PLAYING FOR INTERCULTURALITY - SOCIAL GAMING AND LEARNING IN INFORMAL AND NON-FORMAL ENVIRONMENTS

J.Santos, L.Klemkaite
Inveslan (SPAIN) Inveslan (SPAIN) j.santos@inveslan.com, l.klemkaite@inveslan.com

Abstract
P4I-Play for Interculturality is a Grundtvig Multilateral project, funded by the European Commission, ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP. The project has been approved in 2011 and will be implemented within 2 years. While the latest tendencies point at a rather low level of adult population participation in lifelong learning initiatives, despite the increasing efforts in promotions and diversity of programmes, the project partners believe that the use of social games can positively influence the access of European adults to lifelong learning experiences, increasing the access rates, offering innovative and attractive means to develop key competences. P4I Play for Interculturality seeks to take step forward and create an innovative social game that promotes apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and media literacy in parallel. During the conference, we would like to share the main conclusions and findings taken from the final report Success stories compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults education that has been developed with the framework of work package 2 Analysis on the use of game-based learning initiatives. It aims at analysing the pedagogical potential of games (especially social games) applied to competences development, identifying those variables that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning initiatives, as well as gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international levels to be used as inspirations for adults training practitioners. In each of the countries studied (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK and the US) the use of gamebased learning is a rapidly growing trend that is pervading different areas of knowledge. A wide range of success examples surfaced in the search and conversations. Each of the national reports lists a select few that should be played for inspiration. From wildly popular commercial games such as The Sims and Farmville, to effective transformational games such as Darfur is Dying, Peacemaker, Global Conflicts Palestine, and PING (Poverty is Not a Game), all share designs that bring players back, encourage them to involve others, and promote envisioning the real world in a different way. From them designers should learn to define very specifically what they want to achieve, provide for a variety of contexts for play (including traditional classrooms), and find both a compelling story and engaging activities to advance it. Taken together, the national reports are a rich collection of experience and intelligence that should be re-visited regularly in any design, development, and deployment process involving games to promote adult competences. Keywords: Social gaming, intercultural competences, key competences, learning in informal environments.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE AND METHODOLOGY APPLIED

P4I-Play for Interculturality is a Grundtvig Multilateral project, funded by the European Commission, ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP. The project has been approved in 2011 and will be implemented within the 2 years. While the latest tendencies point at a rather low level of adult population participation in lifelong learning initiatives, despite the increasing efforts in promotions and diversity of programmes, the project partners believe that the use of social games can positively influence the access of European adults to lifelong learning experiences, increasing the access rates, offering innovative and attractive means to develop key competences. Thus, P4IPlay for Interculturality seeks to take step forward and create an innovative social game that promotes apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and media literacy in parallel. The present article aims to share the main conclusions and findings extracted from the final report Success stories compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults education that has been developed with the framework of work package 2 Analysis on the use of game -based learning initiatives. It aims at analysing the pedagogical potential of games (especially social games) applied to competences development, identifying those variables that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning initiatives, as well as gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international levels to be used as inspirations for adults training practitioners. As a result, the final 1 report introduces different national realities concerning the game based learning initiatives: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, UK, and US national reports. In each of the countries studied (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK and the US) the use of game-based learning is a rapidly growing trend that is pervading different areas of knowledge.

1.1

Methodological note

All national reports have been elaborated according to the Guidelines and working methodology for 2 carrying out the analysis that have been defined by P4I project coordinator INVESLAN . All the data and findings have been collected according the mix based methodology: a combination of desk research and qualitative research methods has been applied. In order to explore in detail the pedagogical potential of game based learning, as well as the barriers to uptake of games in learning practices and skills supported by game based learning approaches, a combination of 2 qualitative methods have been chosen: expert interviews and group discussions with practitioners. The combination of the two chosen methods allowed us to investigate the game based initiatives from two different perspectives. Each partner has been asked to involve minimum 6 experts on the use of innovative teaching and training methodologies (especially those linked to games and video games), from different educational sectors. On the other hand, as far as group discussion, is concerned, the discussions have been organized in semi structured form, with the direct target group - adult training practitioners as a second method that allowed us to explore the game based initiatives. Group discussion as a technique provided us with significant insights from the adult training practitioners perspective and at the same time, brought some addedvalue for the validation of the expert interviews results. The participants of the focus 3 groups had been asked to test two games: 1. Facebook sample of story generation and 2. Irish 4 example (3D game sample) as well as, to fill in the Self-check intercultural sensitivity test.
1

A complete report (with a list of 28 good practices included) can be consulted and downloaded at: http://p4iproject.eu/resultados.php
2

INVESLAN is a private research consultancy company founded in 2002 and specialized in social research in fields such as employment, gender issues, social inclusion, professional training and adult education, ITCs application to learning environments and management, knowledge management, disadvantaged collectives and evaluation. INVESLAN (Bilbao, Spain) is the coordinating organization and leader of P4I project.
3 4

Trial version of the Facebook game of story generation has been provided by SQLearn partner. 3D game sample has been provided by Learnit3D partner.

