Here ! Here !
Quoting Matt Johnson
Also the vast majority of games have little or no place in schools or offices...
Wow! I couldn't disagree more! I'm a teacher first, and a (primary) ICT coordinator second, and I really rate good quality strategy or simulation games for kids of all ages. I'm not talking about just teaching ICT here (although getting a game to work taught me about those ol' Windows files - config.sys etc). It inspires some (especailly boys, who are lagging behind Nationally) to read hefty manuals (it's what got me reading and I went on to study English Lit.). It gets them thinking about the problems in the game. It motivates them to do all sorts of cross-curricular work (writing their own manuals in a DTP, keeping spreadsheets of their results, writing up reviews).
I know games have a part to play in Education (Theme Park, SimCity (LinCity), Age of Empires are the obvious choices). We even use play stations here for the children's spare time. The conversation is stimulated for those who would normally prat around and get into trouble. It can give children with lower academic ability a chance to really know their stuff. There's loads of kudos in being the only one who knows how to complete level 5. You get the picture. Lower down the school, it helps to develop, among other things, fine motor skills.
I know these policies have bared fruit. Even if you're into measuring the success of a school by measuring how well it can get children to answer correctly in a test, then we have the proof. I teach a class of well motivated and enthusiatic 10 year olds. I like computing, but I'm a teacher at heart, and I can teach best when the kids really want to be there. I'm not a KS3 or 4 expert, but doesn't it apply right through?
Cheers
-- Matt
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------------------------------------- Simon Davies System Manager Queen Elizabeth Cambria School Tel : 01267 236451 Fax : 01267 238224 www.satproj.org.uk/~cambria -------------------------------------