PELIMO gamifies teaching material on multiculturalism

PELIMO (1.1.2019 – 31.12.2020) is a project that creates ways to gamify the materials used to educate basic education pupils on multiculturalism. The project is targeted to children from grades 4 through 6 in the Turku area.

PELIMO will culminate in the release of a mobile game (iOS/Android) that can be used as a teaching tool in primary schools. Other results of the project include a teacher’s guide for the game and a publication on digital gamification.

PELIMO enhances the existing materials on multiculturalism

The PELIMO project closely involves examining the quality and extent of learning material relating to multiculturalism that primary school teachers have at their disposal. This existing material is then developed further based on feedback from the teachers.

– The project materials have been created bilingually, both in Finnish and Swedish. The mobile game is utilized as a teaching tool in social studies classes for grades 4 through 6 and it has already been piloted in basic education, says project designer Niina Autiomäki.

The PELIMO game was first tested during the fall 2019 by teachers, after which it was introduced to the pupils. Although the operations of the project are centered in Turku, the game will become available in all of Finland.

An adaptive role game with incorporated mini games

The PELIMO mobile game is first and foremost intended to function as a learning aid. Each of the three main characters that the player can control face situations that relate to the themes of multiculturalism. The game also contains mini games that have been devised based on popular types of games.

The character narratives have been written in an adaptive manner. This means that the player can influence the game with their choices, with each decision steering the gameplay into a different direction. The player will also receive feedback based on the choices they make, which will help the players consider the effects that their actions have on other people in the real world.

The adaptive design increases the replay value of the game. The three main characters in the game are included in each other’s stories. Furthermore, the use of various kind of game mechanics considers the preferences of different players and offers variance to the playing experience.

The results of the project will be launched in fall 2020

The PELIMO mobile game and the project publications (i.e. the teacher’s guide and the release on digital gamification) will be launched during the fall 2020 in Turku. The exact dates for the launch events will be announced later.

Humak UAS will participate in each event and complete the editorial work for the bilingual (Finnish and Swedish) publication on digital gamification.

The PELIMO project is coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with Humak UAS and University of Turku. The project is funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education (Opetushallitus in Finnish).

2020-06-26 15:09:31