Let's Talk Edutainment (and play the 1993 Oregon Trail)
video description
Modern titles actually try to incorporate the skills they're teaching into the gameplay.
Date: 2022-04-14
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Comments and reviews: 9
Mary
FORD IT! FORD IT! FORD THE RIVER! DAMN THE CURRENT, FULL SPEED AHEAD! YEAHHHHHH
I played OG Oregon Trail once on an Apple II in Kindergarten. I was quiet to the point the teacher thought I was just retarded and got sent to some remedial reading class. This lasted a whole day cause I saw that computer in the corner, hopped on and fired up the game to actually play instead of just get to the part where you can shoot buffalo en masse. Fun times.
I didn't have free access to standard video games as a kid but computer games were okay. Synonymous with -edutainment- because I remember basically nothing else running on my Macintosh. Treasure Mathstorm, Gismos and Gadgets, those (in hindsight) weird-ass Magic School Bus titles. I remember sucking immensely at Math Munchers. The Incredible Machine's still great.
I picked up more in Dwarf Fortress than a semester-long Geology course, even if there's not an overt attempt to educate there's something to be said for getting an intuitive sense of how things work like with the maxis examples or the Trail games where they very well might be a kid's first exposure to a situation that can't be solved by having Mom or Pop go down to the store. Keep the week, there's always gonna be more great edutainment content to cover.
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FORD IT! FORD IT! FORD THE RIVER! DAMN THE CURRENT, FULL SPEED AHEAD! YEAHHHHHH
I played OG Oregon Trail once on an Apple II in Kindergarten. I was quiet to the point the teacher thought I was just retarded and got sent to some remedial reading class. This lasted a whole day cause I saw that computer in the corner, hopped on and fired up the game to actually play instead of just get to the part where you can shoot buffalo en masse. Fun times.
I didn't have free access to standard video games as a kid but computer games were okay. Synonymous with -edutainment- because I remember basically nothing else running on my Macintosh. Treasure Mathstorm, Gismos and Gadgets, those (in hindsight) weird-ass Magic School Bus titles. I remember sucking immensely at Math Munchers. The Incredible Machine's still great.
I picked up more in Dwarf Fortress than a semester-long Geology course, even if there's not an overt attempt to educate there's something to be said for getting an intuitive sense of how things work like with the maxis examples or the Trail games where they very well might be a kid's first exposure to a situation that can't be solved by having Mom or Pop go down to the store. Keep the week, there's always gonna be more great edutainment content to cover.
reply
Shadowfury333
While I grew up on games from MECC and The Learning Company, I would say that while early on (i. e. before I started school) they were likely a big reason why I learned to read and write as quickly as I did, their overall philosophy focused largely on memorization, which as you point out didn't lead to a whole lot of real learning. It kinda made sense, since American and Canadian schools at the time still prioritized learning through rote drills, but other than super basic tasks (like literacy) there's been a shift to education that fosters deep understanding of topics or systems, since most rote tasks are automated away anyway these days.
As such, I see Maxis as having been way ahead of the curve, and simulation games in general being the way to go for modern education. I've learned way more about geology from Dwarf Fortress than I knew I'd care about, for instance. Having a set of interconnected systems that you need to learn to manage in order to succeed is a great motivator to truly learn how those systems work.
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While I grew up on games from MECC and The Learning Company, I would say that while early on (i. e. before I started school) they were likely a big reason why I learned to read and write as quickly as I did, their overall philosophy focused largely on memorization, which as you point out didn't lead to a whole lot of real learning. It kinda made sense, since American and Canadian schools at the time still prioritized learning through rote drills, but other than super basic tasks (like literacy) there's been a shift to education that fosters deep understanding of topics or systems, since most rote tasks are automated away anyway these days.
As such, I see Maxis as having been way ahead of the curve, and simulation games in general being the way to go for modern education. I've learned way more about geology from Dwarf Fortress than I knew I'd care about, for instance. Having a set of interconnected systems that you need to learn to manage in order to succeed is a great motivator to truly learn how those systems work.
reply
BOYD1981
Edutainment is something I'm taking a bigger interest now that my daughter is nearing 4 years old. I got her a LeapFrog TV edutainment console thing a few years ago on offer with the intent on using it with her when she got older, but I think I'd rather introduce her to a PC for edutainment because it's going to teach her how to use PC alongside whatever the software focuses on and that seems to be the way education is headed.
There seems to be more web based edutainment - usually on children's tv sites - than actual standalone software, and a major push for expensive peripherals or a standalone device like the Pi from a quick search (most of which I'd actually like for myself.
I personally never had much experience with computers as an educational tool as a kid beyond briefly using a BBC machine at school to make PODD explode and whistle. But I do remember the first time I had interaction with an IBM compatible I saw both Doom and Tuneland, and it was Tuneland that made me really want a PC of my own.
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Edutainment is something I'm taking a bigger interest now that my daughter is nearing 4 years old. I got her a LeapFrog TV edutainment console thing a few years ago on offer with the intent on using it with her when she got older, but I think I'd rather introduce her to a PC for edutainment because it's going to teach her how to use PC alongside whatever the software focuses on and that seems to be the way education is headed.
There seems to be more web based edutainment - usually on children's tv sites - than actual standalone software, and a major push for expensive peripherals or a standalone device like the Pi from a quick search (most of which I'd actually like for myself.
I personally never had much experience with computers as an educational tool as a kid beyond briefly using a BBC machine at school to make PODD explode and whistle. But I do remember the first time I had interaction with an IBM compatible I saw both Doom and Tuneland, and it was Tuneland that made me really want a PC of my own.
