Second Round of ‘Games In Schools’ MOOC Course Kicks Off in May

Video Games Europe is proud to announce that a second round of the online Games In Schools course for teachers will kick off on the 18th of May on the European Schoolnet (EUN) Academy, a platform dedicated to the online professional development of teachers across Europe.

Teachers who are interested in signing up for the course should enrol at www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu/web/games-in-schools-2nd-round, or send an e-mail to . Similar to the successful first instalment, the Games In Schools course aims to instruct teachers about the potential of games in the context of the classroom. The course has also resulted in a growing online community of teachers from around Europe that resolve questions and share experiences about various uses for games.

“The first round of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) was a big success, with 1597 teachers enrolling from all over Europe”, says Simon Little, Managing Director of Video Games Europe. “There is a clear demand among teachers for more information on this topic, and we hope to reach, teach and motivate even more people with this second round.”

“The engagement of teachers on the first round of the MOOC was amazing with 97% saying they would recommend it to their colleagues, says Benjamin Hertz, European Schoolnet. “So we are delighted to offer the MOOC again in an even more accessible version that provides support in particular to teachers who are less confident in the use of English.”

The Games in Schools project – and the cooperation between Video Games Europe and European Schoolnet – started in 2008 with a major study on the use of (commercial) digital games in schools in Europe. This resulted in a robust academic study and a practical Handbook for Teachers, which has since then been translated in 8 languages. In 2012 and 2013, two learning labs on Games In Schools were organised on the eTwinning platform for more than 100 participants each.

The Games In Schools course features as part of a catalogue of courses in the European Schoolnet Academy, which serves as a central hub for online training opportunities for teachers across Europe. The Academy is linked to other EUN projects such as eTwinning, the Future Classroom Lab and eSkills for Jobs, which all run large-scale teacher networks and thereby mutually provide exposure amongst teachers.