1. ADULTS’ LEARNING FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CREATIVE EXPERIENCES
Project Number: 518106-LLP-1-2011-1-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP
Social Inclusion through
Games
A game-based learning educational
intervention in Greece
Technical University of Crete - Lab. of Distributed Multimedia Information
Systems and Applications (TUC/MUSIC) - http://www.music.tuc.gr/
Nektarios Moumoutzis - nektar@ced.tuc.gr

2. Main objectives
● Social inclusion of social groups at risk
● Exploit the educational potential of digital
games
● Strengthen links between children with
learning difficulties and their families

3. Game lifecycle
Game
Concept
Game
Design
Game
Development
Game
Testing
Game
Distributio
n

4. The creative language of games
● Game design & game development provide
a powerful learning environment
● This environment could promote the
acquisition of ICT skills as well as creativity,
analytical thinking, and team working.
● Gameplay can promote the acquisition of
basic computer skills and strengthen the
links between (learning together).

5. Games for intergenerational learning
● Exploit the learning potential of (video)
games
● Establish and support game communities
○ Game players (adults and children)
○ Game developers (teenagers and volunteers)
○ Use of social networks to facilitate communication
● A model "platform":
○ Scratch environment
○ Scratch community site
http://scratch.mit.edu

6. Initial investigation
● TUC personnel worked with local teachers to
test the viability of game development for
learning
● Topics on primary education:
○ Learning the Time
○ The Greek Alphabet
○ Greek Geography
● Teachers were introduced to:
○ Storyboards for game design
○ Scratch environment for game development

7. Learning the Time
● A question-and-answer
game to learn the time
● At each round, the pupil is
asked to put the arms of
the clock in the correct
position.
● The game is easily
adaptable to use a
joystick as an input
device.

8. The Greek Alphabet
● A game of exploration to
learn the Greek alphabet
● General purpose scripting
to easily accommodate
symbol systems (e.g.
foreign alphabets,
numbers, traffic signs
etc.)

9. The Regions of Greece
● A jigsaw puzzle game to
learn the regions of
Greece.
● General purpose scripting
to easily accommodate
other geography-based
jigsaw puzzles.

10. Results of initial investigation
● Game design is viable
and effective
● Game development
needs technical skills that
a typical primary teacher
doesn't have
● Apparent need to engage
skilled teenagers and
volunteers as "game
developers"

11. Current developments
● Target group: Children with learning
difficulties, their parents and teachers.
○ Local Special Primary School
● Paper prototypes for:
○ Memory Game
○ Language Learning Game
● Game developers
○ Chania Linux User Group
○ Local computer science teachers in secondary
education
● The 2nd pSkills Summer School
http://pskills.ced.tuc.gr/Summer_School_2012

12. Conclusions and Future Work
● Next steps following the ALICE schedule:
○ Training of trainers
○ Development of trainers project plans
○ Implementation of project plans: local interventions
○ Evaluation of local interventions
● Parallel pilots that may be enriched with
gaming elements
○ Collection and digitization of local stories
○ Animating folk tales and stories from children's
literature works with eShadow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht5RfuQl_RE

13. Thank you!
Technical University of Crete - Lab. of Distributed
Multimedia Information Systems and Applications
(TUC/MUSIC) - http://www.music.tuc.gr/
Nektarios Moumoutzis - nektar@ced.tuc.gr