In this episode of Pedagodzilla, we’re coming to you live (well, sort of) from the final day of the Playful Learning Conference 2024! We’re Mike Collins, senior learning designer at the Open University, joined by Lynn Pilkington, Alex Mosley, and Elliot Spaeth for a lively discussion about all things playful in learning and teaching.
We chat about how the Playful Learning Conference was born, how embedding play into our professional practice leads to better engagement and inclusion, and how each of us has navigated bringing play into our work. Alex reflects on his final year as co-chair, Lynn shares her first-time experience at the conference, and Elliot dives into the challenges and rewards of playful practice.
What We Cover:
- The origins of Playful Learning and its evolution over the years.
- Why playfulness in academia isn’t just fun—it gets results.
- The struggle (and freedom) of being authentic in professional spaces.
- Practical advice for submitting abstracts to Playful Learning 2025.
Guests:
- Lynn Pilkington: Learning and development professional, playworker, and accessibility advocate.
- Alex Mosley: Outgoing co-chair of Playful Learning and Head of Learning and Teaching at Anglia Ruskin University.
- Elliot Spaeth: Inclusion specialist at Advance HE, focusing on disability and neurodiversity.
Find Us Online:
- Lynn Pilkington: lynnpilkington.com
- Playful Learning Conference: playfullearning.org