Case Study: Digital Interactive Spaces: Digitally transforming education and participation

In a world where digital transformation is affecting every sector, this publication marks a second step for SALTO Participation & Information Resource Centre (SALTO PI) in exploring the possible uses of digital interactive approaches for participation. Following the initial edition dedicated to offer educators a useful guide in formal and non formal education contexts, this is a further exploration of utilising video games and other digital interactive spaces for fostering participation.

When we write digital interactive spaces, we mean first of all spaces that can be shared by participants who are there together and can possibly move around and explore: their agency is not limited to reading and commenting text and pictures; it is interactive, as they can relate to each other. Moreover, they can relate to the environment they are immersed in, use it, even transform it or be transformed by it, as they proceed in their experiences. The digital element is important, but it comes last, because it doesn’t matter alone: this is why we are not talking about social media, or other digital tools, even if they could be positively used for fostering participation.

In fact, we offer here a collection of several different approaches to explore the subject of participation in democratic life within digital interactive spaces. Ranging from video games to online communities, universities to youth clubs, participatory budgeting to e-sport practices, this collection spans the spectrum. It begins by delving into the fundamental use of video games across various educational contexts and then gradually expanding to explore a broader array of educational digital interactions applied to participation. This includes utilising virtual reality (VR) appliances, engaging students in participatory processes using video games, fostering online communities to develop activities that are later implemented in person, developing new specific video games to serve distinct educational purposes and beyond.