The ‘Game’ plan (Via Mr. Ball.) Aaron Ball, who is preparing to design an educational video game, says that content is the most important consideration:
Content- This should be an educator’s number one concern. Does it have a curriculum fit? I am paid by my school board to teach the curriculum.
I always enjoy reading what Aaron shares on his blog, but in this case I don’t think I agree (though I do agree with his focus on the importance of motivation and reflection). I think many teachers do feel this way about content, and it is certainly a good thing for a game to also teach content, but I think it would be a tragedy (and is a tragedy) for this to be an educator’s main concern. I think the value of content diminishes with every passing day (as the amount of human knowledge continues to grow), and that the importance of 21st Century skills and literacies become ever more important – and this is where the medium of games can excel. I also believe that games will be the most motivating and be the best way to learn specific content when they are developing and requiring the use of these literacies and skills. In short, I think game play that emphasizes 21st Century Literacies and Skills should be the educator’s number one concern.