Games as Learning

[Merusk]

On the way home I heard an interesting article on NPR about "Econ 201".   This is agame that UNC - Greensboro has spent the last 2 years developing to teach microeconomics.  An interesting concept, but one I hadden't seen talked about here. 

From the piece- the instructor didn't want to use a game like Civs or SimCity because it doesn't explain the economics actually going on.  The entire purpose of the game is that it teaches the theories, not that you're applying what you know, and all the study materials, tests and quizes are built-into the game itself.  They apparently plan on comparing this to a traditional class, to see how the two groups of students compare at the end.

Nifty.

[stray]

The game itself looks pretty good (as in, graphics-wise good). I'm sure the principles behind it are neat, but microeconomics is a bit arcane for me at least. I wouldn't know how to judge it.

That particular game aside, if it's fun, then more likely a game could educate me. If fun isn't it's first principle, then I probably won't stick with it long enough to be educated. Fun is a great guiding light and motivator for any kind of lesson.

[Samwise]

No demo version?  I have to register as a student to play the game?  Boo.   

[Stephen Zepp]

There are literally hundreds of projects going on in the Serious Games space that promote a couple of different levels of games in learning:

--teaching game development (duh)
--teaching software development using games as examples
--teaching a huge variety of developmental concepts (from algebra to spelling to logic and problems solving) while "hiding" the learning process within a game

As well as one of my personal favorites, using an fps game placed within the human body who's goal is to destroy an invasion of cancers and save the body--actually used as a therapy mechanism for helping children with cancer to overcome the unique challenges of not understanding what is happening to their body.

[stray]

Not exactly "serious" education, but I noticed this Discovery channel series awhile back which used the Total War engine for visualizing historical battles and the tactics of famous (as well as not so famous) generals. Thought it was pretty amusing.

That's the only example I can think of where a pre-existing commercial game was used for educational purposes.

[edit]

Actually, it was the History Channel. Looks like it's been canceled already.


But anyways..."History" has to be easiest subject to utilize video games with.

I touched on this in that classic games thread a couple of weeks ago.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Where the hell else is a 9 year old American kid going to learn about 16th century feudal Japan (AND stay interested in the subject at the same time)?

[Margalis]

I mentioned this is another thread, but the old Apple game "Robot Odyssee" is helped turn me into the math/eng nerd I am today.

On the flip side I've seen the whole "computers in school" thing turn out awfully. When I was in high school a lot of the time going to the computer room meant wasting time doing nothing with some idiots doing things like pulling out the power cord.

I used to mess around a lot in the computer room from elementary school onward, but I can't think of much actual in-class stuff I did with the computer that helped me at all.

[stray]

I used to mess around a lot in the computer room from elementary school onward, but I can't think of much actual in-class stuff I did with the computer that helped me at all.

Man, it's almost embarrasing to even talk about the "Computer Class" in my elementary school.

Really shitty computers. Even for the time, I think. I don't know what they were, but it was basically just green text on black.

The most vivid memory of shittiness I have is when the teacher set up clear plastic sheets over all the monitors (the kind used in overhead projectors) that had little hand drawn "mazes" on them. She set up the computers to just display a blank screen and a plain blinking cursor. The "game" was to run the cursors through the mazes. Yay.

[Yegolev]

The wife sent me this article.

Man, it's almost embarrasing to even talk about the "Computer Class" in my elementary school.

We had some sort of Apple product, of course.  Not the ][e and they were all green-on-black.  Then again, color screens weren't elementary-school material in 1982.  The most interesting thing I ever did was something I never could duplicate: somehow I saved one program over another and they "merged".  The first was just something that drew a blocky picture of a rocket and the second was something which cycled "colors".  After they went all Brundlecode, I had a rocket that flashed.  Not sure how I managed that.

The most vivid memory of shittiness I have is when the teacher set up clear plastic sheets over all the monitors (the kind used in overhead projectors) that had little hand drawn "mazes" on them. She set up the computers to just display a blank screen and a plain blinking cursor. The "game" was to run the cursors through the mazes. Yay.

This reminds me of the old Odyssey.  If you wanted to play hockey, you stuck the hockey transparency onto the TV.  When you wanted to play football, that was another transparency.  I believe the console also came with poker chips, but I'd have to look that up.

[Sky]

I played an economic resource-management sim on some ancient computer back in the 70s. Very advanced stuff for the time.

Our school used TRS-80s for their computer classes. Once I learned BASIC I pretty much learned stuff on my own after that. Computer classes at school sucked.

[Morat20]

I have fairly fond memories of "The Oregon Trail" and "Where in the World is Carmen Sandeigo". I also learned the basics of programming from tinkering with that little turtle thing (Logo?) on the IIe when I was in elementary school. Learned BASIC about that time too.

That was when I wasn't playing Space Quest, Pirates or Starflight, of course.

My college used SimCity 3000 for at least one course, although I don't know which one. My wife is fairly interested in Spore for the Gifted/Talented program at her school -- assuming it doesn't blow chunks, of course.

[Mortriden]

Not exactly "serious" education, but I noticed this Discovery channel series awhile back which used the Total War engine for visualizing historical battles and the tactics of famous (as well as not so famous) generals. Thought it was pretty amusing.

That's the only example I can think of where a pre-existing commercial game was used for educational purposes.

[edit]

Actually, it was the History Channel. Looks like it's been canceled already.

What killed this series was the enormous amount of re-runs, that and they couldn't really show the battles the way the narrator was describing them.  I used to watch it every chance I got all the same.

[Xanthippe]

I'm glad to see this.  Frankly, it seems like a great way to learn some subjects.

I wish I could take the class, but I'm not going to enroll.

[Krakrok]

What, no one saw the story about Ted Castronova getting funding for his Shakespearean world?

[stray]

What, no one saw the story about Ted Castronova getting funding for his Shakespearean world?

Had to Google that. Sounds kind of neat. I love Shakespeare.

Can't tell if it's limited to an academic audience though.

[Chenghiz]

There's a student-fueled faculty-led project going on at my university developing a FPS designed to teach chemistry concepts.