The workshop will present digital music games created using simple applications. These games aim to enhance music learning in a way that attracts children's interest. Games in general are children’s favorites. They increase their engagement and intrinsic motivation to practice without getting tired. Modern students become familiar with the digital world very early in their life. In fact they can be called digital natives while their teachers can be called digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001). Prensky says that digital natives' way of learning is radically different from their teachers’ way. For that reason he believes that traditional educational methods and tools don’t interest modern students much and they don’t lead to the desired educational results.

Incorporating digital games in education helps teachers to bridge the digital gap between themselves and their students. Last years more and more educators around the world are being involved in creating their own games. This tendency came to a peak during the COVID19 pandemic which led so many countries around the world to introduce distance learning for all ages. Many applications easy to use have been created to comply with this educational need. When digital games are well-structured and offer feedback, they can be played by children without the educator’s presence and can prolong learning after the typical music lesson. 

During the workshop we’ll concentrate on how to create games based on a fairy tale using simple applications that don't require specialized knowledge. In the first part there will be an exhibition of games based on a selected fairy tale such as: 

• Wheel of fortune
• Quizz
• Poison Rhythm game
• Board game

In the second part of the workshop we’ll create our own game in Google Slides. Google Slides can easily be used in any computer, offer flexibility and many features that help create a game step by step. We are going to create a Poison Rhythm Game; it is a number of rhythmic patterns that the educator reads and students repeat. Students repeat all the rhythmic patterns except for the Poison Pattern which is pointed out to them at the beginning of the game and which they have to remember. We will give a template of the game to the participants which they can edit. We will discuss important factors that can make it interesting for the students. We will choose relevant images and music and record our voice on a music background. We will combine the presentation, the recording and the music background to create the final video of the game.

Participants will need to have their own Google account (with any e-mail address they wish). During the workshop they will be connected to their Google account to create the game. Participants are warmly encouraged to choose any fairy tale they like and create a game based on this fairy tale. Ideally each participant will create a different Poison Rhythm Game and in the end we will share everyone’s game.

• Μουσικές εμπειρίες, δια βίου μουσική μάθηση και ευζωία
• Νέοι γραμματισμοί (ψηφιακός, πολυτροπικός, ηλεκτρονική πληροφορία)
• Η μουσική διδασκαλία-μάθηση σε τυπικά, μη τυπικά και άτυπα περιβάλλοντα

Chrysi Parpara has a BA in Musicology and Music Education from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a MA in Education from the Hellenic Open University. She teaches general music in Primary schools in Greece. She has bublished a book with Listening Maps for Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". She has created e-books and games appropriate for online teaching of music.