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Keiya
I think what killed edutainment was the rising cost of development. When games that are maybe a little less 'cool' than the AAAs cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to develop, you could reasonably make that back with a niche market like math learning. When it's in the tens of millions, not so much.
That said, there's still some games that have a good -secondary- educational goal. Civilization is still going strong and still has the Civilopedia full of interesting facts, things like Kerbal Space Program get kids thinking about engineering as problem solving and teach a basic intuition for orbital mechanics, there's pretty much everything Zachtronics has ever made. Heck, you could even make an argument for things like Ace Attorney being a fun way to practice reasoning.
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I think what killed edutainment was the rising cost of development. When games that are maybe a little less 'cool' than the AAAs cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to develop, you could reasonably make that back with a niche market like math learning. When it's in the tens of millions, not so much.
That said, there's still some games that have a good -secondary- educational goal. Civilization is still going strong and still has the Civilopedia full of interesting facts, things like Kerbal Space Program get kids thinking about engineering as problem solving and teach a basic intuition for orbital mechanics, there's pretty much everything Zachtronics has ever made. Heck, you could even make an argument for things like Ace Attorney being a fun way to practice reasoning.
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CLAU
learn where you can definitely. tv internet pc staf. teste and proven! within the limits and possibilities physical and financial without hurting anyone of any kind. not from school! ther you go to learn how to use the tools! teoretcli!
of course if it is not all rigt to explode a bag pc game or consol! lake! . not from school! ther you go to learn how to use the tools! teoretcli!
blizzard entertainment! betrayal of the world!
See that I know what you did in 2009 red alert 3. betrayal of the world!
an embarrassment! o a product! with not only.
is a reference! to the movie. I know what you did last summer!
this is probably how they will end one by one. !
probably!
you wanted to know I told you. party on to forget! because the exists. :-\.
reply
learn where you can definitely. tv internet pc staf. teste and proven! within the limits and possibilities physical and financial without hurting anyone of any kind. not from school! ther you go to learn how to use the tools! teoretcli!
of course if it is not all rigt to explode a bag pc game or consol! lake! . not from school! ther you go to learn how to use the tools! teoretcli!
blizzard entertainment! betrayal of the world!
See that I know what you did in 2009 red alert 3. betrayal of the world!
an embarrassment! o a product! with not only.
is a reference! to the movie. I know what you did last summer!
this is probably how they will end one by one. !
probably!
you wanted to know I told you. party on to forget! because the exists. :-\.
reply
herebellama
This is one of my favourite series from yours (next to thrifts.
I used to love the magic school bus games, and the DK edutainment games. I remember learning a lot from age of empires/mythology also zoo tycoon (even though I would've put them more on the entertainment side.
Thinking about it kingdom come: deliverance could be easily classed as edutainment. It's certainly not for children but the historical accuracy (story is also tied into actual events) plus guide on various mediveal facts gives it a lot of educational value.
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This is one of my favourite series from yours (next to thrifts.
I used to love the magic school bus games, and the DK edutainment games. I remember learning a lot from age of empires/mythology also zoo tycoon (even though I would've put them more on the entertainment side.
Thinking about it kingdom come: deliverance could be easily classed as edutainment. It's certainly not for children but the historical accuracy (story is also tied into actual events) plus guide on various mediveal facts gives it a lot of educational value.
reply
D-Rail
Edutainment is a really interesting subject that I hope you continue to cover. I do think one of the most interesting parts is actually the educational aspects of non-edutainment games, though. You mention civilization, which I completely agree with. Assassins Creed would be an interesting consideration on that front as well. I never got into it, but Crusader Kings 2 is very historically accurate. One pure edutainment entry you might want to look into is the icivics series, on which supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor worked on!
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Edutainment is a really interesting subject that I hope you continue to cover. I do think one of the most interesting parts is actually the educational aspects of non-edutainment games, though. You mention civilization, which I completely agree with. Assassins Creed would be an interesting consideration on that front as well. I never got into it, but Crusader Kings 2 is very historically accurate. One pure edutainment entry you might want to look into is the icivics series, on which supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor worked on!
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Hans
The Assassin's Creed series does a good job of teaching you some stuff about history. In most games there's info popping up when you walk past specific buildings or talk to specific historical npc's. You can choose to ignore it but if you read it all, it's very educational. I think the most recent game (Assassin's Creed Origins) even has some sort of special -tourist mode- where you get a guided tour through ancient Egypt with interesting facts popping up. These games might not be entirely up your alley but I'd thought I mention it.
reply
The Assassin's Creed series does a good job of teaching you some stuff about history. In most games there's info popping up when you walk past specific buildings or talk to specific historical npc's. You can choose to ignore it but if you read it all, it's very educational. I think the most recent game (Assassin's Creed Origins) even has some sort of special -tourist mode- where you get a guided tour through ancient Egypt with interesting facts popping up. These games might not be entirely up your alley but I'd thought I mention it.
reply
LT9TSilver
I remember an old Sierra series featuring a huge headed alien named Adi. It was called Sierra's School House. I had the math and english one as a kid. The best part about these games was the reward for finishing so many assignments in the game. You got other sierra games like Eco Quest and Pepper's adventures in time.
Although, my brother and I figured out you could just go into the game's files and play the rewards directly from there.
Think you could find it? =D
reply
I remember an old Sierra series featuring a huge headed alien named Adi. It was called Sierra's School House. I had the math and english one as a kid. The best part about these games was the reward for finishing so many assignments in the game. You got other sierra games like Eco Quest and Pepper's adventures in time.
Although, my brother and I figured out you could just go into the game's files and play the rewards directly from there.
Think you could find it? =D
reply
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