Christophe De bont 
22/01/2020Video games play an ever increasing role in the lives of our children. To highlight the importance of embracing games in the classroom, Mediawijs together with the Department of Education and Training are organising Games in de Klas (link in Dutch). Aimed at bringing together Flemish teachers, educational professionals, and educational game developers, the event takes place in Brussels on March 6 from 9 until 16. Registering is free but as there’s a free lunch included, please keep in mind that no-shows will be charged € 10 to limit food waste.
As games make their move from the playground to the classroom, teachers and other educational professionals are faced with new challenges, but are equally presented with plenty of opportunities. After an introductory key note where you’ll get more information on the Game.Learn.Grow toolbox that will be offered to all attendees for free, you can attend two other sessions. The event will conclude with a network drink where you’ll be able to share your learnings with colleagues or discuss a topic further.
The program (link in Dutch) is as varied as the medium itself and different sessions tackle a wide array of topics. Educators that have previously worked with games can brainstorm with educational game developers on best practices. Among the confirmed developers are our proud members Strongly Typed Solutions and Bits of Love, showcasing ViKiD and Kr8cht (link in Dutch) respectively. They are joined by Assassin’s Creed: Discovery Tour, Squeeze (link in Dutch) and VRKeer (link in Dutch).
Furthermore there’s in-depth sessions on how to create a video game themed lesson, there’s a session exploring the benefits of working with games in the classroom and how to convince sceptics on your team, and you’ll even be able to learn how a video game can help with the sensitive subject of cyberbullying.
On top of that our very own David Verbruggen and Dirk Bosmans of PEGI are doing a session on safe and responsible gaming. They’ll cover topics such as age ratings, parental controls, and talk about SpeelHetSlim (link in Dutch), a platform sharing valuable tips on how to deal with potential time and money issues, as well as preparing kids for a safe online game experience.
If you’re not able to get to the event, Mediawijs has compiled a series of articles on the subject (link in Dutch). Games in schools aren’t going anywhere, so we’re very happy with the initiative to specifically highlight the ever increasing importance of our valuable medium, and hope to see you in Brussels on March 6.
