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Kinect used to teach in South African primary school
Microsoft is giving primary school kids in South Africa a chance at a real hands-off education. Classrooms at Lakeside Park Primary, in the Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal district (yes, it's a Natal project) are being equipped with Kinect cameras and Xbox 360s as part of a Microsoft initiative, in order to encourage English use in the classroom. "Shy learners, who take months to speak up in class in their mother tongue – let alone in English, were already shouting out to classmates to 'jump' and 'duck' with no inhibition," Lakeside Park Primary Deputy Principal Karen Kirsten explained. According to XboxGaming, the Kinect and its English-language games are used to reduce the affective filter involved in learning and speaking English, so it can be better used as the teaching language in the classroom. As a bonus, it teaches valuable mime skills.
PSP-based augmented reality turns school into an adventure worth writing about
Kids at Mansel Primary school used PSPs to escape from the real world and go on fantasy adventures while at school -- as part of an assignment. The "Imaginary Worlds" project used the system with AR software to allow kids to design fantasy landscapes (like the "Tower of Doom") at school by finding art online and matching it with scannable codes that were hidden around the school. The kids then took camera-equipped systems around the school and embarked on virtual "quests" in these self-made locales, finding items to defeat a monster, and writing about the experience afterward. According to a subsequent evaluation, the experimental program was met with enthusiasm, and kids behaved well and cooperated while taking part. The evaluation notes that the kids played Invizimals first as an introduction to the AR tech, which proved to be a "useful hook-in to the project." We think the project is onto something -- not just as a teaching tool, but as a game. We totally want to go have a quest and then chronicle the hardships of said quest.
Zombie Cow's Privates to receive extension in 2011
Zombie Cow's educational, dirty-minded twin-stick shooter, Privates, will see its rich, lore-filled universe expanded sometime next year with a free DLC expansion. Cow's Dan Marshall explained on the developer's blog, "we've decided to go all-out and make a whole new adventure, this time set inside a gentleman's bits," which may be the first and only time you'll ever hear a video game creator make that claim when referring to one of his studio's projects. Soak in this moment. Really soak it in. Of course, the expansion won't just add the novelty of its new, phallic setting -- it will also "cram in new gameplay mechanics, new enemy types, new locations, and a new player character." Keep an eye out for the add-on sometime around Easter next year. But hopefully not on Easter, because we can't imagine anything more alarming to find in our baskets than a big pile of STDs.
Zombie Cow Studios' Privates exposed on the internet
Privates, the latest opus from British indie devs Zombie Cow Studios, creators of such irreverent adventure games as Ben There, Dan That and Time Gentlemen, Please is now available to download for free through the television station which commissioned the game, Channel 4. We've been playing it for a half hour or so, and can confidently say it's the best comedic, educational run-and-gun shooter set inside of a human vagina that we've ever played. In all honesty, Privates is actually a fun little game with clever touches to make it a legitimate tool for teaching teens about sex -- for instance, you have to scan enemies (HPV, herpes, sperm, etc.) to learn more about them, informing you and the rest of your squad about their real-life symptoms and in-game weaknesses. It's fun, enlightening, chock-full of humorous dialogue, and, yes, it also contains a level titled "Campaign in the Arse." [Update: Hey gang, if you've had problems running Privates, there's a big update available now. If you're still having problems, you can submit a bug report and get a free copy of every Zombie Cow game. Not too shabby!]
University of Central Florida's abstinence edu-game is just the best thing ever
Look, we really wanted to write a harsh diatribe about the University of Central Florida's federally-funded game development project: An Avatar-esque edu-game that teaches young girls to ignore the sexual advances of their contemporaries. We wanted to talk about all the things that $434,000 of taxpayer's money could have been spent on, or how silly of a concept a motion-controlled abstinence game really is. Unfortunately, our spite turned to pure, unbridled glee after watching this Fox News Report on the project. Between the news-friendly gaming lingo ("digital puppetry," "jumping into the skin," "interactors," etc.) and the contorted, soulless husks that comprise the game's cast of sexually aware characters, the video -- posted just after the jump -- is a comedy goldmine. Dig in, gang.
