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ENGAGE stands for European Network for Growing Activity in Game-based learning in Education.
The experiences in previous and on-going game related projects show that there is; a high potential in the application of games for learning; a strong interest amongst an increasing group of practitioners in the introduction of new game-based approaches; a lack of awareness amongst other stakeholders of the potentials of games for learning and for curricular contents; a lack of information about where to obtain resources and good practice relevant for curricular contents; and a lack of awareness regarding quality issues in the context of games used for learning.
The ENGAGE activities are structured to have a wide-ranging impact: (i) the objective is to prove that GBL is a method applicable for all five sectors of education, (ii) the ENGAGE tools will support adaptation of GBL regarding local and cultural issues, and (iii) the valorisation activities are defined to cover directly 12 EC countries and to initiate further dissemination and uptake of tools and methods in the rest of the countries.
The specific objectives of ENGAGE are:
- The creation of a European Games-Based Learning (GBL) Portal: a central information resource for people interested in games for learning and using games for curricular contents. Using a combination of Web 2.0 technologies (forums, wikis, blogs, podcasts, webspaces) the portal will provide:
- Documented methodologies for developing and implementing game-based learning for practitioners, developers, and other stakeholders of the learning community.
- A basis for a Europe-wide dialogue on the role of games and game-based approaches in Education and training and their acceptance by and effects on society, focusing on localisation and cultural issues as well as safety and rating agendas.
- For the dissemination for existing eLearning and Minerva project outcomes (e.g. UniGame, SIG-GLUE, etc.), as well as for ongoing projects related to the application of games for learning and the valorisation of these.
- Offering targeted workshops thus creating the future by:
- supporting practitioners/teachers/tutors in developing a predictive and proactive capacity to select games,
- assisting stakeholders in the adaptation and adoption of learning games in their teaching and learning processes, thus increasing the pleasure of learning,
- collaborating with game designers/producers in the development of new educational products.
- Increasing the monitoring capacity of policy makers on the development of Game-based learning (GBL) in Europe and on the promotion of quality approaches to education and learning supporting the motivation to learn thus also the pleasure of learning.
The project consortium – organizations and people
The ENGAGE project consortium that carried out the work consists of following institutions and project team members:
FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria
Main focus at the Department of Information Design at FH JOANNEUM is the planning and implementation of interactions with information objects and equipment that is easy and efficient. In particular, the solving of existing problems in the technical and aesthetic design of the human-computer interface is the declared goal of the department. The research group explores issues in eLearning and Game-Based Learning, engineering, cultural studies, aesthetics, cognitive science and rhetoric, helping to build digital systems through which users can more effectively communicate, interact, and learn. One strong research focus is on innovative learning approaches, i.e. game-based learning amongst others. FH JOANNEUM was scientific leader of the UniGame EC Minerva founded project (www.unigame.net, finished 2004), and project co-ordinator of SIG-GLUE EC eLearning project (www.sig-glue.net), and of the Austrian national project AdeLE (http://adele.fh-joanneum.at).
Within the ENGAGE project, FH JOANNEUM is responsible for the technical, scientific and administrative co-ordination, portal development and co-responsible for valorization and dissemination activities.
Co-ordinator: Maja Pivec
Project Team: Paul Pivec, Michaela Bernreiter, Thomas Radeke.
DEIS Department of Education Development, Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
DEIS have co-ordinated and participated on a wide range of national and EU-funded research projects in the areas of eLearning and Game-Based Learning; an indicative list of which is available @ http://deis.cit.ie/projects.html. The department have also been involved in the design and development of e-learning solutions for a number of high-profile clients including Citigroup, Vodafone and Ericsson. DEIS ENGAGEs in the design and implementation of various innovative interventions in education and training; these are conducted on a pilot basis and integrated into mainstream provision, based on evaluation by the department in conjunction with the senior staff within the Institute. The range of interventions the department has researched is extensive, but relates primarily to the following areas of (1) ODL and e-learning, with a particular emphasis on web-based solution, (2) advanced educational technology such as m-learning and serious games, and (3) RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) and the accreditation of work-based learning.
