New MOOC on Game-Based Learning and Gamification

12/04/2023

The MOOC you have been waiting for is here! European Schoolnet Academy is launching a new edition of its “Games in Schools” massive open online course in which teachers and educators will examine the opportunities and challenges of integrating games and game dynamics into teaching and learning. The MOOC will start next week on 17 April, so don’t miss the chance and register!

Recent research suggests that game-based learning can provide a wide range of personal and educational benefits for students. They can foster more student-centred classroom environments thereby promoting active learning, enhancing student engagement and facilitating knowledge acquisition and retention. What’s more, game settings offer the opportunity to develop essential 21st-century soft skills such as collaboration, communication, conflict-resolution and critical thinking.

The course programme will approach this innovative pedagogical approach from various perspectives and explore sub-topics such as playful, thematic, social and emotional learning, and game design. It will also provide practical examples of gaming tools and activities that teachers can use in their daily education practice.

This is the fully updated 5th edition of the successful Games in Schools course launched for the first time in 2014. The course has been redesigned and all content has been updated for this new edition with a particular focus on topics such as games and inclusive learning and social and emotional learning.

Course participants will be acquainted with the conceptual ideas around gamification and will have the opportunity to create specific game-enhanced learning activities. They will also learn how to embed game elements in their overall classroom practice and develop subject-specific lesson plans that make use of games or game-based dynamics in the most pedagogically effective way.

The course is designed for primary and secondary school teachers but is open to all educators, regardless their experience with the topic, discipline, or skill level. Other education providers and stakeholders, such as headteachers, school support staff and policymakers as well as anyone else interested in learning with games, are also welcome to participate. To facilitate peer learning, a closed Facebook group has been set up.

As part of the course, two webinars will be hosted - one on 26 April which will focus on inclusion, and one on 16 May which will address e-safety related issues. 

The course materials, resources and assignments are entirely in English, so a basic level of writing and comprehension is required. No previous experience with the course topic is needed.

If you are ready to dive into game-based learning and gamification and what these new approaches can do for your classroom practice and your students, hurry up and register for the MOOC by 17 April!

If you are not sure and need a primer, the Future Classroom Lab hosted a webinar on game-based learning in the autumn of last year which you can watch here to get an overall idea of how educators can work with games to improve student motivation and learning outcomes.