teachergaming
Latest
Kerbal Space Program plots course for the classroom
Hoping to make rocket science a bit more palatable to the average person, the developers behind Kerbal Space Program have joined forces with TeacherGaming to launch a modified version of the game called KerbalEdu. Kerbal Space Program, for those unaware, is a construction game that gives players a wide range of components, then asks them to build and launch a spacecraft. The game's physics are meticulously detailed, making this easier said than done. In the course of designing a functional spaceship, players will repeatedly crash, explode and lose ships in increasingly spectacular fashion, but with each failure they learn a bit more about how to push their rocket into space. This is what KerbalEdu hopes to capitalize on. "KSP is about making rocket science fun, which is why we didn't need any complex algorithms to realize an educational version is a great extension," said Adrian Goya, co-owner of Kerbal Space Program developer Squad. The first release of KerbalEdu has yet to appear, but TeacherGaming has revealed plans to alter the game's UI to make data collection more simple and akin to real world scientific methods. Further, the educational developer also plans to build a series of lessons into the game that focus on specific topics. These will be complemented by more traditional educational materials which expand upon the lessons taught by the game. Educators interested in this modification can follow its progress and receive details on how to employ it in the classroom on the official KerbalEdu website.
