Romania expands program that teaches school subjects through video games
The Games in Schools program, through which hundreds of students across Romania are taught history, geography, and other subjects with the help of video games, is entering a new phase this fall and expanding.
The Romanian Game Developers Association launched the Games in Schools, or RGDA, program in 2022 to provide alternative tools to teachers looking to make their subjects more engaging for middle school students. The program uses video games as educational resources.
In the first phase of the project, RGDA primarily targeted students from rural areas in 20 schools. As a result, the European manual "Games in Schools," created by the European School Network and ISFE (Interactive Software Federation of Europe), was translated into Romanian and made available to teachers in counties like Constanța, Bihor, Dolj, Suceava, Iași, Ilfov, Galați, Maramureș, and Brașov.
In the second phase, launching this fall, RGDA, along with Casa Corpului Didactic, will launch an accredited course for teachers nationwide, available through the institution's eLearning platform. The course includes two modules: one providing all the tools for using video games in the classroom, and an introductory course on video game development for high school students.
Several hundred more teachers from across the country will be introduced to the project and will undergo intensive training in this way. The goal is to increase the number of children who have access to innovative educational resources, with the objective of reaching tens of thousands of students in the coming years.
"Video games are a passion for many children, and when used appropriately, they can be a medium through which children understand, explore, or consolidate a subject, helping to develop cognitive, spatial, and motor skills, as well as understanding cause-effect relationships and solving complex problems," said Andreea Medvedovici Per, executive director of RGDA, cited by News.ro.
During the first phase, the focus was on three middle school subjects: history, English, and mathematics.
Starting this year, any teacher can use video games in their classes.
In history classes, games such as Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Odyssey are used to illustrate important historical periods. Biology and geography will make use of the popular game Animal Crossing, the game Just Dance will be used for computer science and physical education, and Portal will help students understand geometry and physics. Dozens of other games are on the list for the program.
According to the 2022 RGDA study, about 8 million Romanians aged 15-64 play video games. The study also reveals that women play as much as men. Among avid gamers (who usually play at least a few times a week), the average age is 27 for men and 32 for women.
(Photo source: Jacek Chabraszewski/Dreamstime.com)