Last but not the least, it has to be noted that to analyse and study the trends and development of social games/online gaming is not an easy exercise indeed, as from the sociological point of view, in order to understand the phenomenon, we have to consider the key crucial issues to our understanding of online gaming and associated social relations, including: patterns of play, legal and copyright issues, players production, identity construction, gamer communities, communication, patterns of social exclusion and inclusion around gender, race and disability and future directions in gaming etc. The scope of the final report and main aspiration was to shed some light on the game based learning initiatives, aiming to describe the latest tendencies and collecting the good practices of game based learning initiatives.

2 SOCIAL GAMING AND LEARNING IN INFORMAL AND NON-FORMAL ENVIRONMENTS

Horizon Report 2011, identifies and describes that emerging technologies are likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the global: Game based learning has gained considerable traction since 2003, when James Gee began to describe the impact of game play on cognitive development. Since then, research and interest in the potential in gaming on learning has exploded, as has the diversity of games themselves, which the emergence of serious games as a genre, the proliferation of gaming platforms, and the evolution of games on mobile devices. Developers and researchers are working together in every area of game based learning, including games that are goal oriented; social game environments; non-digital games that are easy to construct and play; games developed expressly for education; and commercial games that lend themselves to refining team and group skills [1]. Within the context of the above described global trends, if we turn to study EU context in particular, although we find an emerging number of initiatives and certain developments and can observe a significant qualitative change around the games, game based learning is a field with still much to do.

1.2

Adult population participating in lifelong learning initiatives and potential of social games

During the last years, the necessity of increasing the levels of adult population participating in lifelong learning initiatives has been made more and more evident. Despite the efforts of the European and national authorities to boost adults learning participation rate, the situation is still worrying. Not only adults accede lifelong learning limitedly, but also figures show clear unbalances. While the EU benchmark goal was set in a 12.5%, achieved average for 2008 was 9,5%. The most recent data also show differences among EU members flowing from the 30.2% reached in Denmark to the 1.4% of Bulgaria [2]. Furthermore, we are facing the increasing growth of the digital divide. This is exponentially growing among the so called digital natives and the digital immigrants (Prensky: 2001) [3]. Several factors are relevant when analysing the limited access of some collectives (older people, low-qualified people, immigrants, etc.). J. van Dick (2008) affirms that, apart from the obvious possibilities of internet access, there are some interesting and not so explored variables, such as motivation (41% of individual Europeans from 25 countries affirmed that doesnt want internet, because contents are not useful), skills access, number and diversity usage applications, and passive access of some collectives [4]. P4I project has been set with a strong believe that the use of social games can influence positively the access of European adults to lifelong learning experiences, increasing the access rates, offering innovative and attractive means to develop key competences (as those associated to intercultural skills and, in parallel media literacy). At EU level, the research made by project partners show that the use of social games in education is still limited, although some of the identified experiences are offering very promising results.

1.3

Pedagogical potential and skills supported by game based learning

The pedagogical potential of social games derives from immersive and interactive engagement; selfpaced, non-linear and branching activities with multiple outcomes; collaboration and competition; contextual learning that can simulate real life situations, such as solving problems socially; integrated precise performance measurement and feedback. Fun and engaging games capture curiosity and encourage players to work and play together for their mutual growth and success. Looking for an answer what makes games enjoyable; Alklind (2009) refers to the Sweetser & Wyeth theory and defines a GameFlow model that contains eight elements: concentration, challenge, skills control, clear goals, feedback, immersion and social interaction. Concentration means that a game should capture the players attention and hold it throughout the whole game; challenge means that a game should have tasks that match the players skills level; players skills capture aspects related to how players should learn, develop and master game skills; control covers aspects that players should have a sense of control over the game shell, the characters and actions they take; clear goal means that the game as well as sections of the game, i.e. levels, should have goals that are made clear to the player; feedback means that the player should get immediate response to their actions and they should be informed on their progress towards the goal; immersion relates to the players involvement in the game and social interaction means the game should support social interactions through the game, such as competitions, collaboration, as well as social communities [5]. Marchiori et al. (2012) argues that educational games allows the educators to take advantage of their learning-by-doing, problem solving, narrative features and their ability to generate and keep flow states. The ability of games to keep students engaged and motivated throughout a lessonis identified a key aspect in the educational success of the games application [6]. Obviously, the strongest advantage of the usage of the digital games implies the obtaining of digital competences (Gros: 2009) [7]. On the other hand, referring to Prensky (2005), gaming allows obtaining a number of the competences, such as: collaboration, decision taking under pressure, persistence and ethical behaviour, calculation of risks, lateral and strategic thinking [8]. Lacasa (2011) refers to the new forms of literacy and applies the model Henry Jenkins. Today the society implies using the new forms of expression that can be learnt in fact through video games. As a result, she provides a list of key abilities related to the new forms of literacy: problem solving, new forms of manipulation and information presentation, assumption of new identities, analysis and creative reconstruction of the contents, multitasking, allocated knowledge, collective intelligence, critical judgment, trans-media navigation, social interactions, negotiation [9].

