In addition to the timetabled programme, we ran a varied and wonderful range of activities across the three days of the conference, alongside special 2-hour Thursday evening activities.

Check back over the summer for activities and challenges posed by the presenters, alongside each session below.


A wooden cabinet of curiositiesThe Museum of the Future

On Thursday morning in the main plenary room, you’ll be provided with your own personal supply kit. Inside you’ll find a range of items that are waiting patiently to be turned into an object that you can claim you have brought back from the future.

You can work on these across the rest of the conference: on your own, or combine with other attendees to make larger or more complex artefacts.

Then give them a title and short description and hand them in at registration for inclusion in our Museum of the Future on the first floor.

Black and white still from Godzilla film showing Godzilla headPedagodzilla on Location

Mark Childs, Mike Collins

Everyone’s favourite podcast mashing up pop culture and pedagogy (because it’s the only one, we checked) has a booth at Playful Learning. Record a chat about your favourite games, what you do, and what the connection is. We’ll pop it in our special conference podcast, and disseminate it to podcastland.

Board Game Cafe

The board game cafe is open throughout the conference for you to relax and recharge with a range of free drinks and snacks. There will be many different games available each day, themed around particular mechanics (such as collaboration, subterfuge, etc.) – just grab a few friends, have a play, and get some ideas to bring to your own game designs.

Our PL helpers will be on hand to guide you and help you select an appropriate game.

bird flying in front of a white cloudThe Quiet Corner

Is it all a bit too much? Worn out from thinking, playing or creating? Head to this relaxing first floor room where you can pause, have a short snooze, collect your thoughts, or simply rest your feet.

Pipe and slippers not supplied.

Toy rocketThe Feedbox

Have a sudden thought about how to improve Playful Learning next year? Maybe an idea for a keynote or activity? A suggestion for food or accommodation? Or want to highlight something we could do better?

At any time during the conference, scribble your idea/note onto our time capsule cards, and post them through the rocket-shaped Feedbox in the foyer. Complete as many as you like, whenever you like.

Education Play Online 101

TALON TweetChat. Please join us on Twitter (@talon_cloud) to create a vibrant rainbow of questions about digital play in education.

This 1-day online intervention builds on the premise that there are ‘no wrong’ questions. Rather, asking questions helps us create a culture of inquiry that challenges assumptions and invites dialogue. A good question encourages thinking – in this case, thinking about education play online. Thus, TALON, the Teaching and Learning Online Network invites Playful Learning conference participants to pose questions, lots of questions, about digital play in education. Ask what you always wanted to ask – and maybe there’s someone other there that listens and answers.

If you wish to participate, please use the hashtag #onlineplaylearn22

Thursday Evening Activities

On Thursday early evening, 5-7pm, we suspended the ‘normal’ programme and curated a number of longer, active and explorative sessions, in addition to the cafe and foyer options above.

  1. Game-based learning in cybersecurity education
  2. Are there really any good climate games?
  3. Do we belong at PL22? (LSP creative workshop)
  4. Tramorabillia
  5. Occulus Quest-ion?

Blue fingerprintGame-based learning in cybersecurity education

Jessica Peichl; Bernd Remmele

The GEIGER project approaches cybersecurity for small businesses by considering the ‘human factor’ and creating game-based learning for cybersecurity. In this session, a trainer-based game on cybersecurity basics will be played. Teams have to assess everyday office situations in concern of their riskiness and gain points by making correct bets.

Activity / Challenge:

Change one thing in your personal or professional life that enhances your cybersecurity. For example, you may set up a safe backup of your data or install a password manager. It might also be just to change your password to a more complicated one. Stay safe in the cyberweb!

Slides from the session.

Portion of earth from space in sunlightAre there really any good climate games?

Darren Green & Luisa Astruc

There is a clear need to communicate key issues in climate change. Games are great at simulating complex systems that are driven by human decision-making. With the growth of tabletop board gaming as a hobby this would seem an opportunity to provide a deeper public understanding of global warming.

So, are there any good climate change games?

This will be a curated games evening to present some of the games that have been designed on the theme of climate change. There will be a chance to examine the game materials and a short demo of each game. You will be free to continue to play the games during and after the session if you wish.

This session is part of a project sponsored by the Open University and I would be very grateful if participants would be willing to have their thoughts and discussions captured through a short feedback session as part of that project.

Do we belong at PL22? (LSP Creative Workshop)  [Limited to 12]

Alex Moseley, Mark Rawlinson

Do you feel like you belong at Playful Learning? Or would you like to feel like you belong? Between us, we will find out what belonging means to us, through a Lego Serious Play storytelling workshop.

This workshop was used at the University of Leicester in 2017-18 with a diverse group of students and staff, to find out what belonging felt like to them in their institution. We’ll be using the same workshop structure, but the outcome will depend on who joins the group, and your needs and experiences!

Our findings as a group might possibly help Playful Learning get better over the coming years.

We collectively developed the following simple guiding principles to encourage belonging at Playful Learning…

  • Everyone is encouraged to share (if they want to)
  • Active learning that is personally meaningful
  • We play as if no-one is watching us
  • We highlight the rigour behind playfulness and silliness
  • We support everyone in whatever stage of journey they are on
  • Expecting playfulness is accepting playfulness
  • We trust our presenters (eg. to chair/run their own session)
  • We build bridges
  • We make spaces for collaboration
  • We are receivers, not transmitters

 

Black and white image of a tramTramorabillia

Alison James

Tramorabilia invites you to take part in in an escapehunttrailgameactivitything.

Through a just about credible scenario it invites you to visit the theme park Tramorabilia as a means of finding a different way to share outcomes from a study on the use and value of play.

The scene is this: you have been invited to the launch of the final report from The Use and Value of Play in HE – which is taking place at the highly esteemed Tram Park Tramorabilia (not its real name). You have so much fun at the Park (no, really) that you forget to leave on time and get locked in. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to persuade the Tram Driver on duty to help you get out of the park and make it to the launch in time for the free drinks. She agrees, and promises to give you some key information about the project as long as you help her do with some tramspotting and other tasks, in return for help getting out of the park. You gratefully agree.

What could possibly go wrong? Come and find out….

Girl wearing occulus riftOcculus Quest-ion

(information to follow).

 

Image credits (public domain unless noted below):
Pedagodzilla on Location: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by James Vaughan, available here
The Wonder of the Weasleys: CC-A2 by Karen Roe, available here
Occulus Pro-ven: CC-SA4 by Biswarup Ganguly, available here