Myst 'Exile' in the classroom

[emerytails24]

Love this game!!

[LokiClock]

Wow. Talk about ahead of the curve.

[DaRkLoRd1061]

next week riven!!

[Microsoftultimatefan]

These kids should be at least 6 years old or older. Because the rating of the game is E. (Everyone 6+.) Are they going to do the original Myst.

[dakubeaner]

myst beats oregon trail anyday!

[KNAAC]

If I was a teacher I would use games in my class.

[oskulock]

Hmmm.... You gave me a nice Idea in That one. I should probably use Myst as a learner myself. :-)

Im a Teacher Myself and i am also, as you can say, "Myst Fan" Since it was the favourite game of mine in my childhood.

Myst surely does have a great amount of text, poets and historical references what makes it a great for classes, i only wish that children would still play games like this...

These days you can only hear them talking about AK-47 Rifles and like... Where is the world going..

[necro2607]

@oskulock yes, that is because they are playing extremely realistic war games like Modern Warfare 2, etc... That stuff is really fun to play, but it's very graphic and shouldn't be played by people who are not old enough to internalize that kind of content without having some negative effects. I can say firsthand that playing violent games at a young age changed how I thought about the world, and social behaviours and etc.

[valveforlife]

haha, the kids don't want to leave the classroom for lunch.

[redace135]

Wonderful!

[Morethanicouldhandel]

0:37 that kid's gonna grow up to be a serial killer

[FTWinnable]

Best teacher ever. hahha

[Deflectioneer]

This. Is. Awesome.

[LIGHTRONIX]

haha nice

[96fufi]

As a TEFL teacher (and a huge myst fan) I found this class wonderful and a great way to share your love for Myst at the same time.

Gave me great ideas for my classes for helping my students in vocabulary and narrative writing...

I could go on and on... Thanks for this post and kudos...

[farquad93]

next week, resident evil 2

[clarf]

@farquad93 - hmmm, not sure how that would improve their literacy skills. Still, always useful to know how to cope with a zombie teacher I guess :-)

[EchoBoomer1987]

@clarf It would teach them about Biology and how the human body can mutate!

[Microsoftultimatefan]

@clarf Next week should be abe's oddysee.

[Ballpuncher]

@farquad93 Lol, how awesome would that be?

[Microsoftultimatefan]

@farquad93 I think that would be to violent for the kids. But I guess that kind of stuff doesn't matter in the educational world. I've been to a museam that had an anatomicaly correct statue of a person. There was no censoring at all.

[librielle]

ce jeu est effectivement riche de connaissances il touche tous les domaines et mérite tout à fait d'être étudié comme une source et une oeuvre d'art.

[TrackManiaMon]

cool teacher

[smint25]

@TrackManiaMon he was my old teacher :)

[TheDoogleBoy]

Surely the Myst games would help with problem solving, and lateral thinking.

Great idea. I wish my school did this. :)

I wish I could play through Myst III for the first time again. Such an engaging plot, and it's my favourite in the series.

[aptspire]

mmmh, I would have loved if my teacher of English had used Exile for his class (I did use the 1st Myst game to counter an argument in college English about how games of the mid 90's were all plotless) or a philosophy teacher using the Dream in Myst IV :)

[periklistsoukalas]

excellent idea ! Bravo to the teacher !

[JackleTheMantle]

Heh..Very nice.

[floooble3]

Oh my gosh, this is such a cool use of the game!

Myst Exile scared me more out of any in the series at the beginning with the Malatov cocktail scene. I had the volume pretty high.

[fishdified]

Neat Idea

[Remorse1994]

All I can say is...lucky kids!

[SeitxiS]

eheh what an awesome teacher :))

[SeitxiS]

whoa, great and very nice teacher :)

[ClitoriousCeasar]

this teacher is amazing.. and the students are very smart i think.. product of his work i guess.. openminded resourceful people like him can produce geniuses

[JulesHunnixxx]

Tim Rylands was my primary school teacher, myst was a really good idea and we all got really involved with it, i never wanted to go to break or lunch after spending the lesson on myst, definatley the best teacher ive had.

[theoppermaneffect]

he should get the three books (real ones) of myst.

[patzivota22]

r they good? I have them just havn't read them... lol.

[XxJenniebbzxX]

awesome teacher.

[tubeyouBLOWme]

Oh , its lunch time. nice call teach. i love the game also.

[scottsumner1]

we play MYST at school its a well gd game

[jinxxyy]

These kids have to know the great old games before PS3 o X360.

[matthewmegaman]

my teacher has this and were doing this

[futuredirector1138]

He just liked Myst and wanted to play it in school... i totally understand him.

[dhfdfhdfh]

Wow little kids with english accents are annoying.

[lazlouz201]

This looks like a good idea - I've never heard of the game you are using, but I might look it up and have a go with my Year 6s ... your class are writing really well - have you been using VCOP with them too?

[SidraWing]

I knew videogames had educational value!!

[dondons1987]

I played the first Myst when i was that age and it scared the shit outta me!

[grimbrian]

I know right? Those were that days. Riven scared me too.

