Video games, once confiscated in class, are now a key teaching tool. If they're done right.
Kurt Squire knew something unusual was happening in his after-school Western civ program. His normally lackluster middle and high school students, who'd failed the course once already, were coming to class armed with strategies to topple colonial dictators. Heated debates were erupting over the impact of germs on national economies. Kids who didn't know Pompeii from Plymouth Rock were suddenly mapping out the borders of the early Roman Empire.
Kids are not ambivalent when it comes to video games: They love them. Young boys, especially, have been pouring quarters into slots since Computer Space, the first commercial arcade video game, appeared nearly 35 years ago. While pixelated hits like Pong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong first stole gamers' hearts, less glamorous educational titles, like Oregon Trail (1974) and Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1985), have held their own.
