Classroom Heroes

Promotion of innovative, more inclusive, interactive and personalized teaching programs in schools:

Teachers from more than 60 schools, from the 1st to the 12th year of compulsory education, have used Spot Games as a way to motivate more than 20,000 students to become the heroes of their own history. In 2021, this teaching method is expected to grow and reach to 100 schools transformed by Gamemasters teachers, as well as expand internationally, with the expansion of SPOT GAMES responses to a group of 1,200 young Mozambicans without access to schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Providing engagement tools for teachers, effective in schools of all contexts:

With access to these digital tools, teachers are able to use innovative and more inclusive approaches in the learning process and transform learning experiences in their classrooms. That is why 91% of gamemasters teachers feel that their classes are more fun and 95% say that, with the challenges brought by games, their students are more collaborative. These improvements are felt most dramatically with students in social vulnerability, typically inserted in Priority Intervention Educational Territories (TEIP Schools).

Concrete improvements in the use of different disciplines even in a pandemic period Covid-19:

Regarding the Portuguese language subject, 91% of students who used the Logos game (for 1st year students) demonstrated improvements in written production and 79% of students who used the Aniquir game (for the 3rd year) showed significant improvements in the domains assessed in the 9th grade national Portuguese and Mathematics exams. In Mathematics 96.7% of students who used the SLEP game, demonstrated that it is useful for the development of numeracy and literacy (in the 1st year). Finally, regarding the subject of Citizenship and Development, in a Covid-19 pandemic period, 83% of the students who used the SPOT Citizenship game showed improvement in the acquisition of content and 81% of the students who used the O Nosso Chão game demonstrated improvement in civic and community participation.

Founded in 2018, SPOT GAMES, promoted by Associação Epic Student, is a start-up focused on providing access to quality education. It is one of the resident organizations at Casa do Impacto, an ecosystem of impactful companies promoted by the Lisbon Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa). a charitable organization overseen by the Portuguese Government. Spot Games develops gamification solutions for teachers, which support the latter in transforming their schools into Schools of Heroes, and also their classrooms, helping students to find a way to outperform themselves, despite their profile, social background, or academic starting point. With Spot Games, teachers turn into Gamemasters, syllabuses into epic journeys, and students become the heroes of their stories.

The company, SPOT GAMES, was co-founded by Francisco Miranda and Joana Lopes who both have over ten years of experience.

Francisco, graduated in engineering from the Lisbon School of Engineering and Technology and has experience as a strategic analyst in the North American market. Ten years ago, he started a small project in the Bairro Cruz neighborhood in Lisbon, which collaborated with teachers to develop strategies and methodologies to motivate their students on their academic journey. In the context of this project, Francisco has gained a unique in-depth look into the reality of the inclusion problem in Portuguese schools and, as a response, specialized in game and motivation design applied to education.

Joana Lopes graduated in Psychometry Rehabilitation from the Faculty of Human Motricity and Mastered in Social Health Psychology by ISCTE in Lisbon. She has gained experience as a volunteer and association leader in vulnerable contexts, reinforced by her professional experience in social and community intervention projects in schools, shelter homes, educational centers, and the larger community. Through these projects, she has developed skills in the fields of non-formal education, teaching and learning methodologies and promotion of personal and social competencies.

The goal of the project is to bring this transformation to schools across the country – a spot game in each school – seeking to influence not only local governments but also the central government to incorporate this innovation. In addition to this, Spot Games also plans on expanding its international operation, in a first phase expanding to Portuguese-speaking African countries, thus continuing the work it has already started with circa 1.000 young individuals in Mozambique.

The company has grown to become a specialised team of approximately 10 professionals, who cover areas such as pedagogy, psychomotricity, game design, graphic design, project management and marketing.

With the founders’s previous experience in vulnerable territories, listening to teachers and pupils, and being deeply familiar with their issues; as a starting point, Spot Game’s progression has been through several steps:

• Proof of methodological concept, where it validated the assumption that gamification can motivate pupils to learn, and that teachers are receptive to these innovative technologies (2019);
• Proof of scalability concept, where it validated that it is possible to develop scalable solutions, using digitalisation, without compromising impact (2020);
• Finally, proof of commercial concept, marked by the acceptance of these solutions by local governments (2020/2021).

In 2021/2022, the company expects to double the number of client municipalities to 40 and thus surpass the mark of the 100 schools adhering to the SPOT GAMES movement, continuing to grow its community of Schools of Heroes.