php?option=com_openaire&view=widget&format=raw&projectId=erasmusplus_::16446a58bc8908e28f4bea95049d108f&type=result"></script>');
-->
</script>
For further information contact us at helpdesk@openaire.eu

No option selected
arrow_drop_down