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Research by Stiftung Lesen

Round Table 2009

“Promoting reading in a digital world – games and learning modules:  claim and reality“

The fifth Round Table on promoting reading was held at the InterCityHotel Mainz on 26./27. November 2009 , and it dealt with “reading promotion in a digital world“. Experts from research and practice, from teacher training institutions and state media institutes as well as experts from the state ministries of culture followed an invitation by Stiftung Lesen, in order to present multimedia offerings for children and young people and discuss their relevance as to the promotion of reading. This year, too, the conference was once more funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Computer games are nowadays an integral part of the life-worlds of children and young people. The market for multimedia educational software is constantly growing, while at the same time it also competes with popular computer games. Simultaneously, a growing fear can not only be observed in the parents that a frequent use of computer games might have a negative impact.

The Round Table conference   was dedicated to a presentation and comparison of digital educational and entertainment modules, in order to familiarise participants with the actual media interests of today’s children and young people. For a hands-on, practical approach to the subject, participants could test the computer games and educational software products, thus getting a personal insight into the computer worlds of children and young people. As an important matter of discussion, participants talked about how these products might be applied to reading promotion measures in a productive way.

Findings from the national Round Table 2009 forum will be documented in the Stiftung Lesen publication series.