Too late, I caught up with an e-mail from Norm Sutaria about a resource that would have come in quite handy for my video games presentations this week, in Bismarck. It’s a recent blog post in Jeff Cobb’s Mission to Learn blog, 26 Learning Games to Change the World. They are all serious games aimed at exposing students to some of the critical problems that face people around the world, including malaria, famine, nuclear proliferation, and congress (not a joke).
One game, World Without Oil is about the first 32 weeks of a global oil crisis. It launches with the fictitious announcement that gas, at the pumps, now costs $4.00 a gallon.
Sutaria also suggested ICED (I Can End Deportation), which he’d just learned about at the Games for Change Conference.
Thanks, Norm!
I love the theory of “Learning through Play”. However do not believe all play is necessarily a game.
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David,
Thanks for the mention of the 26 Learning Games post on Mission to Learn, and even more so for pointing out ICED. I will update my post to note this one. Hoping to discover others as well in the aftermath of the Games for Change conference (which unfortunately I was unable to attend this year).
Jeff
Games are great motivational tools, and if they have a serious purpose, we’re getting the most bang from our buck. This format is a hook to get kids to look at serious problems, without realizing they are thinking about them. I’ve never promoted use of video games, but I have to admit that without violence, and with the idea of actually making critical thinkers out of our young people, I could quite possibly change my mind. It might take my kids a while to realize I was serious, however. The quote is both a catchy way to market the games and to make us consider the game maker’s purpose and message.