From one learner to another

My colleague, Lydia, talks further about Constructionism in a recent blog post. The article she refers to takes the idea of constructionist learning and applies it to something that most kids love - gaming - on the computer, game consoles, iPods - you name it and kids will be using it to play games.  I witness this all the time with my own children and my friends children.  And as a parent, I often wonder, are they learning anything? Is this ok? Can this much computer time be good for my child?  It is a problem that many parents face but looking at this from a different perspective I can see the possible benefits.  In some of the games, children can design what happens, where it happens and how it happens. Surely these experiences are of benefit.


By allowing our children and students to make the games they want to play, we allow them to learn the ins and outs of games but also the process and logical thought that goes hand in hand with making a successful game.  Students will have to offer feedback for others games and in turn make improvements.   All skills that will be valuable for life not just school.



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