[Mutnt]

I wish I had that teacher. It's like.. Wow. That's all I can say. I loved Saavedro, and going through his journals looking at all of the metaphors..

[DeadRavem]

im in the 9th grade too and the only time our language is ever this great is when we are reading romeo and juliet, doll house, or any book! I want our science teacher to use Halo 3 to show physics when teabagging someone!

[actresscp]

That's great. Such a wonderful puzzle in that beautiful, fictional world. To put it to an educational use like that is excellent it really puts a smile on my face :) THAT is what education should look like! And I LOVE exile by the way (though not quite as much as Riven).

[domsmells25]

I find myst exile scaary... i mean the monkey man guy whos trying to kill you and you know that he's on the island and he might come after you any time

[skysamfreeman]

I ALWAYS found the Myst games scary, I'm SO happy I'm not alone!

[AniCator]

They can get quite creepy. It's incredible how they did that. There's no danger at all (well, most of the time) still they did manage to create some kind of a tension. All hail Cyan Worlds! :P

(I have Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation and Myst V: End of Ages)

[XxJenniebbzxX]

yes!

[randomrhys]

what a legend! he reminds me of one of my year 5 teacher.

[j0j0joanna]

Wow!

These kids are better then the majority of my class! And im in year 9!

[whoppertrooper]

That teacher is just awesome ! Wish there we're more like him ! Just awesome.

[KittyCaution]

i think i was in the same age when i played exicle the first time :>

[vlorek]

'It's lunchtime'.....'OOOOOOOOOOOH', haha that is the awesome power of Myst when small children would rather be in the classroom forfeiting their playtime!

[tiagoistheone]

beautiful

[psychopornia]

Brilliant! This is how children should be taught; in a way that stimulates their minds on *their* terms. I was very lucky to have GT teachers who thought like this, and I owe them much in my current educational endeavors. Teachers like this show children that there is a learning experience in everything. The Myst games are excellent for children to play as well, as they are not merely entertaining, but require thinking skills as well. What a stellar teacher. ^_^

[Brazzle]

I would have loved to have watched this video, but it just wouldn't load! Grrrr.

[VaderGaming]

I had Myst 1 on a CD (or floppy disk..? Can't remember XP) when I was like 6 I would just play it every now and then, great games =]

[eleemosynary24]

this is beautiful. i literally dreamed about this when i was a child. i remember suggesting a unit involving the synchronized gameplay of myst to my g&t teacher in 5th grade, but she didn't seem to understand why she'd want to advocate "video games" during school. i'm really impressed with this teacher's awareness and connection to his students, and though this game presents an obvious lesson in physics and problem solving, i love how he found a way to turn it into an english lesson as well.

[eleemosynary24]

this is absolutely beautiful.

[MyJudgement]

God I want that teacher...I'd be the one in the back shouting, "No you fr00b! Its the third lever!"

[xXDarkAngelRawkXx]

man, i wish my teachers did that!

i'd love to be able to play myst during school! :D

[SecretPanda]

ME TOO! =)

[ardendweller3791]

this just made my day, week, and month...i love these games, i have so many good memories of playing with my dad (and teaching him how to solve the puzzles!) and i am nominating this guy for teacher of the decade. those kids will remember that class for the rest of their lives.

[voicecoach4u]

Agreed! My mom and I played Myst, Riven and Exile together. She was brilliant at it. I'm glad you have good memories of it, too.

[hbaytsite]

Hehe...a new kind of British teacher!

[LordeSloth]

OMG, that's something I never thought I'd see. Groaning at lunch time?! Not that some exciting lessons weren't known to me (thankfully), but to be more exciting then food, and a period to yourselves? But, not entirely surprising as it's myst, and the amount of creativity in dem widdle minds.

I hope the future's full of classes being taught more or less with this sort of attitude!

[tracethekriken]

I remember Playing the first myst with my dad.

Hes gone now but I'm still playing myst. I on the 5th one

[mujaku]

The Myst genre teaches us how our intuition works. We are clueless at first as to the conditions of the world we are in--but gradually, as we explore it, we find connections. Moreover--and the fun part--we have to jettison old assumptions which can be a hindrance.

[adviseore]

This is simply remarkable! my applause to the teacher and wonderful Myst games. I too agree, that what this generation needs is more intellectually challenging and logical problem solving.

[tom8008135]

ha ha ha, nice :)

I have such awesome memories of playing myst with my dad when I was younger

[AIRDOLPHIN93]

This is kinda what I've been trying to do at my High School. Trying to incorporate the MYST games as a source of education as they are full of nearly every subject (Physics, Biology, English, Philsophy, Maths and logic/problem solving). So an applause to Mr Rylands :D

MYST is the best :)

[gibblesmorrison]

"Ok, great metaphor Billy.....Now...does anyone know what position i should leave this green dial on the left in....?"

[vampyre202]

That has to be the best english teacher ever

[DeoMachina]

He's obviously some kind of superteacher.

[DgtlOutcst]

awesome teacher

[Antphoneigh]

We played the original Myst on old Macs back in 1996. But our teacher never incorporated the games into lessons like this!