Namco Bandai helping to create textbooks with RPG elements
We spent a remarkable amount of our formative years doodling video game characters into the margins of our textbooks, so we appreciate Namco Bandai's initiative to cut out the middle man. According to Andriasang, the developer recently partnered with publisher Gakko Tosho to create elementary school textbooks which feature persistent storylines and other RPG elements. For instance, a "Math Adventure" book has student solving arithmetic puzzles to gain keys, which can be used to earn some form of treasure. It's certainly an interesting take on the concept of educational gaming -- and, based on our elementary school Writing class journal, which is literally filled, cover to cover, with Pokémon illustrations and fan fiction, we imagine it'll gain some traction with Japan's young people.
Nintendo reveals specialized DS software for classrooms
Japanese schools have integrated the Nintendo DS into their curricula before, but now there is a program specifically designed for that use. Demonstrating its commitment to make the DS a multifunctional lifestyle device, Nintendo announced a new educational program being made in collaboration with Sharp System Products. The DS Kyoushitsu ("DS Classroom") program allows a teacher to use a PC to interface over local wireless with up to 50 DS systems in a classroom. The system can be used for problem sets, with the answers checked automatically and sent to the teacher's PC, surveys, tests, and other multiple-choice activities. In addition, non-multiple-choice questions can be answered by writing or drawing on the DS's touch screen, with screen images sent to the teacher. The program can be used with any DS, so presumably it's up to schools whether or not they need to provide hardware. We're pretty sure Japanese school kids have easy access to DS systems already.[Via Andriasang]
Former Supreme Court Justice designing educational game
In recent years, gaming has made great inroads with non-traditional demographics like women and senior citizens. There is one segment of the population, though, that has remained extremely hard for the game industry to crack: former Supreme Court justices.That looks like it might be changing, though, if Sandra Day O'Connor's recent speech to the Games for Change conference is any indication. The former associate justice for the country's highest court is using her retirement to help design an educational game called Our Courts with University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor James Paul Gee. The game, due out in September 2009, will let players "step into the shoes of a judge, a legislator, an executive" and "teach [players] how to think through and analyze problems, take action and voice opinions to their elected representatives," according to O'Connor.O'Connor sees the game as the first step to fixing the American public's deplorable knowledge of civic matters. "Only one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government, but two-thirds can name a judge on American Idol," she told the conference. Maybe if some of those branches of government passed a bill commenting on Sanjaya's hair they'd get more attention. We're just saying ...
Kaplan to train you for the SATs through your DS
For those of you looking to bone up on your college-level analogies, Kaplan, Inc. has teamed with Aspyr Media to bring you a SAT prep title for the DS. The project is still early in development, so there is no name or screens yet. Sadly, that's about all we have to go on right now.We must say, the decision to bring such an application to the DS shows (to us, at least) the kind of smarts that would score well on the SATs. [Via Joystiq]
Joystiq hands-on: My Word Coach (Wii, DS)
Will Ubisoft's My Word Coach, a more linguistically-oriented Brain Age, find an audience? We hope so; as edugaming titles go, this was certainly one of the more enjoyable entries.The differences between the DS and Wii versions are minimal: the DS has two extra "recreational" games, whereas five of Wii's minigames support multiplayer (the DS only has two). There are six "core" (i.e. education-centric) games of three difficulty levels apiece. The recreational games are also beneficial, as exposure to words helps retention, according to senior designer Peter Yang.%Gallery-4922%
Slate: Serious games are seriously boring
For all the bluster about serious games being the wave of the future, most examples of the form thus far are missing that key element of ... what's the word ... oh yeah, fun! Slate takes a withering look at the state of the serious games industry by asking the simple question: "Can a game still be called a game if it isn't any fun?"It's a good question, and one that doesn't reflect kindly on many of the serious games out there. The author is especially derisive of training games that mirror the repetitive, mindless nature of the workplace -- games that are "less alluring to people who love games and more alluring to people who don't. Your boss, for example."The author suggests that developers who want to make learning fun should focus on the fun first and the learning second. We couldn't agree more. We learned more about urban planning from SimCity than we ever learned about arithmetic from Math Blaster -- mainly because we kept playing SimCity long after Math Blaster got donated to the secondhand store. In other words: you can lead a player to an educational game, but you can't make them play. They have to want to do that.
