GamingCurriculum

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  • High school urges students to play and design video games

    by 
    Ludwig Kietzmann
    Ludwig Kietzmann
    07.25.2006

    In your internal list of things that are unlikely to happen in the current span of civilization, it's entirely possible that "educational institutions urge students to play video games" is pretty high up, nestled snugly between "cactus and balloon become best friends" and "Duke Nukem Forever comes out." Well, with colleges lobbing gaming degrees left and right already, perhaps it's time to update the list. A new high school in Dayton, Ohio has decided to embrace gaming and use it as a teaching tool -- apparently, they have this crazy idea that games can teach you more than just how to slaugher prostitutes and decapitate aliens. The basic gist should be easy to grasp if you boast any familiarity with games or school. Preferably both. Many find traditional school work to be considerably less pleasant than the average video game (with some exceptions) and so Dayton Technology Design High School deemed it a good idea to incorporate games directly into the curriculum, tasking students with designing an educational game of their own and learning at every step of the way. It's an interesting idea, to be sure, though it likely has plenty of risks associated with it. A passion for games may very well enable more focused learning, but it could just as easily lead to distraction if it's not finely controlled. Just ask anyone who failed an exam because they simply had to take down that last colossus before they could go to bed.[Note: A golden star goes to the first commenter to politely raise his hand and identify the game the screenshot is taken from.]