Press Start To Learn: video games in schools – how and why?

Pixel Media is not the only project aiming to bridge the gap between education and video games. In this post, we would like to highlight another interesting initiative currently taking place in Italy: Press Start to Learn.

Are video games and school an impossible match — or an untapped opportunity for innovation in teaching and learning?

Rather than approaching the topic with naive enthusiasm, Press Start to Learn – Video Game Literacy in Schools invites us to reflect critically on this question. With a clear awareness of both the potential and the complexities of the video game medium, the project asked:
Can video games support learning? Can they become spaces where students don’t just consume content, but actively learn by doing — or better, learn how to learn?

The Project: understanding and using video games in education

Launched through a partnership between the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Bologna and the IVIPRO Association – Italian Videogame Program, and supported by the National Cinema and Images for Schools Plan (MiC – Ministry of Culture and MIM – Ministry of Education and Merit), the Press Start to Learn project set out to explore the role of video games in schools.

The goal?
To promote critical and conscious engagement with the video game medium, helping students recognize its narrative and educational potential — especially when it comes to telling stories about place, identity, and cultural heritage.

From pilot to practice: two editions across three regions

The project, implemented over two editions across three regions—Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Tuscany—involved four secondary schools during the 2022/2023 school year (first edition) and concluded its second edition (PSTL 2.0) in May 2025. In total, it engaged 9 classes, 195 students, and 35 teachers. The initiative featured dual training pathways: one for students and one for their teachers. Students participated in 8 sessions (27 hours) that included shared gameplay, media analysis, workshops to develop original game concepts, and a final session with three video game industry professionals to explore careers and the creative process. Teachers attended 5 sessions (16 hours) focused on theoretical and practical tools for integrating video games and interactive storytelling into teaching, applicable to disciplines such as history, literature, art history, STEAM, and extracurricular projects.

Alcune immagini degli studenti durante la sessione di gioco

A key feature was the shared gaming sessions for both groups, fostering critical reflection on game design and educational potential. Additionally, three meetings with professionals gave students diverse industry perspectives and career guidance. From a research standpoint, pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted to assess changes in perceptions, knowledge, and use of video games in daily and educational contexts, capturing both

What did we learn?

Some key findings from the data collected:

  • Students are deeply immersed in video games, while most teachers have little to no personal experience with the medium.
  • 53.3% of students reported never having used video games for schoolwork — but expressed a strong interest in doing so.

When asked why video games could be useful for learning, students offered four main arguments:

  1. Cognitive dimension (53%)
    “They help with concentration, logical thinking, and problem-solving.”
  2. Motivational dimension (52%)
    “They’re fun, emotionally engaging, and spark motivation.”
  3. Social dimension (31%)
    “They create opportunities for interaction with classmates and even teachers.”
  4. Epistemic dimension (28%)
    “They offer access to knowledge and experiences we might not get otherwise.”

 

A cultural and educational opportunity

What emerges is clear: video games are already part of students’ everyday lives. The challenge is not whether they belong in school, but how to integrate them meaningfully — as tools for engagement, exploration, and learning.

By recognizing their narrative depth and designing educational experiences around them, Press Start to Learn shows that video games can be powerful tools for active learning and cultural storytelling.

Want to explore the full data and project materials?
Visit the official page: https://ivipro.it/it/tag/press-start-to-learn-2-0/

From experiment to practice: the next challenge

While the results of Press Start to Learn are promising, the real challenge lies ahead: transforming this experimental evidence into consolidated educational practice.

It’s not enough for projects like this to exist as one-off or externally driven initiatives. If we want to harness the full educational potential of video games and media literacy, schools need to:

  • Integrate these approaches systematically into curricula
  • Support teachers with training and resources
  • Create space for media education as an essential part of 21st-century learning
Alcune immagini degli insegnanti durante la sessione di gioco

Only then can experiences like Press Start to Learn become the norm rather than the exception — helping students not only learn through media but also learn about media in ways that are critical, creative, and culturally relevant.