Oregon Trail: Educational Critique

4 November 2012 1,636 views No Comment

Ever wondered if the oldies-but-goodies would still work in the classroom today? Read my educational critique of Oregon Trail over at Edudemic.

Most of us have grown up playing computer games, and spending hours trying to beat a level (that dragon at the end of world 1-4 in Super Mario Bros still haunts my dreams) or gain a special skill that makes our character stronger (don’t forget to collect as many heart jars as you can for Link!).

Most of us also know that games can be educational, and can even be used for learning in schools. Important sounding theories like “experiential learning” or “scaffolding” explain how games can be good learning tools, but don’t really help the average person understand why a particular sequence of play is so engaging, or why one game teaches fractions better than another. This series of posts will take a close up look at specific games and try to understand how and why they teach.

Read more…


Elisa teaches online professional development courses for teachers at teachertechtraining.com.
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