What Good are Games?

Everyone is familiar with electronic learning games that go something like this: you complete a set of math problems. You get to shoot at aliens.

While this old “carrot and stick” kind of game does have its place, game theorists and educators are excited about other, more complex games and their potential for use in learning.

In more complex games, gamers get to “try on” various perspectives:

• they can become mini-entrepreneurs, trying to balance supply and demand as they set up their own Lemonade Stand.
• they can travel the Viking world searching for gifts for their captain in Thorkel and the Trading Ship.
• or they can become an army of one in America’s Army.

In other words, gamers get to learn from experience, a potent combination. They become the “expert” in charge of their own failure or success. And, if they need to, they can always get help . . . just when they need it. Sounds pretty much like an ideal classroom, doesn’t it?

But this only skims across the surface of a lot of research that’s going on today. MPT --and many other organizations -- are investigating this question. We’ll keep you posted about what we find.

In the meantime, you can investigate yourself. Look at other site sections to find some good paths to follow.

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