Within the ENGAGE project, DEIS is responsible for research agendas and tool development.
Project Team: Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin, Roisin Garvey, Jennifer Flack, Darragh Coakley
EFQUEL, Belgium
The European Foundation for Quality in eLearning (EFQUEL) is a Non-Profit Association, which has its origins in three successful European eLearning projects, all in the field of quality in eLearning in Europe. The Foundation is Europe’s largest network on quality in eLearning and has members from over 18 members states and includes Europe’s largest networks in the field of Learning (EDEN), Higher Education (EDEN, EUROPACE), Industry (ELIG), Schools (European SchoolNet) as its members and close contacts. The Foundation serves as sustainable and proactive network and will provide valuable services to the European eLearning community. EFQUEL approaches quality in e-learning from complementary perspectives and develops full-scale services for all educational fields, regional contexts and target groups. The Foundation is providing support, transparency, open participation and leadership for a broad range of topics.
Within the ENGAGE project, EFQUEL is co-responsible for the Sustainability.
Project Team: Rolf Reinhardt, Ulf-Daniel Ehlers
Florida Education Centre, Valencia, Spain
Florida is an education cooperative active at all levels of education, ranging from kindergarten through secondary and university (affiliated to the University of Valencia and the Polytechnic University of Valencia) all the way through to senior learning. They have wide experience in the use of technology to enhance learning (working with ICT since 1996), coupled with extensive pedagogical expertise and a tradition of innovation in education, working in close collaboration with the regional Ministry of Education in different educational contexts. At secondary level, Florida was a pioneer centre for the LOGSE education reform and were recently given a Ministry of Education award in recognition of their lifetime contributions to the quality of vocational training in the Valencian community. Recent work has focused on informal learning and the use of games in different areas. The expertise gained has allowed them to become a reference for teacher training in this field in the area. Florida is also active in the field of quality in education, organising yearly conferences on this since 1999 and implementing the EFQM and Excelencia Educativa models. They are currently active in two projects focusing on the use of virtual worlds in education.
Within the ENGAGE project, Florida is responsible for Valorization and Dissemination.
Project Team: Amparo Camacho, Nick Kearney, Gisela Vidal, Pau Mendoza.
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Middle East Technical University (METU) is the leading public technical university in Turkey with more than 20,000 students and more than 1000 academic staff. METU is a point of reference for Turkey’s industry, engineering, production and new e-Business based activities. The major aim of the Faculty of Education, that is part of METU, is to train teachers and educators qualified to teach at every educational level. The theoretical as well as applied courses that the faculty offers enable prospective teachers to become professionals who are constantly in touch with recent scientific and technological developments. Within the Faculty of Education there are two research groups, both of which will participate in this project. One of them is “Simulations and Games in Education” (SIMGE) research group (simge.metu.edu.tr). The main aim of this group is to conduct research on the use of simulations and games in education. In addition to pedagogical and cognitive issues, the SIMGE researchers also focus on the social and technical issues of simulations and games. The other one is “Human Computer Interaction” research group (hci.metu.edu.tr).
Within the ENGAGE project, METU is co-responsible for the Sustainability.
Project Team: Kursat Cagiltay,
SCIENTER, Bologna, Italy
SCIENTER’s internal structure is articulated into four units: one of which is focused on Formative Design and Evaluation Unit. This Unit carries out research activities and technical assistance in the following areas: project, policy and impact evaluation, design, implementation and evaluation of ICT supported learning and elearning systems; quality and certification of learning sources used in distance learning and elearning systems; transferability of learning materials used in distance learning and elearning systems taking on principles of transculturality, Scienter ‘s expertise and know how in the evaluation and quality issues has been acquired during its year of existence and through the coordination and the participation in research actions and projects developed at local, national and international level.
Within the ENGAGE project, SCIENTER is responsible for Evaluation and QA.
Project Team: Claudio Dondi, Mariarosa di Nubila, Anne Christin Tannhäuser, Monica Turrini
