Emerging Technologies Consulting

You might think it’s weird for an education blog to post about a game for the Nintendo DS, but I think this game and its ilk are things that kids can really learn from.  First, the game requires kids to come up with creative solutions, typing in things that might work for any given objective.  For example, to cross a river, one could build a bridge or a ramp and a motorcycle to jump over it.  It’s not as scripted as similar games might be. What seems more interesting to me as an educator is the ability to write your own game.  There is a simple scripting language kids can use to build their own levels.  From that, they learn the logic needed to excel at things like programming or even transportation management and they have the ability to be creative.  Increasingly, I think that’s where the best learning happens and where teaching should be focused, on that intersection between the creative and the logical, much like writing a sonnet.