Dive Summary:
- Hoping to alleviate student boredom and spark STEM interest, GlassLab (Games, Learning and Assessment Lab) is encouraging the use of an education-optimized version of world-building game SimCity as an educational tool.
- GlassLab's SimCityEDU comes preloaded with free lesson plans and an online teacher's network, and lessons include figuring out how to turn the electricity back on in a pre-built city and writing assignments that ask students to prioritize public works projects before testing their ideas in the game.
- Though GlassLab is housed in Electronic Arts' Redwood Shores, Calif., offices, it plans to work with other studios to develop new titles and analyze how and what students learn from existing titles.
From the article:
An unprecedented agreement between two influential foundations, leading academics, two global testing firms and the video game industry could redefine how schools teach basic skills. Tinkering for the past several months at the Silicon Valley offices of one of the world's largest video game developers, the alliance is pushing to develop materials based on off-the-shelf video games that will get kids ready for "college and career success," a key, largely unmet goal of the USA's education system. ...
