When video games make the news, it's usually because Grand Theft Auto IV or another game of questionable moral value has parents in an uproar. But are there educational qualities in some games that teachers may want to take a look at? For several years, experts have praised some popular titles for their educational value and point out that young people are familiar with and enjoy the medium. The newest to receive such accolades is Spore—a game where the player controls a living organism over billions of years, from a cell to a fully evolved creature—and scientists are excited at the prospect that it may be used in science classes.
Spore isn't the only video game that has been praised for its potential impact on education. Sim City allows players to build and manage a city in a realistic way, and some see the Civilization series as a good tool for learning about history.
Do you think video games have educational uses? Are you using them in your classroom?
I actually reviewed this game with my son, age 16 and daughter age 13 and found it very interesting and thought provoking. We found ourselves using science terminology to describe what was happening, what could happen and for predicting long term impact.
Posted by: Frank O | September 08, 2008 at 05:45 PM
The SimCity simulations are great to show perhaps the development of a city that is pre-planned. However, buildings can only arise along roads. This may not be accurate in real life as human settlements can arise organically along railroads and even rivers or even along the sea coast.
Posted by: Amran Noordin | September 08, 2008 at 08:37 PM
I think we know as much about our creation and the origin of the universe as a flea knows about how the dog he lives on was created. So yea you could say Spore is "educational", however its not really proven that anything has evolved from single cell organisms. In fact, I think there is more evidence that the universe is de-evolving rather than evolving, which would mean that we were put here or brought here from somewhere else.
Posted by: Free Games | September 29, 2008 at 11:09 AM
I fully believe that educational games have a place. The key is to have a solid base to work from and sometimes that can be a challenge. Finding the right games to embody the concepts you are looking to teach is not an easy task in my opinion! In the end, if you can find the right one I think it will be memorable for the kids, and they'll end up remembering the important stuff too. I still remember some of the educational games from when I was a kid! My .02c.
Posted by: free games | October 07, 2008 at 11:10 PM
Spore is one of the greatest games ever made.
I have heard of teachers using second life in classrooms. I think there is alot of potential for video games in classrooms. I remember in school we had a few basic teaching games on the computer. With technology having increased so much it seems only logical for teachers to use this medium to teach students.
Posted by: snes roms | October 17, 2008 at 10:39 PM
Yes, too bad only negative news get reported in most media outlets.
Posted by: Gamer | October 24, 2008 at 10:10 AM