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Video Games in The Classroom Case Studies
JavaTHut writes "Numerous ideas have emerged lately for how video games might be integrated into the classroom and why they are well suited to learning. Still, many challenges remain as most educators are skeptical of their value, previous failures at 'edutainment' have made the industry weary of such a market and a renewed focus on standardized testing has made it difficult to introduce new curriculum. In an effort to identify what possibilities exist for video games in education, MIT recently hosted a conference [video recording torrents available] bringing together teachers, game designers, industry execs, policy makers and academics - with case studies of classroom uses of Civilization, Neverwinter Nights, The Sims 2 and others."
What ever happened to the Oregon Trail? that was the best Apple IIe game I ever played. It was a blast. I would love to get my hands on an updated version with better graphics, but same gameplay! (and of course, the good old "where in the world is carmen sandiego")
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
If Jack Thompson has his way Sims 2 won't be in any classroom or any stores any time soon. Of course, this could be used as ammunition against Jack's case.
If M.Thompson truely believes Ken and Barbie dolls are anatomically correct then surely The Sims 2 could be used in a Biology class? Maybe even sex ed!
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
I definitely think that games can be used as a valuable asset in the classroom, but Civilization, Neverwinter Nights, and The Sims 2? While I do believe that those games will stimulate your mind (unlike a TV where you are a passive observer), it is quite clear that they can be played at home without having to force it upon the kids. Classroom time can be used more valuably for things that kids do not want to learn -- like math and history. Besides, the last thing I want is to be jealous of my kids playing games at school all day.
The MIT folks were doing this in 1981 and earlier. See ftp://publications.ai.mit.edu/ai-publications/pdf/ AITR-619.pdf
My High School had a few copies of SimCity 3000 (or some such version). We were required to play for our government and economics class.
For world history, we were expected to play Risk (both the board and computer versions were available, until someone figured out how to cheat on the PC).
I also had a teacher who was a huge chess-hound. He let pretty much anyone play chess while he was 'guarding' the study hall or even PE if you wished.
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -Anon.
But then, I study Computer games Programming. Nothing like a few hours of research by player some BF2 or UT2K4.
but on a different note, a couple of staff made some Education Games for a project. Pretty cool.
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
I read that book about how the "video game" generation approached new problems in a more effective and efficient way. So it doesn't surprise me that educators are having difficulties with this. Some people just don't get it.
But, I think that this sort of research will always be taken with a grain of salt. It is hard for some people to find value in any controversial study... if you want to call this controversial.
I recall that when our school got computers, we had Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego and Number Munchers (somehow a copy of Dune 2 also made its way on the machines).
Oregon Trail was cool - because of it I know of places like Fort Walla Walla and whatnot, but the majority of time in the lab was either hunting or how fast can I kill my people (3 days - Cholera)...
Carmen Sandiego - I was too lazy to look up answers and would simply guess or get bored.
But Number Munchers... that game taught mathematics better than anything else. It was awesome - just the right amount of challenge and gameplay with learning intermixed. The games suggested by the researchers simply seem to be a little on the fun side too much.
What they need to do is build software for learning and then make it fun, not build software for entertainment and say what can we learn from this...
There is always a frontier where there is an open and willing mind
Everything I know about economics I learned from playing Lemonade Stand. Everything I know about lemonade, too.
Don't blame me, I voted for Durga.
For those younglings who never played this educational game before or for those old farts (like me!) who want to replay it, you can play the game through Virtual Apple (requires Internet Explorer due to ActiveX controls). Everything, even the annoying loud beeps and music) seems accurate that I can remember from my childhood. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Sure, it is not a game. You could make games like by setting a limit on how many commands can be set to make specific images or make the turtle reach the destination.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
There are plenty of games that are educational! For example, you could play a game I made in Perl a while back called Multiplication Challenge. It is an arithmetic game which quizes you in math.
In general, most young children learn a lot better when they are doing interactive work, not just listening or watching, especially if there is a goal they are trying to achieve (best score, etc.)
I've learned more about geography and history from Europa Universalis II than maybe anywhere else. The user community tends to be well-read and informed; inspires me to go out and find out more about the Timurid Empire or early Tsarist Russia.
why didn't they try "Capitalism"? For me, economics model in this game is amazing.