Learning Through Game Playing (LTG) – Habilitas!

To date, very few initiatives have taken place in the EU that harness the full potential the digital era offers to support geriatrics/caregivers’ literacy and competences to the benefit of the identified target group by using on-line technology for information and contents provision, education & training.
LTG integrated gamification principles into the development of its curriculum and microlearning courses, a novel approach in the field of geriatric care education. The project's utilisation of gamified learning modules not only helped increase engagement of students but also facilitated a deeper understanding of complex geriatric topics.
The approach to use a combination of micro-learning with a gamification strategy, tutorial videos and webquest challenges for youth with SEN or learning difficulties/disabilities still represents an innovation to raise the interest in the care sector and the development of competences and skills in the identified target group so that they can be integrated into the labour market, in a sector where there is lack of qualified staff, as already mentioned.
Although gamified micro-learning is not a new digital learning strategy, it is still rarely used in schools to engage those learners who do not fit in the traditional formal education. On the other hand, video-based micro-learning modules can be gamified, too, by showing learners explainer videos about the skill or task they have to perform and then having them play a mini-game where they have to perform the task in the same way as it was shown in the video. The fact that the students were involved themselves, where this was possible, in the videos together with the elderly, allowed them to also learn, at the same time, the skills needed to work in specific routines in the care centres.
There are other projects that include webquests as a learning approach, but there were not found any related to young individuals with SEN or learners with learning difficulties, nor related to the micro-learning methodology with gamification strategy for the same target group.
Matching two marginalised groups to make them useful for each other is a very innovative and practical idea. Thanks to this project, young people with learning difficulties who, after finishing school, very often struggle with finding a job can, can now fill vacancies in the care sector in all partner countries. Thus, they will support older people in need and have stable employment at the same time. Building learning units is also far from traditional. Micro-learning helps to focus on the most important learning outcomes and divides learning content into chunks. It is up to the student to decide how much he/she will learn at once or how many breaks he/she will take.
Furthermore, this project presented an innovative approach to geriatric care education, aligning closely with the partners’ ongoing commitment to empower individuals through skill development and active participation. It followed a logical learning process, including reinforcing learning: start with learning from the micro units, then reinforce that leaning via the videos, the webquests and the platform with the questions. The process was also fun and appealing to teenagers.