A few words about course co-ordinator
Carmine Rodi Falanga
Carmine Rodi Falanga, born 1977 in Italy, currently living in Prague, Czech Republic.
He holds a master degree in Business Administration, has a background as a journalist, blogger, storyteller and stand-up comedian. He has been active since 2002 in international youth work and education, designing and delivering training based on non formal education and experiential learning. Since 2011 he is fully freelance.
He is designing and delivering personal development courses, team building events, workshops and longer courses on subjects like public speaking, storytelling (theory and practice), game design.
He is a great lover of storytelling, in whichever form it happens, and his current areas of interest are myth, nature and ceremonies in connections with personal development; storytelling as learning, healing and development tool; game based learning and gamification. His clients include the corporate sector, NGOs, public and National agencies, and several private actors in the fields of education, youth and social work, environment, business.
Game based learning and Gamification
Most people play games for “fun”. But, really? And who can define what fun is?
Games can be fun, but they are also much more than that. They have always been used to teach and learn: information, values, norms of behavior. The games we play are in fact very important educational tools: by playing them, future generations learn the skills that will shape their world.
Learning about games and how they are made can be a very powerful asset in the curriculum of any professional in the fields of education and communication. Game design is a very complex discipline that draws from engineering, informatics, psychology, sociology, history, anthropology, communication science, arts and and much more. Including game design elements in other areas of activity is a process called “gamification”, and it is now proven that it can have tremendous benefits, making our activities more engaging, rewarding and “fun”.
The course will follow a very hands-on approach, combining elements of theory, group work and discussion – and experiential phases in which participants will have an opportunity to design their own games and learn from direct experience. The focus will be on social and educational games – plus, it will be fun! The program will cover topics like: LEGO, traditional games, role playing games (RPGs), table top games, digital and videogames.
Key competences acquired by participants
Here are the main objectives of the training:
- to learn about various types of games and their possible uses in education
- to acquire a working knowledge of principles and definitions of game design – and related topics (to name a few: reward mechanisms, activity loops, habit creation, theories of “fun” and engagement, immersive storytelling)
- increase awareness and develop solution on how to include game design elements in educational work (“Gamification”)
- to experience directly a complete process of designing an educational game as a group assignment, following the phases: concept – design – prototype – playtest
When is the next Course and how do I apply?
- Target groups: Teachers, educators, youth workers, trainers, coaches, therapists, HR managers: any professional who works with other people as a teacher, guide, mentor, leader or counsellor.
- Dates in 2022: 21-27 August.
- Fee: 560€ Learn more about the costs
- Location: Krakow, Poland.
- Social programme: The social programme activities are included within your course fees!
