The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly (DECE), and specifically Creative Technologies Learning Lab research team (https://ctll.e-ce.uth.gr), organized a seminar on the deployment of escape rooms, a special category of serious games, in learning. The event took place on September 22, 2022 at the computer lab of DECE, Sekeri and Heyden, Pedion Areos. The event addressed vocational education students and teachers.
Approximately 45 students and educators from the 2nd Evening Vocational High School of Volos attended the event. The audience had the opportunity to participate experientially in active learning activities in the form of digital escape rooms designed for application in the educational process.
The method offers learning benefits through enriched engagement, interaction, and fostering of students’ internal motivation towards the development of knowledge and soft skills such as problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking skills, which enhance their professional profile, contribute to the continuous renewal of their qualifications, and expand their professional choices in today’s constantly evolving professional environment.
Students experimented with escape rooms that help build industry-demanded problem-solving skills. The applications used in the event focused on zero waste concepts that contribute to pollution reduction.
The seminar took place in the framework of the research project ELMET: Experiential Learning Methodologies addressing Vulnerable Employed and Unemployed People (http://elmetproject.eu) funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission and implemented from 2020 to 2022.
The project is implemented by a consortium of educational organizations from Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece.