Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/844299
43 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 JULY 2017 Information Technology MITA is currently running an Erasmus Plus Strategic Partnership Project, 'Game Based Learning to Alleviate Early School Leaving' (GBL4ESL) in collaboration with St Marga- ret's College and the Faculty of ICT at the University of Malta locally, and with Dan- ube University Krems, Austria and Nystrom- ska School, Sweden. The project aims to alleviate the current problem of early school leavers through game based learn- ing (GBL). In the last two years, the project partners have worked together to create the GBL4ESL toolkit and guidebook. Both tools are aimed at facilitating the introduction of GBL in class, and are available to use for free by educators and parents. The toolkit provides a database of games and lesson plan ideas which can be used by educators. The toolkit itself is populated by other educators who share games and project ideas that they have already used with their students. Newcomers can eas- ily search through this database by subject or category. The toolkit can be accessed through www.mita.gov.mt/gbl As part of the project closure, a half-day seminar will be held on 5th July, 2017. Dur- ing this seminar project partners and col- laborators will share their experiences and expertise in relation to GBL. Recommen- dations related to the use of game based learning, and future actions in the GBL field will also be discussed. GBL is a means that facilitates the learning process. It engages students and captures their interest as it offers instant and inter- active feedback in a fun and challenging environment. Through GBL each student is at the centre of the learning process, thus leading to a sense of empowerment and learning in a meaningful context. If you want to learn more on GBL we invite you to view the programme for the event www. mita.gov.mt/gbl Professor Judy Robertson from the Uni- versity of Edinburgh, Scotland will be the keynote speaker during the half-day seminar. Professor Robertson is the Chair- person of digital learning and research lead in education, teaching and leader- ship (ETL). Her research interests focus on design, development and evaluation of serious games for education, computer science education and the development of computational thinking skills amongst other. Should you wish to attend, kindly reg- ister online through the event page www.mita.gov.mt/gbl SARAH FARRUGIA MITA Project Leader in Digital Outreach Calling all educators interested in game-based learning! In the last two years, the project partners have worked together to create the GBL4ESL toolkit and guidebook.