Anna Georgieva, a teacher at High School “Hristo Botev”, Tutrakan: Creating games is fascinating and interesting

We continue the series of interviews with teachers who lead School Game Clubs, powered by ARC Academy. We introduced you to Mrs. Angelova from “Baba Tonka” MG in Ruse and Eng. Veselina Marinova from SPGE “John Atanasov”, Sofia, and today Mrs. Anna Georgieva tells how classes are going at High School “Hristo Botev”, Tutrakan, and what motivates students to participate.

Please introduce yourself in a few sentences – how long you have been a teacher, what subject you teach, and at which school. Tell us about your achievements (awards, qualifications, etc.) that you are proud of.

My name is Anna Georgieva and I have been teaching at High School “Hristo Botev”, Tutrakan for 18 years in Informatics, Information Technologies, Programming, Computer Graphics, Design, and Computer Modeling. I graduated from RU “Angel Kanchev” specialty “Informatics and computer technologies in education” with a master’s degree. I have a 1-degree professional qualification from 2019. Every year I lead a different club for digital competencies in different classes from junior high school and high school stage. I have participated with my students in national Olympiads and competitions in Information Technology and we have taken awards. 

Why did you decide to run a school club about game development?

Digital technologies are everywhere. Today, every child plays games – on a phone, tablet, or computer. When I work with children in information technology, I notice that students are not so much interested in creating a project – a presentation, a website, a collage, or a video, but rather in how to create their own game. Developing games from the ground up is exciting and interesting, and the fact that they will create their own story and realize their game is exciting. Children have clear ideas and are not burdened by everyday duties. Their dreams and fantasies are unique and seminal.

I decided to join ARC Academy’s  School Game Club because of the challenge of working on this new topic that captivates children even when they say “Video Game Development”.

What are your impressions of the club so far? How do the students take it, how do they cope, and do you encounter difficulties?

We started the club form on 14.10.2021 with 13 students from 8th to 12th grade. The resources you have provided us are of great help in discussing the various topics. The guest speakers, which you’ve invited, tell fascinating stories! The beginning is interesting, but only lecture form and presentations get boring. Children want to make a product, build something of their own, and try to create something from their ideas. The provision of the material and technical base in our school is good (this year we finished work on a STEM project). We have the ability to work with specialized game development software.

What would you say to teachers wondering whether to join ARC Academy’s School Game Club next year?

The interest on the part of the children is great, the mere mention of “Video Game Development” immediately wins a desire to participate in the club. Students have not been offered such a form of learning in school until now – games and learning in one, what could be better than that!