MAking Games In CollaborAtion for Learning (MAGICAL) Progress Report

Nowadays there is strong push to enhance learning in formal education through the adoption of innovative student-centred and student-driven approaches, the introduction of competency based curricula and the exploitation of opportunities offered by digital technologies. MAGICAL contributes to these efforts by proposing collaborative design and construction of digital games by learners as a "learning by doing" approach. The project seeks to understand how this innovative method could be adopted to enhance education, especially with regard to nurturing of so-called Twenty-First Century skills like creativity, digital literacy and critical thinking. MAGICAL's primary mission is to activate the know-how, conditions and support to carry out collaborative game making activities in primary and lower secondary school. It encompasses preparation and training of educators, spanning reflection on, planning and orchestration of learning activities based on collaborative game making. MAGICAL is also exploring the potential for transfer and take up of the approach in a variety of learning contexts. This report describes the progress that MAGICAL has made in the first half of the project period towards the realisation of these goals, with the spotlight on initial outcomes and results.