A gamification project wins the XNUMXth Edition of the 'Innovative Teachers Awards'

David Viera/Raúl García Hémonnet

The first prize of the tenth edition of the 'Innovative Teacher Awards' has been for 'Gamification of computational fluid mechanics seminars in the computer science classroom using Genially', the work of the teachers of the ESCET (School of Experimental Sciences and Technology ) by Raúl Molina, Cintia Casado Merino, Gema Gómez-Pozuelo and Miguel Martín, a project that, in the words of one of the winners, seeks to “play with motivation to encourage students to play a game based on problems that they have to solve based on the work they previously have to do.” This award has been presented by Mónica León, representative and director of the Universitas XXI foundation, sponsor of the event, who stated that "education is the basis of a better world" and Javier Ramos, rector of the URJC .

The second prize, for its part, went to the proposal 'Creativity and Video Games to promote critical thinking about sustainability', carried out by Juan Romero Luis, María del Carmen Gálvez and María del Carmen Gertrudis, teachers and researchers at FCCOM (Faculty of Communication Sciences), creating a 'Game Jam' (video game creation contest) with the aim of creating motivation among students. The award was presented by Arturo Aguilera, a representative of Telefónica, who took the opportunity to praise the innovative work of the teachers.

On the other hand, the third prize went to Lorena Rodríguez, professor at the FCEE (Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences) for her project 'Inforsubastica. Evaluating everything that is not evaluable through an educational auction', based on a series of rewards within the subject obtained by carrying out non-evaluable activities. The teacher herself, when collecting the award, invited reflection on the usefulness of this type of activities. The award was presented by the vice-rector for Transformation and Digital Education, César Cáceres.

The 'Innovative Teacher Awards' are organized by the Center for Innovation in Digital Education (CIED), also organizer of the 'V Week of Innovation in Digital Education' with the intention of raising awareness about the value and usefulness of teaching innovation, promote the development of open educational practices and recognize the efforts of teachers to apply new developments during the teaching and learning processes. These good practices will be published in the Bank of Good Teaching Practices. 

This year, both the delivery ceremony and the week of activities took place on the Alcorcón campus, specifically in the assembly hall of the Management building. At the inauguration, Cesar Cáceres thanked the sponsors (Universitas XXI, Telefónica and Teltek), judges and teachers involved in the project for their participation.

The event ended with a few words from Javier Ramos, who conveyed his admiration to the people who work at the CIED, praising their dedication and commitment to the constant improvement of teaching. In addition, Ramos thanked the sponsors, participants and collaborators of the ceremony for their participation, but not before dedicating a few words to all those attending the 'V Week of Innovation in Digital Education', which closed with this delivery of prizes.