Reading, Writing and Video Gaming

By Marco Visscher, Ode. Posted September 14, 2006.

The door closes with a squeak and a creak. Oh, no! Is it locked? Let's check ... No, thank God, you can open it ... So now, another go at getting to the ladder. Maybe through this narrow hallway? ... No, it's a dead end.

Fifteen children between the ages of 9 and 11 are staring at the computer screen, mesmerized, as the adventure game Myst III: Exile is played. In the middle of the group sits Tim Rylands, the most popular teacher at the small elementary school Chew Magna, in the village of the same name near the English city of Bristol. Once more he manuevers his cordless mouse to guide the cursor along the dark walls of a hollow mountainside. Rylands then tells his students, "OK, now write down which way we should go to get to the ladder. What do you come across? What do you experience on your journey?" The only sound heard is the furious scribbling of pens.

Rylands has found a way to make writing fun for kids. Myst is a beautifully designed series of computer games set on a mysterious deserted island that can be endlessly navigated. According to Rylands, the visually rich landscape inspires his students' creativity.

He can back up that claim with data. An average of 75 percent of English children between the ages of 9 and 11 reach so-called "level four literacy levels" in reading and writing (including spelling, grammar, vocabulary, etc.). At Chew Magna, that percentage stood at 77 in 2000, rising to 93 four years later after Rylands began using computers to help teach writing. Boys in particular, who normally score lower in these areas, have made tremendous progress. One hundred percent reach level four, compared to 67 percent in 2000.

Nolan Bushnell wishes his children had a teacher like Tim Rylands. "The digital life in which kids live today is turned off at school. That leaves them with boredom and frustration. A man in front of a blackboard with a piece of chalk is just very boring."

Bushnell should know. He watched as his eight children became increasingly alienated in the U.S. educational system. He believes schools and teachers haven't sufficiently adjusted to changes in the world around them. Young people should not be memorizing facts or spending long hours on multiple-choice tests, says Bushnell, but learning to think, analyze, make connections. These are the talents that more than ever are rewarded in this new century, he says.

Bushnell also sees a solution for the educational system -- the very idea Tim Rylands is already putting into practice: using video and computer games to inspire learning. He's an expert in the field. Back in 1972, Nolan Bushnell founded Atari, the pioneering computer company. As the creator of classics like Pong -- remember the Ping-Pong game between two discs on opposite sides of the screen? -- Bushnell is generally recognized as "the father of the game industry."

And because he is also the father of a 12-year-old son who can distinguish between 200 different Pokémon characters ("If they were plant and animal species, he would be able to pass sophomore biology"), Bushnell now spreads the word about how video games can help kids learn. Games, he asserts, teach you creative problem solving. They teach you to formulate hypotheses ("First I have to get the key from the magician so I can open the door"), to test these hypotheses ("Game over") and revise them ("Oh, no, I have to drink my elixir to get to the magician!"). Games can even teach you the fundamental principles of scientific research.

Back at Chew Magna school, Tim Rylands believes his students are learning more than writing skills. "While going through a game, children listen and talk," he explains as the classroom empties. "They discuss. They explore. It's like going on a school trip, but this is a lot cheaper, and it saves on insurance premiums," he jokes.

Many people envision that the school of the future -- and Bushnell would love to open one himself --doesn't use books as its primary teaching materials, but video games.

In the words of another game developer, Marc Prensky, who wrote "Digital Game-Based Learning": "Because schools haven't adapted to the world their students know and live in, they simply get bored in the classroom. They tune out. You can get engagement, even among apathetic students, simply because games are constructed in a way so players want to finish the level. Games offer players the chance to make decisions, get feedback, level up and become heroes. That's how education should be organized. You learn more and more, you apply that knowledge, and you'll get a great job."

Marco Visscher is managing editor for Ode, the Netherlands-based international monthly on people and ideas that are changing the world.

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