Scratch teaches game programming, commenting etiquette
We here at Joystiq are big proponents of teaching via video games. That's why we were happy to stumble across Scratch, a super simple programming language created by researchers at MIT. Using an incredibly intuitive drag-and-drop interface, Scratch gives you all the tools you need to make simple interactive Java applets, complete with graphics and sound, without any advanced programming knowledge.How easy is it? To find out, we put together the simple program shown above. It took about an hour, and that's without even reading the FAQ or watching the handy instructional movies. In fact, the biggest time expenditure was coming up with comments that would actually be useful and helpful to our readers. Like we said, we're big proponents of teaching via video games.[Via The Tech Savvy Educator]
Schools test edugaming in classroom
We've spoken ad infinitum on educational gaming, exercise gaming and serious games. It's an important cause and one that can prove mutually beneificial. (For the educators, a new way to teach and motivate children; for the game makers, a feeling of civic duty and another source of income.)Reuters has a rather lengthy piece (with an eye-catching headline) about current efforts to incorporate the interactivity of video games with schooling. Games requiring team effort are presented (Indiana University associate professor Sasha Barab's Quest Atlantis, pictured), as are proponents of using game-related technologies in grades six through 12. The latter, Katie Salen, is speaking at a Living Game Worlds symposium later this month.The article tackles the other side of the issue, that games have been linked (and just as often unlinked) to attention deficit disorder and aggressive behavior. Everything good comes with some consequence. We feel that aspects of the video game technology can outweigh consequences when incorporated with the bad. That, and we're hoping to rekindle our love with a new generation of Math Blasters and Mario Teaches Typing.
Gamez R gud for learnin', sez researcherz
The Chicago Tribune has written up a nice little survey of some of the research being done on the educational benefits of video games. The studies are still too early on to generate any real conclusions, but the anecdotal evidence is impressive, according to the article. Researchers are lauding the critical thinking skills engendered by simulation and role-playing games, and the ability of games to keep terminally bored students engaged with a subject. Even the socialization offered by talking about a game like Grand Theft Auto has educational value, according to the University of Wisconsin's Kurt Squire.
Serious Games Summit: ExerGaming + EduGaming = ExerLearning
It's a no-brainer that games like Dance Dance Revolution can do wonders in combating our country's growing youth obesity epidemic. But can rhythm-action games also help children improve cognitive skills like reading comprehension and concentration?Former Florida teacher Judy Shasek would likely answer that question with an emphatic yes. With the help of a $125,000 sponsorship from RedOctane, Shasek has integrated games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero and accessories like the X-Board into the curricula at three test schools around the country for the past three years. The results, Shasek said in a presentation at the Serious Games Summit, mirror the results of numerous academic studies that show 10 minutes of aerobic activity before a test can be more helpful than 20 minutes of tutoring, and that replacing four hours per week of class time with physical education helps standardized test scores go up.What's more, playing rhythm games leads to improved algebra skills, Shasek says, and reading fast-moving notes in games like DDR helps train children's eyes for reading text. No ones really sure why these games have the cognitive effects that they do, but the working theories involve increased oxygenation to the brain and hidden, unlocked power in the cerebellum, the brain's motion and balance center. Whatever the science, Shasek says introducing the games also has fringe benefits like decreased absenteeism and improved attentiveness among students.Shasek is hoping to expand her program to teachers and schools across the country through her web site, Generation Fit, which includes some great videos of students getting their dance on. She's also trying to expand the benefits to the adult workplace with Revive! Nation, a program focused on adding rhythm games to break/lunch rooms. With physical activity on the decline among kids and adults, we can only say more power to her.
The Nobel Prize for games
No, the prestigious international organization named for the inventor of dynamite isn't giving a prize for gaming along with its other prizes this week, but the Nobel Foundation is using some interesting educational games to explain the concepts behinds the winning science experiments, books and, er, concepts of peace.The games aren't going to make you reconsider buying a next generation console or anything, but they are a bit more interesting than the usual crap that passes itself off as edu-gaming. This simple platforming game used to explain laser physics is particularly notable for including actual hidden items and interesting mini-games with its dry trivia questions about lasers.This is all well and good, but when will we finally see a peace prize awarded to the person who finally brought down international criminal Carmen Sandiego?
