{"id":11148,"date":"2025-11-11T08:32:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T08:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/focus-on-play-how-digital-games-are-transforming-learning-across-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T07:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T07:13:39","slug":"focus-on-play-how-digital-games-are-transforming-learning-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/focus-on-play-how-digital-games-are-transforming-learning-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"FOCUS on Play: How Digital Games are Transforming Learning Across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW110741866 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW110741866 BCX0\">By Esme Garza<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW110741866 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The FOCUS project is reaching an exciting stage \u2013 our innovative digital learning games are coming to life! Developed through the collaboration of our international partners, these interactive tools are designed to make learning not only more engaging but also more meaningful for students across Europe.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each game combines fun, challenge and reflection, encouraging players to develop essential life skills while exploring topics related to inclusion, collaboration, and emotional awareness. From decision-making scenarios to creative problem-solving missions, the games invite learners to step into real-world situations and practice empathy, teamwork, and resilience \u2013 all through play.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Behind the screens, the process has been truly inspiring. Educators, youth trainers, and digital creators have joined forces to design games that speak the language of today\u2019s learners. Every element \u2013 from the storylines to the visuals \u2013 has been carefully crafted to promote positive attitudes, self-awareness and inclusion in classrooms and youth settings.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The digital games are now entering their final stages of development, soon to be translated into all partner languages. This means that students and educators from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds will soon have access to an engaging set of tools that support emotional learning and inclusive education in a dynamic and interactive way.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For the FOCUS team, this milestone is more that just a technical achievement \u2013 it\u2019s a reflection of our shared belief that learning should inspire curiosity, creativity and connection. By bringing gamification into education, we\u2019re opening doors to new ways of learning that speak directly to young people\u2019s interests and strengths.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Stay tuned as we prepare to share the final versions of our digital games with schools, educators, and children across Europe. Play, after all, has always been one of the best teachers \u2013 and now, thanks to FOCUS, it\u2019s becoming one of the smartest, too.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">References<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Palgrave Macmillan.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hromek, R., &amp; Roffey, S. (2009). Promoting social and emotional learning with games: &#8220;It&#8217;s fun and we learn things&#8221;. Simulation &amp; Gaming, 40(5), 626\u2013644. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1046878109333793\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1046878109333793<\/a><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kiili, K. (2005). Digital game-based learning: Towards an experiential gaming model. The Internet and Higher Education, 8(1), 13\u201324. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.iheduc.2004.12.001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.iheduc.2004.12.001<\/a><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Papastergiou, M. (2009). Digital game-based learning in high school computer science education: Impact on educational effectiveness and student motivation. Computers &amp; Education, 52(1), 1\u201312. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.compedu.2008.06.004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.compedu.2008.06.004<\/a><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based learning. McGraw-Hill.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Inclusion and education: All means all. <a href=\"https:\/\/unesdoc.unesco.org\/ark:\/48223\/pf0000373718\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/unesdoc.unesco.org\/ark:\/48223\/pf0000373718<\/a><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">European Commission. (2024). Erasmus+ Programme Guide: Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu\/resources\/programme-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu\/resources\/programme-guide<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Esme Garza\u00a0 The FOCUS project is reaching an exciting stage \u2013 our innovative digital learning games are coming to life! Developed through the collaboration of our international partners, these interactive tools are designed to make learning not only more engaging but also more meaningful for students across Europe.\u00a0\u00a0 Each game combines fun, challenge and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-35"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11725,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11148\/revisions\/11725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focus-project.eu\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}