Professor's Henry Jenkins on games-based learning at SxSWi 2009

The MIT Professor describes why games are great learning tools, and how new gaming paradigms can change the educational system.

• Category

  Gaming

[daddyslackful]

"Educational" games can be good for some consolidation and practice in an amusing way. The true strength of games is the way the highlight the way learning happens. Kids can teach themselves how to play a game without a teacher or a manual. Turn kids on to the fact that they can 'teach' themselves and then get them to understand that ALL of life is like that. Learning doesn't happen in schools, SCHOOLING happens in schools. The two are not mutually exclusive but they aren't the same thing..

[GravWave]

Interesting. I've played educational games before but they gave up being fun. A lot of them are just "regular work with cute themes and interactivity." I think fun design mechanics should still be fun but somehow incorporate the logic of the material they're teaching. You know those games where you have to arc a cannon or bomb? Have the freefall equations for that arc there and have them play around with the numbers and discover for themselves what they do and how they will bomb their opponent.