The IDEA (European heritage 3D gamEs platform for teaching mAths) project is funded under Erasmus+ program, serving Key Action 201 – Strategic Partnerships for school education. The project started in 2019 and is coordinated by Perifereiaki Diefthinsi Protovathmias kai Defterovathmias Ekpaidefsis Peloponnisou. Ten partners from different backgrounds (VET organisations, IT organisations, university, primary schools etc.) and four different countries (Greece, Spain, Ireland and Cyprus) participate in the project.
The implementation plan of IDEA is structured around the main goal of the project, that is to deliver the foreseen training tools and evaluate it against real needs of students. The project will develop an educational platform that provides an opportunity for practicing mathematics in the first grades of primary school by navigating through 3D European heritage sites in Greece, Cyprus, Spain, and Ireland. IDEA project comes to help teachers and students overcome their fear of maths. IDEA's 3D cultural games from each participating country, will make pupils work effectively fulfilling missions, including confidence-building mini-games with the 3D objects, points, rewards and badges that look challenging but enable students to evolve.
IDEA aims the following:
1. To develop a framework for introducing new technologies and game-based learning to the schools.
2. To combine culture and maths training in an interdisciplinary game-based tool.
3. To develop an initial set of scenarios covering maths material of the first 3 grades of the primary school.
4. To evaluate the effectiveness of the scenarios (using 3D game mechanics), deeper learning and the engagement of the students.
5. To offer an authoring tool for the teachers to modify existing and create more scenarios.
6. To offer for free mobile versions of the scenarios for Android Devices.
7. To disseminate the project and its result to as a broader group of stakeholders as possible and to communicate the project and its achievements to decision make.