Serious Games

I remember the first time I played video games on Atari and the original Nintendo.  I liked Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda, but beyond the titles of the video games, I didn't think much about the categories. Today there are so many video games to choose from on so many different platforms that there is a sort of universal categorization of genres describing a games typical style and content regardless of platform. Some of these genres include Role Playing Games (RPG), First Person Shooters (FPS), Simulation, Survival Horror, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO), Real Time Strategy (RTS) and many more.

Image Source: http://www.talesofinterest.net/1987-legend-of-zelda-cheats-for-nes-emulator-and-nes/

As a parent I am interested in a category of games known as Serious Games. Wikipedia says that Serious Games are not a genre per se but a category of games whose 'main purpose is to train or educate users'. My previous post covered Minecraft with kids and some of the safety concerns. In my referenced links it can be noted that many educators are turning to Minecraft to teach lessons. I don't know that Minecraft could truly be considered a serious game, since its creation was not intended for such. I believe the practice of turning fun games into a learning experience is something worth noting.

Image source: http://minecraftedu.com/page/

A simple Google search for 'kids educational games' will give you thousands of websites with online games for kids to learn everything from ABCs, colors, numbers, shapes, math, science and more. Most of these games are not designed with a lot of effort put into graphics and engagement of the game but more or less are a visual drill of the skill the game is trying to impart. I think we must take some care when using video games as a tool for our children to learn. I do believe many lessons can be learned in a more entertaining way than the traditional method of teaching particularly for children who may not fit the classic cookie cutter public school model. I don't think education is a one size fits all.  That being said, too much of anything can be a bad thing and I also think there is a level of desensitization that can occur with violence and sexuality if we allow our children to play whatever they want with regards to video games.

Image Source: http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/

I have been playing electronic games with my kids since they were toddlers. At 8 and 10, both of my kids can properly start up and shutdown their laptops, use a mouse, open, edit and save files in various Office programs such as Word and Powerpoint, have knowledge of servers, routers, programming and various IT concepts that some adults I come across know nothing of. My ten year old knows his IP address, how to run simple commands in a Windows command prompt, has tried out Linux, Ubuntu, MAC OS and set up his own server going through our router (unbeknownst to me) for his friends to play Minecraft on together. He says he wants to be a programmer. The younger one for now says he really wants to be a video game tester.I try to be a hands on parent when it comes to the hardware and software lessons my kids are learning as well as covering Internet safety and etiquette with them.

One particular company that my son's teacher introduced us to this year is a major breakthrough for serious games or online learning in my opinion and that is Khan Academy.  Created in 2006 their mission statement is 'to provide a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere'. The interface is fairly simple and uncluttered and the focus is Math skills when you first log in. You take quizzes to earn mastery points and special badges, the more skills and the more difficult skills you master, the more rare the badges become. If you don't know a skill you can watch a short video to refresh your memory or you can skip the question. In addition to Math, there are educational activities in Science, Economics, Humanities and Computer Programming.  I have not explored every category with my account but the Computer Programming is designed excellently for children and/or beginners. Lessons are bite sized five minute videos with a screen simulator for you to type your own code and run it to see what happens. All in all, I can't say enough good things about Khan Academy and what it offers to anyone, anywhere in terms of fun and educational goals and learning opportunities.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_genres

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/what-video-games-can-teach-us

www.khanacademy.org

A Parent's Guide to Minecraft

Do you have a kid aged 5-12? Do you have a computer in your house with Internet access? If you answered yes to both questions then you probably already know what Minecraft is, or have at least heard the name. Minecraft was created by Markus Persson aka Notch and contribution in 2011 from Jens Bergenstern aka Jeb. It is a pixelated 8 bit block world of digging, building, defending, Creepers, Zombies, Endermen, Cows, Pigs, Villagers,  and..well..ask your kids..it is all kinds of stuff. According to Minecraft’s official website it has been purchased by over 14 million users to date.

Image Source: http://nintendoenthusiast.com/article/minecraft-wii-u/

How is it played? Minecraft is available on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Ipad and Android. It can be played single player (by yourself) or multiplayer online. In my household, multiplayer is the favored option, as is with most of my ten year old’s peers at school. Kids join servers that are hosted remotely and filled with anywhere from two to hundreds of other players all at the same time.

Image Source: http://www.videogameaddiction.co.uk/gaming-addiction/gaming.html

Now, I am not an expert and I know there are loads of parents out there who actually play Minecraft with their kids and know more than I do about the game. I played the game once briefly but I got motion sickness from the screen and the controls. I like PC games a lot, but Minecraft is not quite my cup of tea. The reason some parents play is because the game does appeal to LOTS of people of many different ages – not just kids. So, when your kids are logging onto a server and playing with other characters they are basically playing video games with strangers that could be anywhere from 5 to 35 years old.

Image Source: http://investvine.com/heavy-regulations-for-online-gamers-in-vietnam/

Internet safety is a big responsibility for a parent and one that should not be ignored or taken lightly. Do you know who your kids are talking to on the Internet? Do you know what your kids are doing on the Internet? If you saw your kid playing a low resolution game with a block man shooting arrows at a green block monster you probably wouldn’t think there could be any harm there. I thought mostly the same way until I ‘sat in’ on some of my kids game play sessions and watched the chat screens. While dozens of people were running around the screen, all doing their own task, messages flew up on the screen at an alarming rate in the chat pod. Invitations to play sex games and to come to a special world where people had modified the game to undress the characters, rampant obscene and vulgar language pervaded the chat. I was shocked as I did not know this existed in this innocent game I thought was about discovery, cooperation and building blocks.

Image Source: http://www.nfschools.net/domain/973

 I emailed my son’s teacher as I knew that their school friends were all on the same server where I observed the behavior. I went on a quest to find a safe environment for my kids to play this obsessive little game and the Internet was of great help. I found several servers that required applications to become members of a ‘whitelist’ which means that only approved users can join the servers and play together. No more random strangers. In addition to only approved users allowed to play, the play is heavily monitored for inappropriate game play including obscene or vulgar language, bullying and other no-no’s in the massively multiplayer online gaming world of Minecraft.

I promptly signed my children up and forbade them from ever joining a server that I did not approve of. They were required to read rules for each new server they joined and they learned a couple hard lessons of their own while playing and not following rules exactly. Their friends were all allowed to play on any server they wanted and did not want to go through the application process. I have informed all the parents I know of what my experience was and what I did about it. Some parents agree with me, other parents think their kids need to be exposed to as much of the world now as possible because ‘they will see it eventually’.

I only scratched the surface of Minecraft in this post but I did want to share with other parents to be aware of what your kids are doing online. It is not too hard to join the whitelisted servers but it may just protect your children more than you will ever know. Kids will become adults soon enough. It is my ideals as a parent that I want shaping my kids and it is my desire to protect them from pedophiles, bullies, delinquents and ill-mannered computer users while they are playing online. At the bottom of my post I have several source sites for the statistics on Minecraft from above, some helpful links and a list of the servers that I have approved in our household.

Insightful web content about Kids and Minecraft:

http://www.snagglebox.com/article/minecraft-parent-problems

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/08/minecraft_teachers_love_the_game_but_as_a_parent_i_m_worried_my_kids_are_addicted.html

http://www.internetsafetyproject.org/wiki/minecraft

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/breaking-up-with-minecraf_b_1940252.html

Image Source: http://www.intercraften.org/

Family Servers I have approved for Minecraft play in our house:

http://www.blocklandia.com/

http://www.sandlotminecraft.com/

http://towncraft.us/

http://www.intercraften.org/

Sources:

https://minecraft.net/