The Playingpast project aims to study the influence of historical video games in the construction of historical thinking and, in short, in the learning of History, within the framework of the general reflection between Technology, Education and Culture, both in the formal classroom and in informal learning, such as the world of museums.
Four main lines of work are being developed within the project. Two theoretical: one, the review of the scientific literature of the work developed so far, and two, the discussion among experts in a series of meetings, which will take place in Cyprus, next November, and in Madrid, in March. And two empirical: a workshop experience in the classroom and a mixed workshop experience in the informal context of a video game club and a museum.
Santa Rita School (https://colegiosantarita.es/), thanks to the enthusiasm of Vanesa Galán Simón, will host the first classroom experience in which students will be asked to participate in a series of video games and to measure their improvement in their ability to apply historical knowledge to different situations. Developing the skills of historical analysis is one of the demands of any educational proposal that aims to develop conscious, critical and participatory citizens and, therefore, free.
(*) Vanesa Galán Simón is the Secondary School pedagogical director in Santa Rita (vanesa.galansimon@colegiosantarita.es) as well as a Secondary School Geography and History teacher. She has several degrees: Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology by UAM, Primary School Teacher Degree by the International University of La Rioja and specialist in Educational Center Management Degree by the University of Comillas. She is also qualified in Secondary School teaching, on the subjects of Geography and History, Contemporary World History and History of Spain. You can find her on LinkedIn as www.linkedin.com/in/vanesagalánsimón and on Instagram as @educalibros.
