TASK 6: GAMES

INTRO

• Name: Totemotion

• Goal: 4.1 Identify their own emotions and those of others, understanding family relationships and schools to which they belong and recognizing actions that promote emotional and social well-being. 

• Level: 1st Cycle

• Assessment Criteria: Say the expressions well.

• Inspiration (if there): The original Totem game, which we have adapted to our selected standard, adding new game modes.

• Objectives of the game, rules – Dynamic and Strategy: The goal of the game is for children to learn the different emotions and at the same time relate to their peers and have the ability to recount experiences in front of them, losing the fear of speaking in public

• Social Design: number of players, individual or in teams.

• Materials (if you create any, share the file to recreate in a future proposal)

We use the following images of emojis to create the cards of the game with different emotions (we printed these faces, cut them out and glued them onto small cardboard squares). As well as the special cards.

Then, we made the instructions with Canva, which have already been attached previously.

We also used Canva to create the decoration for the box where the game is saved and the caption to specify the possible emotions:

STAR: Laura

JOURNALIST: Lucía

In the first place, we shared the work and each one did a part to be able to bring the game prepared with the instructions and the legend.

The objective of this game was speed, and as a result of that the children could express their feelings and emotions to the rest of their classmates.

The objective of this game was speed, and as a result of that the children could express their feelings and emotions to the rest of their classmates.

Our star, Laura, had done the same with study buddies and she explained the game our group had developed.

Here you can see the complete game. We hope you like it.

CURATOR: Carmen

To carry out this activity, we looked for ideas on the following website and video:

• Franco Fernández, N. (2020). ¡¡ Emociones!!: creación de un juego de mesa para la educación emocional (Bachelor's thesis).

• https://youtu.be/GmKVmEbLa_M

• https://juegosmesaparados.com/ninos/

FACILITATOR: Rileigh

For this activity, I was in charge of giving everyone in our group their roles for the week, distributing the workload amongst everyone, as well as revising all grammar and spelling in our written documents. In terms of the workload, there were not many things to distribute, because we did most of the work together, and in class. However, because we all worked together on this project, we all did a fair amount of work. I did however make sure that we were all on task during our working sessions in class, so that we would not have much extra work to take home with us. We did complete most of the work in class, however, this activity did require a small amount of communicating via WhatsApp, just to make sure that everything was running smoothly. I also edited and revised the english (grammar and spelling) within our directions for the game. 

TRANSLATOR: Rosalía

For this task, I think it was important that we knew the differences between two similar learning methodologies; gamification and game-based learning. So, gamification consists in applying game strategies or features, like points and rewards systems, to learning activities

in order to make them more engaging and fun. However, game-based learning refers to the creation of games specifically to carry out the learning activities through them. 

Once we have clear these two ideas, it is also essential for creating a pedagogical game to differentiate and take into account the three parts it must include to be effective.

The first one is the epistemic design,  which includes the content of the activity, the knowledge we should manage and the one it should teach us, the strategy to play it… Basically, the task we accomplish when playing. Then, to establish a set design will help us have under control all the necessary materials to its correct development.  It could include

the board, the different cards, the dice, the physical instructions…

Finally, social design refers to the way in which the game is played (in pairs, in groups, individually…). It also makes you concerned about the number of players needed, or the recommended amount of people with respect to any advisable situation.

So, are these the only necessary points for a learning game to be successful? 

Absolutely not. Following them will make it easier for us to create a very complete one, but we also must take into account multiple factors so that everything we do has a purpose. We can´t forget that not every game is a fun and engaging game, and if in the end our project doesn't allow students to have a good time learning by playing, then nothing will have been useful. We also must be very careful with the values the game is based on, and critically think about the rules we set, the rewards the winner gets or the “punishments” for those who fail, as well as the aim of the game and how we want the players to act. 

Using game-based techniques in our classes could be a great way for learning, but introducing these new methodologies requires us as responsible teachers to reconsider every decision we make and its possible consequences (by searching previous experiences, often looking for ways of improvement…)

ANALYST: Marta

This week we created a game called Totemotion. I think the best part of the game we created was the totem pole. Instead of just creating a simple question and answer game, we decided to add the totem pole to make the game more competitive. The worst part of the game, however, was probably the beginning, because it takes a while to explain all the instructions. Throughout the creation and execution of this game, I think the best moment of this week was when our group got to play it for the first time. It was very exciting to see our work in motion. I think the worst part of this week was towards the beginning. We had a hard time coming up with what kind of game we should create, and we got stuck a few times when figuring out details. I think most of us now have a greater knowledge of the learning objectives in primary classrooms. I think our group worked well together this week. For our next project, we need to continue with the same time and energy as we put into Totemotion, but we should improve on being punctual with all of our work. In relation to other contents in this course and our degree, this activity was directly related with exact primary objectives, so now that we have more knowledge on the objectives, our next activities/projects can relate to them as well. I think we can relate this project with the news in terms of what’s happening in Ukraine. With refugees coming into new countries, I think this game would be a more fun way to learn so that new students feel welcome.