As a consequence, his colleagues and himself
had to find different teaching strategies
(such as presenting videos or organising
debates) because students simply did not
have enough room to do physical exercise.
So, the idea arose from the need to surpass
these limitations and started growing with
time.
Although it is a personal project, at a given
moment Gil needed help from other people
such as Eduardo Porto, Daniel Souto and
Patrícia Figueiredo who illustrated the
game. Furthermore, the creator established
contact with Pythagoras, a Portuguese
board game company represented by
David Mendes, who creates and develops
educational games, and who provided
him with the necessary mentoring and
motivation to realize his dream
(http://www.pythagoras.pt/).
The author also got inspired by one of his
colleague teachers – a Music teacher who
had already developed some games for
her teaching practice. So, Gil created a
prototype and started the product testing
phase with his friends.
Meanwhile, seeking to improve his English
and to find different job opportunities,
he accompanied his girlfriend to Scotland
where she was studying at the university.
As he was living in Scotland at that time,
he could not test the game immediately
after with students.
The next phase was the production phase.
The game was produced in a factory in
Germany but it was a long process until the
end result was finally reached. In fact, more
than two years passed between the idea
for the product and the materials’ testing
phase. Every time there was a delay Gil took
the chance to improve or to fine tune some
aspects of the game until he was certain he
would obtain his vision. Furthermore, the
whole process was possible thanks to one
of Gil´s relatives who believed in him and
gave him financial support.
Nowadays, the game is starting to be used
by other teachers and Gil is 100% committed
to his project, thus, not being able to teach
for the time being. He created a new job
opportunity for himself with the design
and development of this new game although
the world of business has its challenges,
particularly for a newcomer.
In the end of our interview, we talked
about the future of education and the
pedagogical role of games in learning.
Gil believes “people learn by playing” and
that games will become an intrinsic part
of educational methods in the near future
since not only do they have a very strong
social component but they also promote
other important skills.
Written by: SG and Gil Carpalhoso
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