Gaming as an educational tool

[swatiraohnlu]

For lack of interest in educational activities in kids, video games are not the cause. Video games are a symptom. They were turned off a long time before they got here. We can design better games. Most of the educational games that are out there today are really flashcards. They're glorified drill and practice. They don't have the depth, the rich narrative that really engaging video games have, that the kids are really interested in. So we need to design better games.

 

[swatiraohnlu]

Although simulation and strategy entertainment games have been around for a long time (the Sims, SimCity, Zoo Tycoon, etc.), educators (and others who want to reach kids) are gradually recognizing the powerful value of simulations in teaching. A growing number of intriguing simulations are being developed. There's Food Force, a free educational game in which you serve on a team of UN experts who must fight hunger on an island that's suffering from both drought and civil war. There's the online game collection at Nobelprize.org, which helps older kids understand the science behind many important Nobel Prize winners. And there's Democracy, in which the player acts as President of a democratic country, making decisions about taxes, economics, and foreign policy, and seeing their impact on the citizenry.