[mikillero]

teaching another group of kids to love myst and all its glory

[lordmonfort]

That is honestly one of the most inspiring videos I've seen on YouTube. Everytime I think about it, it brings a giant smile to my face.

What a wonderful way to teach...

[nectarguru]

Totally agree. Although I own Exile I have yet to play it. Currently playing through Riven again, which is a nightmare. Wish I had a teacher like that when I was that age.

[TheStinkyHindu]

Great video! Thinking back to when I was in school and then using those awful black & white Mac setups, I wish I could have had the experience of Myst then.

I too refuse to play Myst IV, V until I finish Riven. I'm currently playing Riven on my PSP. It was like the game was created just for the PSP system. I did play a bit of Myst III, not much though but it will be launched right after I complete Riven.

This also goes to show the type of people that play Myst, everyone here gets along.

[TheAmazingPudding]

this teacher got all my sympathy. He is fantastic

[happy7117]

Wouldn't it be great if every video game taught us like MYST!?

I'm sure there are games out there that can educate and entertain!

[happy7117]

I never knew Myst had such a great educational value till now!!!

I wish the teachers when I went to high school and junior high used video games to teach us!!

That's partly why I don't remember anything they taught me in school- they did not make learning fun!!

[phazon95]

the myst series is really an amazing game...

[0oclerico0]

i agree with that, myst exile was my favorite of them all.

MYST REALY ROCKS!

[Shintaka9009]

Were the students copying the text in the books?

AWESOME. XD

[skacannon]

That's genius, that is how you can engage a kid and unlock his/her mind.

[Napster921]

Very cool teacher! Myst is a great learning tool, it's an intelligent game made by intelligent people.

[MasterToku]

This is a shining example of pedagogy. Would that I had such open-minded teachers... if I ever get into teaching, I'd do as much of that as they let me.

"Okay, kids, here's a copy of Spore: Go home and explore the planet and report back with detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna..."

Sweet.

[jmbsquared]

Us edu system messed up by overindulgent parents. I know I'm a teacher -- if it doesn't get you into college, they don't want it.

[mg115ca]

*applause*

I wish my teacher had done this sort of thing with my class...

[Psychonaut222]

While this intelligent discussion is going on across the pond... our kids are going to high school with a 3rd grade reading level....

*tear.

[matrixhed]

Is this school private or public? These kids are way smarter than the average high schooler in my home town. Great teacher!

[Onimyst]

Hi! it's a state school in the UK which is government not private education. I use the game now too in my class!

[rushfan8]

theres a reason their education is so much beter than the education in the states

[Ballpuncher]

OMG + 1 to Mr. Rylands!

[NovaIce]

Dude, what a cool teacher.

[ahref]

you could look at it another way:

teacher likes the game but cannot get further.

teacher uses kids to help him complete the game

one slight thing i hope he didnt do. the messages from sveedo(yes i cant spell his name) could perhaps be scary.

[oleedee]

cool

[R0XASnummber13]

Omg my teacher did same thing

[BrezHurley]

i wish i went to your school.

[iiarwain]

If I was a teacher, I'd also expose them to Pac-Man and Space Invaders =P My lessons would be great!

[teenr0cker]

Man, that rocks

[flamethrower1411]

awesome teacher man wish i had that!!!

[shmeexkenny]

i wish my shool'd take poetry and writing this far. that'd make it so much more...tolerable. I love this game to death, and I think the fact kids are exposed to it is great!

[uberlutra]

"That's a really great use of a comma there" Twenty years on J'nanin made Saavedro really good with commas XD

heck, even kids love the end of Amateria. Well, who doesn't...

hahaha that is just too awesome.

[CEEthedinoman]

I replayed it like 3 times when I first solved it. That and the bird thing.

[DoctorVince]

I loved the roller coaster ride too. I remember the first time I finished that puzzle, I wasn't expecting that much action at all.

And was great use for an even great game. "Chapeau bas" to the teacher.

[mystgame]

awesome..! they must be happy :)

[happy7117]

Man!! If video games were used to help teach all subjects in school, my grades would be awesome!! No wonder I never liked school!! The teachers were boring, and never made it exciting!! This guy makes you want to learn-he makes you want to love English!! At the same-time he entertains!! I never knew video games could be educational AND fun!!

[xprincessofpainx]

HAHA!

oh my goodness!

it's me at the start with my fingers in my mouth :S

okayy...

haha!!

xxxx

[Dargakis]

these are good games. too bad all the kids are playing halo :(

[Mattbluhalofan]

That would be the best... class... EVER.

Myst 101!

[klobiber]

in want to go in this school ,i´m from austria ..leider

[StreetFight23]

like a gaping wound, yes

[g10tto]

wow! kids pissed off because it's time for class to break for lunch. is he not the best?

(wish i had those kids to help /me/ beat the game ;)

[Gehn]

wow! That's so cool! Myst is superb indeed...

[IchibodCrane]

cool! What an awsome teacher! I wish I had him when I was a kid!!! 5 stars

[Klunky4billion]

Awesome!