The Games in Schools teachers' handbook has been enjoying a lot of interest since it was published in August 2009 in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and recently in Norwegian. More of ISFE's (the Interactive Software Federation of Europe) member countries are interested in translating the teachers' handbook into their national languages. The next expected translation is the Danish version of the handbook, so watch this space for this and other translations to come soon.

Posted by Caroline Kearney at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Harness children's interest in the World Cup by organising football-based competitions between classes using the popular and free Footee. With 50,000 users and numbers doubling every six months, Footee builds on football’s appeal to young people 6 to 12 and their love of games, competition and social networking to make learning maths, language, science, geography and history effective and fun.

Coinciding with the World Cup is a new feature, enabling children to pool the reward points earned playing games and a class can then run their own Footee team and take on other teams in the same or different countries. Users only see their own language which means, for example, that an English school class can take on a Spanish one and each sees it in their own language. This motivates the children to try harder so the whole class / team can benefit.

Continue reading "Football-based learning games: now schools can play against each other" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With 50,000 users, Footee is a highly popular free online education resource that builds on football’s appeal to young people 6-12 and their love of games, competition and social networking to make learning effective and fun. European Schoolnet is working to make the resources relevant to learners across Europe and among the many games are 14 that develop scientific understanding. Do topics like Forces and motion, materials and their properties and physical processes sound dull? Maybe not Beach Dodger, Floodlight Failure and Hit the Target though, but children can learn about science while playing these games.

Continue reading "Resources: Football and science - do they mix?" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Games in Schools Handbook has now been translated into Norwegian. You can access it here on the blog:

http://games.eun.org/2009/09/teachers_handbook_on_how_to_us_1.html#more

ISFE (the Interactive Software Federation of Europe who commissioned the study) say that there has been much interest in the handbook, and they are considering to translate it into other languages. Watch this space for possible further translations in the future!

The handbook, in addition to the full Games in Schools study, has received a lot of interest also in countries outside of the study's focus group. The study has now been presented in Sweden, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, where the handbook was particularly appreciated for being a user-friendly guide for teachers interested in starting to use games in their lessons. The study was also presented at the European Parliament at the European Internet Foundation's breakfast debate on ''Smart learning: video games and other technologies” on 14 April 2010. The link to the programme (and soon the presentation) can be accessed here:

http://www.eifonline.org/en/fiches/events/upcoming-events/10-04-14-breakfast-videogames.cfm?event=11067

Posted by Caroline Kearney at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With a summer of football ahead, harness children's passion for the game by using free resources to stimulate discussion related to personal development and citizenship. UEFA have published ten free lessons based on being in a team and winning and losing for the Grassroots Day campaign and European Schoolnet is supporting the initiative. Each 90-minute lesson is, like a football match, divided into two halves. Teamwork topics covered include What makes a great team, Developing and achieving goals, Co-operation and communication, Developing confidence and self-belief, and Respecting and taking care of yourself. Winning and losing topics are Does losing equal failure, Pros and cons of winning and losing, The benefits of rules, Accepting the consequences, and What makes a good supporter?

Continue reading "Citizenship through football-based resources" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As the May 2010 UEFA Champions League Final approaches, children throughout Europe are invited to try out over 300 game-based learning activities at Footee and to take part in Grassroots Day.

This year’s themes for schools are ‘being a team player’ and ‘winning and losing’. European Schoolnet have been working with UEFA and the developers MotivatED to ensure activities appeal to young football fans across Europe and to ensure a good fit between the games and national curricula. Many of the games are designed for use on interactive whiteboards.

Continue reading "Learning through football" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Pupils aged 10-15 can now experience a new, free, social virtual tool called MovieStar Planet to practice and improve their English skills by creating cartoons in a fun and innovative environment. This virtual world for students has been developed in collaboration with researchers from the Danish University of Education and a number of Danish primary school teachers. It has been financially supported by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and is part of the research and development project dedicated to games in education, entitled Serious Games on a Global Market Place (see post below for further information).

To start learning with MovieStarPlanet click here: http://www.moviestarplanet.com/noflash.html

Posted by Caroline Kearney at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The aim of this project is to create global serious games based on Danish traditions of play and learning. The project is a collaborative venture between researchers, game developers and educationalists, and is financed by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (KINO). For more information in English and Danish, please see the link below:

http://www.dpu.dk/site.aspx?p=11097

Posted by Caroline Kearney at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Six teachers from Austria, Denmark, England, France, Italy, and Spain have been randomly selected as winners of an Xbox and digital games to play on it, as well as copies of the Games in Schools reports, following their participation in the study's survey. We now would like to invite these teachers, as well as others, to share their experiences of using digital games in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning by making the pedagogical process more engaging and dynamic. Share your experiences here by commenting below to motivate as well as learn from others!

Posted by Caroline Kearney at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Teachers' Handbook on how to use digital games in schools" »

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