Blogs of the Round Table: I Survived the Edutainment Boom of the 90s
August's Topic
Can a video game teach? This month asks the personal question: What have you learned from a video game? The goal is to focus on the positive, the socially responsible lessons, and to show that, at least sometimes, a video game is more than just "a video game".
It's very easy for me to unequivocally announce that I've learned a great deal from video games. Most obviously I've studied video games for years with an eye to building them, but even ignoring that and trivia picked up from game-like encyclopedias and trivia games, there is a wealth of knowledge that I've picked up from decades of game playing... To a large extent, I would not be the person that I am if it weren't for video games and the lessons they had to teach me.
My Parents Were Ahead of Their Time
It was the early 90s and my father had decided to give up his executive position for the chance to invest in his own business. He searched the trade journals looking for a franchise to invest in and eventually he settled upon the idea of franchising an LA-based business called Futurekids. What's left of the franchisees have diversified, adding in more consulting-oriented services, selling curriculum to schools and helping non-profit community centers, but my father started where most franchisees started: Computer learning centers for kids.
As I said, my parents were ahead of their time: They put several years of sweat and tears into a business solely predicated on teaching through computers; everything from teaching basic familiarity to necessary computer skills to even teaching through computer games. My parents realized that you can teach interesting concepts simply through the "fun" of video games, and Futurekids' curriculum encouraged it often ...
