From An Adult Education Teacher's Perspective: 'Playing games at work'

During my days as a student, it would happen sometimes that we'd play Risk all night long, diluted generously with some kind of local beer. I have mostly good memories of this time. Bread and games, sometimes you don't need more than that.

That's why I didn't have to think for a very long time when I was asked if I wanted to participate in 'train the trainer' from the project 'SG4Adults' (Serious Games for Adults). We could indulge all week long in playing and testing the game that was designed to develop entrepreneurial competencies, a classic board game like 'in the good old days', so to speak.

The fact that this week wouldn't take place on Hawaii or some other tropical island, but instead in the typical Dutch city of Nijmegen didn't even turn out to be a real disadvantage. Bars, restaurants but also the visit to the Honig complex, a hotspot of start-ups, were time and again absolute hits. That's why I would gladly include Nijmegen in the book 'Hidden Treasures of the Low Countries'.

Summarizing the week that took place in December last year, I could tell about the group of Greek, Macedonian, Dutch, Spanish and Belgian participants that after a hesitant start, very soon became a cool bunch of people. Or I could say that I thought the game was fantastic AND very useful. "I play, therefore I learn" as a new philosophical and scientific principle in our school; why not?

But rather than thinking back wistfully to this week, I'd like to look forward to the moment this game will be completely finished so it can be used in class.

That I'll be allowed to adapt this game as I please to all subjects makes it all the more awesome.

To play or not to play, that's the question? Not for me anymore: to play. Luckily sometimes there are some certainties in life.

Bart Beullens
Adult Education Teacher (CVO Antwerpen)