In the Business Week article “Kati London: Creating Online Games That Educate and Instruct” on Businessweek.com, Barrett Sheridan profiles game designer Kati London and her influence on the education of young children. As a designer at the gaming company Area/Code, Kati London has been hired by various companies to create games with an educational background. Most recently, she has been commissioned by the UK Transport Department to create a game that will teach children the safety rules of the road. In the game, titled Everland, players must “play as Pathfinders navigating a dangerous fantasy world.”[1] In this world, players face monsters similar to automobiles on the road with speeds and statistics matching actual data taken from traffic. London and other designers like her are using the technology of gaming and video game design to educate their audience in a new and exciting way.
I found the topic of this article to be both interesting and innovative, as it combines the growing habit of child video game use with the always high need to raise traffic safety awareness among children. By implementing an educational lesson within an entertaining game, the UK Transport Department found a way to effectively spread awareness. What separates this technique from previous video games that include morals is the fact that London’s game uses real data from traffic intersections in the UK[1]. London is using this data recording and implementing technology in traffic systems to bring a new degree of accuracy and reality to her final products. London has used this same technology on games with different educational purposes, while other designers have ventured into the same arena. The MIT-Microsoft Alliance has also begun to use this technology in an effort to program games that will teach “science and engineering subjects at the advanced high school and introductory college level.”[2] The staff at the Instructional Materials Center also implemented this technology and strategy to create The Library Adventure Game. The Library Adventure Game involves various levels that when played instruct the user on how to properly compile references through a library network[3]. After installing the game, the IMC “verified that the game is an effective way to provide staff training by giving pre- and post-tests.”[3] While London’s game appears to have a lot of potential in teaching the children of the UK, the IMC’s game and subsequent testing has proved the power of gaming technology in the education industry. This technology, when combined with data from different areas of life, could create accurate and educational games in all area. While London’s game informs children of the risks of traffic, games such as those of the MIT-Microsoft Alliance can teach mathematical equations and other games such as the Gaby the Greyhound tutorial used at Loyola can promote social policies and consequences. While young children often struggle to listen to and remember the constant safety information thrown at them, using data technology to imbed this information in an entertaining game make the process of learning both fun and worthwhile for the player.
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