The course that we now finish this month of July has allowed us to refine the IGNITE Method's guarantee of success. in our extracurricular activities: Due to this we have become a reference for STEAM technological extracurricular activities in online format. Thanks to our teaching staff and management team, we have laid the foundations for effective learning of new STEAM skills, far beyond the usual extracurricular activities of robotics, programming and 3D design.
Play, a central element of our STEAM extracurricular activities
In the consolidation of the IGNITE Method, the game has a nuclear role in the learning process that is expressed, in a very prominent way, in the implementation of gamification methodologies in the STEAM extracurricular activities.
In our last post we defined electronic sports (eSports) for education as “competitive, collaborative and organized games” suggesting that esports can become a powerful driver for learning when educators use them in an integrated way as part of a gamified experience. This time, we examine the various layers that underpin esports (eSports) to identify the pedagogical systems and mechanics that constitute the core of GBL (Game Based Learning). This is precisely one of the pillars of the IGNITE Method aimed at extracurricular activities.
With this approach we design and implement the STEAM technological extracurricular activities, for the first time in virtual format, so that its participants could enjoy them comfortably from home.
Play and learning are intrinsically linked. Playing is how puppies and babies experience the limits of the world around them, in a safe zone, without having to suffer the fatal consequences of their mistakes. Throughout the history of humanity, the game has also become a powerful vehicle of simulation and symbolic expression that has transcended all eras. From the mysterious Game of Ur, dating back to 2600 BC in Babylon, to the popular chess, heir to medieval military simulations, the game has been part of civilization and its ability to generate worlds for learning.
Extracurricular activities and new learning challenges
In this period of confinement, our teachers have been able to contrast first-hand the effectiveness of game-based learning and gamification, also in online extracurricular activities. Right now in July we finish a period of online STEAM learning, where we have conveyed the learning of technological skills in our extracurricular activities through games in environments such as Minecraft, Cospaces and Scratch.
The uniqueness imposed by the online format has allowed students to see in real time the results obtained by their classmates while they were sharing their desk. Added to this constant interactivity is the motivation achieved in extracurricular activities due to a careful gamified learning environment.
Experience confirms to us, once again, that the game is not a trivial matter. Experts in children's intellectual development suggest that through play, children develop, among others, the skills of 'learning to learn', problem solving and decision making. This is why the game is part of the essence of the IGNITE Method, present both in STEAM extracurricular activities in the classrooms and in online format, as well as in the workshops with the LEGO Serious Play methodology that we implement for companies.
The game is ageless.
Play does not become less important as we mature, although very specific areas, such as sports, are often segregated in adult life. The nature of the game gradually evolves and is accompanied by an increase in complexity and capacity for abstraction, incorporating more rules, interactions, strategic decisions, social commitment and even values or ethics. This fantastic field of experimentation provides our students with great opportunities to develop soft skills - key competencies for their future - in our extracurricular activities along with the new STEAM skills.
Based on this approach, our pedagogical management establishes clear learning objectives for each course, both for online and in-person extracurricular activities, which reinforce the students' learning experience according to the IGNITE Method. Everything is ready at IGNITE Serious Play so that the next 20/21 academic year begins with new projects and exciting STEAM challenges in our extracurricular activities in online format, with the aim of developing computational (programming) and descriptive (3D design) thinking skills on Minecraft.
We will return the week of September 7, from 18 to 20 p.m.!
You can now register through the following link: ONLINE STEAM
Any questions before signing up? You can fill out the following contact form. At Ignite Serious Play we will be happy to answer your questions.
