Videogames and Cultural Heritage. Understanding videogames at school through education and experience


Abstract:

The social divide represented by the period spanned by the Covid -19 pandemic has revealed a rather complex and problematic picture of inequalities in access and digital, technological literacy in our country (Save the Children, 2023; Open Polis, 2020). Moreover, it has revealed an educational poverty that implies digital inequalities in the opportunities and abilities for critical, aware, and creative use of all digital media. Addressing this educational need is the "Press Start To Learn – Video Game Literacy Paths in Schools" action-research training project, carried out during the 2022/2023 school year in four upper secondary schools. Promoted by the partnership between the IVIPRO association (Italian Videogame Program) and the Department of Educational Sciences "G.M. Bertin" of the University of Bologna, and realized within the National Cinema and School Images Plan promoted by MiC - Ministry of Culture and MIM - Ministry of Education and Merit, the project aimed to experiment with the potential and meanings of video games as cultural media and tools for complex and cross-disciplinary learning, including the promotion of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible.