Winter School ‘Game Design
On February 20th and 21st, 2024, the Winter School ‘Game Design’ was held at II. Primary School Varaždin. The school was conducted by teachers Helena Lacko and Marinela Schatten, with the participation of 23 students who had the opportunity to dive into the world of creating computer games. During this workshop, students created educational games using various digital technologies such as the Scratch programming language, the digital tool Wordwall, as well as various drawing and image editing tools.
In the first part of the Winter School, students worked in the Scratch programming language. They had to come up with their characters, draw them, and transfer them into the digital world. The themes of the created games were environmental protection, waste sorting, and the creation of educational quizzes. The games created in the Scratch programming language are based on original data from the leaflet of the Čistoća company on waste sorting in Varaždin County. Therefore, these games serve as educational resources for a wider group of students and will undoubtedly help other students become more skilled in proper waste sorting through play.
In the second part of the Winter School, students used the digital tool Wordwall to create a series of educational games related to knowledge testing for elementary school students of all age groups. Materials for most games were provided by teachers of different subjects, while some games were conceived and developed independently by students, including games designed for the entertainment of younger students.
All created games have been uploaded to the Winter School ‘Computer Games’ website at https://sites.google.com/view/zimskaskola-racunalneigre, providing access to other students through their teachers, offering a unique opportunity for reviewing and learning material through play. The website showcases 18 educational games created in the Wordwall tool and a series of games created in the Scratch programming language.
As an additional evaluation step, a short survey was provided for each game, allowing students to provide feedback on the games they created. This interaction improved the quality of educational games and encouraged students to reflect on their work.
The workshop was extremely interesting and challenging, filling students with a sense of satisfaction and pride in their achievements. By participating in this project, students expanded their skills in using digital tools and programming, gained a deeper understanding of the importance of environmental protection, and actively contributed to their community through education and innovation. These experiences provided them with technical knowledge and valuable lessons in teamwork, creativity, and environmental responsibility.
Photos from the Winter School ‘Game Design’ are included below:
