Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Carol
[email protected]
In a message dated 11/8/00 9:10:28 AM, vedgington444@... writes:
<< Hi Carol,
I am coming out of lurkdom (is that a word? LOL) to suggest an idea for you.
My son is also very interested in video games. Why not research with him on
how they are designed and ask him to design a game. You never know what
could happen from there. :-)
Valerie E. >>
Dear Valerie,
I like this idea; thank you! I just can't accept the idea that endless
playing of video games constitutes an intellectual pursuit. (And yes,
Sandra, I have played the games with my kids. I *do* know what they're
about!) To me, thinking of video games like Super Smash Brothers as a
learning activity is the equivalent of saying that a bag of Doritos, a candy
bar and a Coke constitute a good dinner. Tasty perhaps, but ultimately not
very nourishing. Thanks for your idea, Valerie! This gives me a positive
way to approach the issue.
Carol
<< Hi Carol,
I am coming out of lurkdom (is that a word? LOL) to suggest an idea for you.
My son is also very interested in video games. Why not research with him on
how they are designed and ask him to design a game. You never know what
could happen from there. :-)
Valerie E. >>
Dear Valerie,
I like this idea; thank you! I just can't accept the idea that endless
playing of video games constitutes an intellectual pursuit. (And yes,
Sandra, I have played the games with my kids. I *do* know what they're
about!) To me, thinking of video games like Super Smash Brothers as a
learning activity is the equivalent of saying that a bag of Doritos, a candy
bar and a Coke constitute a good dinner. Tasty perhaps, but ultimately not
very nourishing. Thanks for your idea, Valerie! This gives me a positive
way to approach the issue.
Carol
[email protected]
In a message dated 00-11-08 12:27:06 EST, sognokids@... writes:
<< To me, thinking of video games like Super Smash Brothers >>
I have kids here who say:
Super Smash Brothers isn't educational, it's just fun.
Strategy games, though, like Harvest Moon, Banjo Kazooie, Zelda, the RPG
games, Ogre Battle, are going to involve a lot of thought and planning. Then
there are pattern games (which are math and speed-of-thought and reasoning
and coordination): Kirby's Avalanche, Dr. Mario (we don't know an equivalent
for 64).
It would be possible to name four or five (hundreds) of books which aren't
"educational" but it wouldn't be a reason to claim that books are mindless
and harmful and shouldn't be owned or read, or that too much book reading
doesn't take a brain.
Sandra
<< To me, thinking of video games like Super Smash Brothers >>
I have kids here who say:
Super Smash Brothers isn't educational, it's just fun.
Strategy games, though, like Harvest Moon, Banjo Kazooie, Zelda, the RPG
games, Ogre Battle, are going to involve a lot of thought and planning. Then
there are pattern games (which are math and speed-of-thought and reasoning
and coordination): Kirby's Avalanche, Dr. Mario (we don't know an equivalent
for 64).
It would be possible to name four or five (hundreds) of books which aren't
"educational" but it wouldn't be a reason to claim that books are mindless
and harmful and shouldn't be owned or read, or that too much book reading
doesn't take a brain.
Sandra
Elizabeth McCullough
My 6 yo son often becomes frustrated with video games that are too difficult
or that are not intuitive enough, so I have also used these games to prompt
him to reason out what makes a game a "good" one: "If you were designing a
good game, what would you put in it? How would it work?" This, I hope, will
start him thinking about the idea that people design the games, that they
can design them poorly or well, that to build a good game requires planning
and using good design principles, and, most importantly, that he could be an
actor in this process rather than just a passive recipient of whatever comes
down the pipe.
Elizabeth McCullough
Virginia
-----Original Message-----
From: sognokids@... [mailto:sognokids@...]
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2000 12:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Carol
In a message dated 11/8/00 9:10:28 AM, vedgington444@... writes:
<< Hi Carol,
I am coming out of lurkdom (is that a word? LOL) to suggest an idea for you.
My son is also very interested in video games. Why not research with him on
how they are designed and ask him to design a game. You never know what
could happen from there. :-)
Valerie E. >>
or that are not intuitive enough, so I have also used these games to prompt
him to reason out what makes a game a "good" one: "If you were designing a
good game, what would you put in it? How would it work?" This, I hope, will
start him thinking about the idea that people design the games, that they
can design them poorly or well, that to build a good game requires planning
and using good design principles, and, most importantly, that he could be an
actor in this process rather than just a passive recipient of whatever comes
down the pipe.
Elizabeth McCullough
Virginia
-----Original Message-----
From: sognokids@... [mailto:sognokids@...]
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2000 12:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Carol
In a message dated 11/8/00 9:10:28 AM, vedgington444@... writes:
<< Hi Carol,
I am coming out of lurkdom (is that a word? LOL) to suggest an idea for you.
My son is also very interested in video games. Why not research with him on
how they are designed and ask him to design a game. You never know what
could happen from there. :-)
Valerie E. >>