Can games really be educational? They are certainly addictive and engaging. Can we harness this aspect of games and use it to learn? Here’s a recent article by Anne Derryberry on the topic of serious games and in this video I show you why I believe the answer is yes as well. Let’s talk about what really good teaching is and what really good games are like. Then I take you on a brief tour of what I believe are some of the best examples of great educational games.
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February 26, 2009You make a good point. Sometimes you have to learn stuff that just isn’t fun. Perhaps I need to add a note to the show notes for this episode to make it clear that I don’t think everything you learn in school should always be fun. I taught statistics for many years and while I always used a cute little program that required students to guess at the value of a correlation by looking at a scattergram (which i also made into a group competition by rewarding “points” to which ever group came the closest to the actual correlation), it’s also true that at some point we had to sit down and learn how to calculate a correlation. But at least the game brought some fun into the task and it also taught students how to be able to look at a graph and figure out what it meant. So yes – I agree that there’s a time for games and a time for work. Thanks Stas!
Stas Sajin
February 26, 2009Hi,
I have just a few questions. But first, I find you podcasts enjoyable and informative. Thanks.
What if there is an over-reliance on learning through entertainment and when faced with “boring” ways of learning children will not be able to learn? I mean, it is good that a child’s enthusiasm and interest is prolonged, but at some point they become adults. Will those adults learn through games too? I am for educational games, but I find that at some point a transition must be done into the adulthood.