With the Digital Education Project, students from the João Rodrigues dos Santos Municipal School, in Imbaú, Paraná, are learning Portuguese while playing. From an online game, students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades create characters, stories, and, with the support of artificial intelligence, identify what they need to improve in their writing. The initiative is a partnership between Klabin, the Imbaú Department of Education, and FazGame, which develops educational digital games.

 

For the school principal, Nerli Antunes de Mello, also known as Tininha, digital games help teachers motivate young students to study. "It is a way to capture students' attention and motivate them to study more. The project came to help and the children love it," she emphasizes. Luana Assis, a 5th grade teacher, confirms this perception. "In the classroom, we read the text and debate. Later, we will go to the computers. I notice that they understand better with the game. "If we combine the content of the classroom with technology, they will like it and commit more," she says.

 

 

What do the students say?

 

The children agree: they love the experience! Davi Miguel Pereira Antunes, a 5th grade student, is enjoying the new way of learning. Always willing to help his colleagues, he unleashes his imagination when creating scenarios for his stories and ensures that he is writing better. "What I like most is to program the game. There is also a spell check there. When you write a word incorrectly, it shows. It helps you improve your Portuguese," he explains. Young Iasmin Vitória da Silva Antunes, a 3rd grade student, loves to create stories and characters. "I like to choose the
game setting and to create characters. In my game, I created two girls and a boy," she says.

 

 

Good methodology for those who learn and for those who teach

 

The method has undergone tests that prove its efficiency. Heloisa Padilha, educational leader at FazGame, outlines the skills that children can develop through the game. "Through the project, it is expected that students will enhance their reading comprehension and speed, and that they will be able to create text using their imagination. Writing will improve from an orthographic point of view and they will be able to construct coherent narratives."

 

Teachers also gain an ally in their daily work, as the game compiles data that can inform lesson planning based on their students' needs. "The teacher will cover material that they want to teach. When writing the text, artificial intelligence will interact with the student, helping them to correct mistakes, to think, and to learn. The data generated is transmitted to the teacher and the school manager, emphasizes Carla Zelter, executive director of FazGame. With this information in hand, it is possible to precisely address the areas where the class faces the most challenges. Quite a support for teaching and learning.

 

 

The expectation is that, in the future, the project can be expanded to other schools, further enhancing the quality of local education.