The conference brought together 100 participants, including key experts in the area of digital games and/or education, researchers, policy makers at national and EU level, as well as teachers, and representatives from industry. The high calibre and number of participants, as well as the agreement of the Council of Europe to host the event, testify to the notable interest in the potential of digital games for learning purposes. It is a topic which is being taken seriously at national and European level, as evidenced by recent policy documents, debates, publications and calls for proposals aimed at investigating their educational benefits further.

The conference was opened by the European Commissioner for Education and Culture, Jan Figel, followed by a welcoming address from Elda Moreno, the Council of Europe's Programme Director for 'Building a Europe for and with children', and a keynote speech by Toine Mander, MEP and rapporteur of the draft resolution on the protection of consumers in respect of the use of video games. This opening session established the general European context in this area, and was followed by presentations on the national perspectives of Austria and Denmark, and a detailed session on the results of the different elements of the Games in Schools study.

The afternoon session kicked off with a round table which discussed how to shape the contribution of digital games to innovative teaching in schools. The discussions which the conference gave rise to were interesting and rich in ideas and observations, both from the speakers and panelists, as well as the lively and impassioned contributions from the audience. For access to descriptions of the sessions and presentations of the speakers, see the study's blog at http://games.eun.org.

Research results released

The results from the survey of 528 teachers across Europe reveal that regardless of their gender, age, number of years in the profession, familiarity with games, age of their pupils, or the subject they teach – teachers do indeed use digital games in the classroom. Some of them encounter difficulties in integrating games into the curriculum, partly due to a lack of equipment and the reservations of parents and their colleagues about the use of digital games. They use commercial and leisure games as well as educational games. Whatever the type of games used, teachers report a very positive impact on motivation, and good results in personal, intellectual and social skills. The picture is more varied as regards the impact on critical skills and performance in specific subjects.

The case studies demonstrate the existence of interesting practices in a range of European countries, which remain small in number but which sometimes are large in scale, in terms of the number of teachers and pupils concerned (including examples of long-term action-research projects). A clear observation deriving from the case studies is that teachers who use digital games in their teaching do not do so haphazardly, but rather are careful to employ a structured pedagogical framework. Interestingly, the case studies illustrate how the use of digital games for learning often rehabilitates more traditional teaching tools in the eyes of pupils.

Comparison of the approaches to digital games in different education systems brings to light four major conceptions for their use: support for pupils in difficulty, modernisation of the system, the development of advanced skills, and the preparation of future citizens who will live in a society increasingly involved in virtual worlds. For further information regarding the results, see the links below to the study's final publications:

How are digital games used in schools? Synthesis report (European Schoolnet, 2009):
http://games.eun.org/upload/gis-synthesis_report_en.pd (English)
http://games.eun.org/upload/gis-synthesis_report_fr.pdf (French)

How are digital games used in schools? Final report (European Schoolnet, 2009):
http://games.eun.org/upload/gis-full_report_en.pdf (English)

The French version of the final report, as well as a handbook(1) for teachers on how to use digital games in the classroom will be available shortly and the links to them posted here and on the study's blog: http://games.eun.org.

European Schoolnet's role in the future of games-based learning

European Schoolnet's Games in Schools study, as well as two other games-based learning projects it has been/is a partner in e.Mapps.com(2) [2006-2008] and Imagine(3) [2008-2010] are all first attempts at European level to better understand in what ways and to what extent digital games could contribute to improving teaching and learning processes in schools. They show that teachers presently using digital games in their teaching seem to value them for different purposes. The precise role to be assigned to the teacher when using games in the classroom, the way digital games can support different learning styles and the respective contributions of different types of games to various learning processes, are just a few examples for more in-depth investigations to be launched in the near future.

European Schoolnet looks forward to continuing its input into the field by pursuing these areas in close cooperation with other scientific researchers and organizations committed to exploring the educational potential of digital games. Watch this space for further updates on developments in games-based learning. Game over? No, try again!