STARTER, the Gdańsk Business Incubator, is working on the development of the first open internet platform for teachers and educators who want to use gamification as a tool to conduct school classes and extra-curricular activities. Teachers, coaches and educators alike will all be able to use GamLab for free. At present funds are being raised for this purpose with the help of a crowdfunding site – PolakPotrafi.pl.

The initiative at PolakPotrafi.pl will run until 10 October. You can give your support to work related to the innovative platform, a gamification coursebook or a conference for educators. At least 27,000 zloty will have to be raised to implement these projects.

 “The project will draw on the educational platform which we use during our “Entrepreneurship Lessons” run by STARTER in partnership with the City of Gdańsk”, says Katarzyna Kołakowska, project coordinator from STARTER, the Gdańsk Business Incubator. “We therefore have the knowledge and a nearly complete form of the platform (currently undergoing beta testing)  and we will use the extra funds to improve functionality in such a way that is available to anyone wishing to implement this modern tool to motivate and involve pupils in the learning process. For this purpose, crowdfunding seems to be an ideal tool. We will “reward” our sponsors, as in gamification.  We hope to meet with a great response from all those who care about introducing change into education, as well as improving and modernising the learning process at schools.”    

According the platform originators, gamification shifts the attitude of pupils towards obtaining information from “I have to” to “I want to learn”. How is this possible? Gamification uses mechanisms known in games to motivate the players-pupils and increase their involvement. Additionally, the platform will include the option to continuously monitor pupils’ improvement, to reward (with points, badges or tokens which may be used to extend the deadlines for subsequent assignments), provide feedback on completed tasks and information on ways of completing them. Thanks to the funds collected, teachers, educators and coaches will be able to devise their own courses, irrespective of subject or theme.

The financial support received via crowdfunding will also result in the creation of a guide to gamification in education, prepared by STARTER together with experts in the field.

“An e-book guide is one of the key elements we would like to implement in order to support the idea of gamification in education but it is not the only one. Alongside the guide, which will provide answers to the most important questions on how to effectively employ gamification and adjust the difficulty level of the tasks, we are also working intensively on organising an international conference devoted to the latest trends in education in Gdańsk. This will be a chance for us to exchange our experience and listen to our guests from Poland and abroad who are actively involved in modernising the education system”, says Kinga Kuczyńska from STARTER.

Backing for the platform, coursebook and conference on gamification can be provided at: polakpotrafi.pl/projekt/gamlab.

More on STARTER’s initiatives concerning gamification available at:  gamlab.pl.