Learning with Video Games

Posted by Phin Upham

What if the traditional school system got a makeover? Instead of paper, pencils, and crayons, the students got to use laptops and play video games? That’s the idea behind a new public school in New York called Quest to Learn. In the article “Learning by Playing,” writer Sara Corbett writes about this unique establishment, where the students are provided with the latest technology to learn and grow. The school was founded by game designer Katie Salen, who has incorporated digital games into the classroom as “powerful tools for intellectual exploration.”

Although the school uses video games to teach lessons, it also has traditional classes like pre-algebra, basic physics, and writing. Children still have nightly reading homework, and, yes, they do eventually use pencils and paper to complete some of it. But, according to the article, students also get to “record podcasts, film and edit videos, play video games, blog avidly, and occasionally receive video message from aliens.”

The author explores the ideas behind the school and wonders whether this type of system actually works. She introduces us to Salen and why she is so passionate about creating a school system that incorporates digital media instead of looking down on it. The article covers every angle of this debate, and includes information from studies on the benefits of playing video games.

To read the entire story, please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0