1.4

Barriers to update of games in learning practice

Successful implementation of a game-based learning initiative depends on a number of variables, not all of which are under the control of the creators. Online gamers often suffer from slow internet connections, glitches in the platform functioning, technical literacy, even finding friends and foes with whom to play. Since the most important variable is engagement, that the player suspends disbelief and becomes immersed in the activities of the game which, if well designed, result in the change in attitude and behaviour that is sought the game design, development and deployment needs to avoid as many obstacles to this engagement as possible. It can be argued that one of the barriers of games in learning practice application lies also in the design process, while the design of effective educational game implies taking into account a balance between the entertainment and educational value. For this reason, involving domain experts in game creation (from inception to design and from initial development to testing) becomes crucial. Achieving this effective integration can be very complicated as different problems arise, such as the use of different vocabularies and differing short and long-term goals for the game (Serrano et at.: 2012) [10]. Moreover, Begoa Gros (2008) in her bo ok Video juegos y aprendizaje (Video games and learning) argues that despite the evolution of the video game in terms of contents, genres and platforms has

been enormous, the technology for learning/teaching has followed one line and presents a rather conservative model. The educational software presents an imitation of the text books, while the educational games make an emphasis on the contents rather than usability, motivation and immersion. The developments of pedagogical design seem rather poor and anchored in the less innovated concepts of learning: the contents are the most important and have to be transmitted in the lineal way, the feedback is limited to the basic information details about the final answers. Gros (2008) stresses the importance of designing the environments that would facilitate the learning and not only the instruction. The techniques of video game design require accumulated knowledge on graphic design, perception and psychology, motivation etc. To overcome the above described barrier, Gros (2008), referring Malone (1981), defines three fundamental aspects that appear in almost all the computer games and guarantee its success: challenge (the player is challenged to reach for objectives, that in reality they are unable or dont know ho w to reach), curiosity (the game offers multiple alternatives, new characters etc. and encourages curiosity in way that the player maintains its motivation to continue improving) and fantasy (the games seem to provoke not immediate mental images for the senses and have a capacity to generate unreal ideas). Those three elements are of key importance for the development of the game and are used as element of motivation in the majority of the educational programmes [11].

1.5

Profile of social gamer

In each of the countries studied (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK and the US) the use of game-based learning is a rapidly growing trend that is pervading different areas of knowledge. It has gained considerable traction and we can observe a significant qualitative change, nevertheless there is still prevailing gap in usage, in part due to negative stereotypes of gamers, limited expertise in ICT and in games among trainers, and a shortage of good educational games. While there is often a lack of pedagogical design behind current social games, the profile of social game players and gamers is increasingly broad, covering a wide demographic across gender, age and social status that offers an opportunity for game-based learning. Assuming the target audience to be adults, there is significant growth in their use of social media such as Facebook and of social games at this time. The gap between access and participation has closed significantly so that the platform on which the game would be made available is critical to determining who would likely use it and whom else they might recruit to participate. The gamer concept is widely used and is commonly understood to represent a person who plays games and contains aspects of gaming behaviour (e.g. types of games, amount of play), motivation to play (e.g. profit, enjoyment, social interaction), generational, as well as cultural dimension (Alklind et al.: 2009) [5]. An established distinction is made between hardcore gamers, who are dedicated and spend much of their time playing and casual gamers who enjoy gaming, but are less concerned with the type of game and may not be willing to sacrifice too much time on it, at the expense of other activities (Alklind et al.: 2009). In addition to that, we can identify oth er type of gamers, such as: power games, social gamers, leisure gamer, dormant gamers, cyber athletes, incidental gamers, as well as occasional gamers. What drives players to play are the desire to meet new people, to cooperate, to try new games, find new forms of self-expression, to relieve stress, widen networks, experiment with new identities, and the desire to compete and challenge the others. Players tend to feel secure, respected, esteemed, empowered, in charge; they are likely to make an investment in it. Defining the key motivations for playing games, Burn and Carr (2006) distinguish three main motivations: ludic, representation and communal, that are suggested as a way of categorizing types of gamers motivation (Crawford et al.) [12].

