Schools Are Setting Videogames as Required Coursework

[McMullen]

I wonder how much someone would be able to enjoy, say, Bastion, if they had to hit pause every 5 steps for a description of the political reasoning of that one floating boulder.

They probably wouldn't enjoy it very much, because it would be as ridiculous as you tried to make it sound. Sadly, that example is not a strawman, but an accurate description of what terrible (and, unfortunately, common) English teachers often do. When analysis has helped me enjoy a work more, it has been a more open format. Instead of micromanaging the experience, the good teachers ask you to make an argument based on the whole work and let you choose what you use to back it up. In this way, I actually managed to find Camus' The Stranger worthwhile, even though I wouldn't go as far as saying I enjoyed it, and certainly wouldn't have read it without the class. But I did appreciate it, which means that professor knew what he was doing.

 

[Zipa]

Hmm this reminds me of my old Geography teacher, he was trying to get Civ 3 into his classroom to use it as a fun aid to teach. It all came about where he saw the big ass manual that I was carrying around at the time. I never did find out if he got it into his classroom or not but I hope he did.

 

[Zeldias]

I wanted to try something similar in my classes, but you can't really know what students have access to and what they don't. You sure they have internet to even purchase the game? Do they have a computer? If so, is their computer a shared computer, so they won't always be able to use it (because it's hard for me to buy that a lot of parents will happily see the merit in kids playing video games for homework if the kids are commuting from home (which many did at the colleges I taught at)). How are you gonna prepare them to consider the game as a text and extract meaning from it instead of just plainly having fun? What if a kid gets stuck and just cannot defeat a boss?

When I was previously teaching college, I didn't have good answers to all of these questions, so I didn't try it. I've always like the idea, I've just wondered about the application.

 

[klaynexas3]

In order to get their diplomas, students at Olds College must complete a Farmville-style iPad game: Lemonade Stand

You can leave right now. Lemonade Stand as a game has been around for at least a decade now(most likely longer), so to compare it to that trash that is Famville is disgusting.

Anyway, maybe I should get around to playing Sword and Sorcery. I haven't had much interest, but I do own it, and I played the first session of it. It was kind of interesting, but nothing ground breaking or anything, at least from that first session. I should try it again.

 

[Something Amyss]

fucking kids these days have it so easy.

I don't know. I couldn't be arsed to complete Superbrothers if my grade depended on it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Hmm this reminds me of my old Geography teacher, he was trying to get Civ 3 into his classroom to use it as a fun aid to teach. It all came about where he saw the big ass manual that I was carrying around at the time. I never did find out if he got it into his classroom or not but I hope he did.

We only got games like Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail! You kids have it so easy!

>.>

 

[Zipa]

Hmm this reminds me of my old Geography teacher, he was trying to get Civ 3 into his classroom to use it as a fun aid to teach. It all came about where he saw the big ass manual that I was carrying around at the time. I never did find out if he got it into his classroom or not but I hope he did.

We only got games like Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail! You kids have it so easy!

>.>

He never got it while I was at the school, that was 10 years ago so anything could of happened now.

 

[Saidan]

Great idea. I would suggest The Binding of Issac for the Religion class.

 

[BarkBarker]

Anything you must analyse and break apart becomes unenjoyable for that very reason, it's the same stupid idea with people testing games, what game do you love that you HAVE to play, and HAVE to play hundreds of times? Please, let them enjoy it in peace, but on the plus side, the likelihood of already having played the study material puts a lot of them ahead of the non gaming kids, so who knows what's gonna happen there.

 

[Charli]

How long will it be before we are studying Half-Life instead of Hamlet in high school English classes?

I'm not sure that's such a great idea. I have a deep and abiding loathing for every work of literature I was forced to study, to suck all the ejoyment out of and analyse in boring and simplistic terms, reading and re-reading because the rest of the class were so slow I'd have finished the book long before anyone else.

Do we really want to ruin videogames for kids in the same way?

That's the fault of the person teaching you. Not the subject matter. I was taught Hamlet twice in my student career. Once by an aging, bitter old lady who really didn't want to be teaching anyone, anything and cared more about results than the students achieving those results and another time by a bright eyed, driven and passionate teacher who was absolutely enthralled by everything he spoke and discussed with his students, even those who were behind could get wrapped up in the deviations and discussions.

The second time around with Hamlet, I GOT it, I understood just a bit why people were so enthusiastic about Shakesphere's work. And it was startling how contrasted to the first time I was 'taught'. So... to be honest, if something is going to get taught, then the subject matter isn't important, it's who is teaching it. Always. You can only 'ruin' a subject by being taught it wrong, and to me that sounds very wrong. You help the slower kids after the lesson is over if they need it, don't slow down the ones who are excelling.