No Gamer Left Behind
After reading Loren’s post and watching the video No Gamer Left Behind my eyes have been opened to yet another way in which technology and in particular, computer games, can be beneficial to our children. It has generally been my belief that children these days spend too much time playing invaluable games on the computer or on their latest Nintendo / PSP, so much so that I had vowed to never let my children spend their days inside on the computer. However, after reading and watching these posts, I have been enlightened. I have really been struck by how engaging and thought provoking games can be. In particular, the post talks about simulation games and technology and the power it has to engage students in ‘critical thinking, by tapping into their interests as well as allowing them to assist in designing the games’. There have been several examples of how students themselves have designed games which are used to educate other students, for example a McKinley Technology High School student designed a Fire safety game for younger students to educationally inform them of the dangers of fires. After bearing witness to this video and the benefits gaming holds, my perceptions of computer games are changing and I have become more inclined to promote my children to utilize such software in a way that is meaningful.
