Children are always up for a good game. Well, who isn’t? Pretend that you are back in school. For the rest of the class period you have two choices as to how you can spend your time. Option 1 is to struggle through endless arithmetic and English worksheets without any feedback except for a stamp that says “Great Job!” Option 2 is to work on the same arithmetic and English content, but on a computer. Yes, you can play a computer game to learn your numbers and verbs. Which option would you choose? Which option would children most likely choose? Option 2 of course!
Using computer software in education is not a new concept. Computer games have been used as a learning tool for the past two decades because they help students with basic skills, logic, problem solving, and various other academic skills. The Oregon Trail was a popular computer game in the 1980’s. This game helped students to work on their planning and problem solving skills. If you have ever played that game you might have realized that it was difficult to complete the trail. Everyone in my wagon always died of Cholera.
Parents and educators that are unfamiliar with computer game...