Technology adoption through games at Rio de Janeiro State: improving students’ digital aptitude

Abstract

Factors impacting technology adoption encompass technical, organizational, and human issues. This paper shows two projects that aim to develop students’ digital aptitude by promoting a culture change from a game prejudiced environment into a habitat of technology-prone users. The first project, Ti-Games Maricá, took place three years ago, encompassing 50 schools in Maricá, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and consisted of a school versus school game tournament, a series of workshops, talks, and other activities involving games. The research’s main goal was to observe the impact of games in schools on increasing students’ self-esteem and professional perspectives in technological fields. Another goal was to improve the use of technology in schools beyond administrative tools, attending to one of BNCC’s recommendations. Based on the massive popularity of electronic games as a hobby for young Brazilians perceived in this previous project, the EducaTech-RJ project, on the other hand, consists of workshops that involve students on the theme “culture and digital literacy with a focus on computer games.” The target audience is all the secondary schools of Rio de Janeiro State, engaging 1231 schools. The project aims to increase student's awareness of the possibilities of adopting, manipulating, and creating technology. The workshops are also an opportunity to collect data about technology adoption and envision technology as an educational tool in schools.