1.6

P4I-Playing for Interculturality project rational of the project

The current context show that while serious games are starting to be used mainly at professional training level, there are no relevant experiences in the use of social games for training adults. We can observe that the use of social games is growing but still insufficiently explored by adult learning practitioners in EU. Moreover, the use of social networks for displaying games aimed at achieving training objectives is of added value. The relatively new contexts offered by social networks provide a good ground for exploring their potential as learning platforms. The use of the networks, such as Facebook for example, favours an immersive apprenticeship, in connection with other learners, by the

simulation of daily situations and problems and encouraging learners to solve them. Independently of the subject taught, cooperation and communication is in this context a transversal competence to develop, as well as the media literacy as allows users to gain experience in the use of social networks. Presently Europe is growing closer together and new intercultural possibilities are abounding with the opening of borders, the existence of new inter-European treaties and the rise in technology. The recommendations of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 18 December 2006, on key competences for lifelong learning [13] outlines the need of the key competences as essential in a knowledge society and guarantee more flexibility in the labour force, allowing it to adapt more quickly to constant changes in an increasingly interconnected world. On this basis, P4I consortium intends to develop training materials focused on improving those competences, and more precisely those related to: competences in the mother tongue, communication in foreign languages, digital competences, learning to learn, social and civic competences, and cultural awareness and expression. To put in a nutshell, P4I project seeks to take a step forward and create an innovative social game that promotes the apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and media literacy in parallel. We strongly believe that social game-based learning is an effective informal tool that allows the acquisition of competences in recreational environment. Learning by playing pedagogical approach shall be enhanced. We move from learning by doing to the learning by playing. Social gaming and simulations included in the game facilitate a practical learning approach in the real context, as well as interpersonal learning while a social game requires exchanging information and knowledge with other players.

1.7

Emerging initiatives

In INVESLAN, currently we have been particularly focused on innovative training methodologies, new learning environments and content combining the use of ICTs with a lifelong learning approach. As indicated above, the application of game-based learning tools with high degree of immersion although already explored in different forms, still mostly experimental and not systematic. As examples of emerging initiatives in the application and usage of game-based learning, we would like to share two more projects that we are working on. LPMnageLearn Play Manage/Collaborative Learning for Project Management: developing 5 competences for international project management through social games as innovative methodology project promotes the application of ICT-based learning approach. As a final outcome, the project aims at developing a social game that promotes professional competences and skills on project management, providing to the European training system with innovative methodologies, tools and resources to develop more flexible opportunities and equal open access to education and training. ICT-based learning it is based on collaborative and interactive roles, providing a more motivating learning environment. This new concept on learning allows to develop personalised training paths according to learner needs in terms of contents (what do you learn) and methods (how and when do you learn the contents). In words of Viviane Reding (Vice-President of the European Commission): ICTs can make learning easier, more individualised and flexible . These technologies are powerful tools to improve and increase the access to education and training among EU citizens, as well as to the employability and mobility in a modern labour market. Within this context, it is crucial to work on the development of innovative learning experiences that offer adult learners attractive environments and tools, favouring their commitment with education and training in formal, but also non-formal and informal environments.

LPMnage project (ref. 527796-LLP-2012-ES-LEONARDO-MLP) has been funded by European Commission in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Grundtvig subprogram. The project was approved in 2012 and is promoted by INVESLAN.

GABALL (Game-based language learning) is project based on Serious Game approach, which seeks to address the reinforcement of EU Micro and SMEs managers skills in the process of internalization to internal and external markets (Brazil) through electronic business platforms. The project aims for the improvement of languages and culture skills to the use of e-marketing and e-commerce tools, the establishment of relations through electronically supported social platforms and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. The Serious Game approach provides rule-based, professional, real-life situations and contexts of interaction where the player tries to achieve learning objectives and improve personal skills and social competences. At the same time, the GABALL project intends to reinforce the commercial links between Micro and SMEs from European countries by allowing them to conduct first contacts in the partner language, understand each others commercial offers and business models. The Serious Game approach within the framework of the project will facilitate the enforcement of the awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe.

CONCLUSION REMARKS

Although we could find an emerging number of initiatives and certain developments and can observe a significant qualitative change around the games, game based learning is a field with still much to do. As we could learn during our investigation stage, research and interest in gaming on learning has increased considerably, nevertheless a list of obstacles is significative, social perception and acceptance above all. Despite prevailing conservative trends by applying the educational software that presents an imitation of the texts books and with a main focus on the contents, the potential itself of games for education is promising: participation, motivation, flow status, strategic decision taking, active participation, engagement and concentration can be identified as key aspects in the educational success of the games application.

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GABALL Project (ref. 531327-LLP-1-2012-1-PT-KA2-KA2MP) has been funded within the framework of Lifelong learning programme, KA2 Multilateral Projects sub-programme. The project was approved in 2012 and coordinated and promoted by Instituto Superior de Engeharia do Porto (Porto, Portugal).

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