"THE HALO VIDEO GAME SERIES IS TAKING OVER ALL FACETS OF LIFE"

"In the five months since the release of Halo 3, students have logged millions of hours playing online, reports Katie Ash for Digital Directions magazine. The volume of time has parents and teachers hoping that there may be skills honed by Halo 3 that are similar to that which students learn in the classroom. Elliot Soloway, a computer science and education professor at the University of Michigan says that kids learn mostly from the inherent collaboration required to effectively master the online version of the game. It is particularly interesting because games like Halo are "self-organizing, so...kids are putting together their own teams and are responsible for managing their own learning," says Kurt Squire, an assistant professor of educational communications and technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While collaboration, teamwork and organization are necessary skills, the game may not translate this practice to the classroom. For example, there was a push to teach students computer programming because it reinforced linear thinking. However, researchers later found that teaching programming skills simply produced lots of computer programmers and not necessarily better linear thinkers. If video games are to have any educational value, it seems likely that teachers must adjust their instructional strategies in accordance. Still, as is, Halo 3 may exhibit some untapped educational potential, as the environment created in the game is one that realistically adheres to the laws of physics. As a result, some players have performed virtual physics-based experiments."

URL: http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2008/01/23/3games.h01.html
Referred by: PEN Weekly NewsBlast