The following news article posted
online at PRNewswire today examines the relationship forged between popular
culture texts and the Xbox 360.
The article, outlines Microsoft Studios
plans to expand and collaborate with Disney and has produced a new game
code-named "Rush". Their aim is to create playful learning
experiences and seek to "inspire kids and their parents to get off the
couch and into the action, working collaboratively with their favourite
characters to have fun and learn at the same time.
Microsoft
has done their homework and researched thoroughly to know what engages students
and encourages them to learn. Their educational expert - Alex Games (is the
surname a coincidence or what!!!) states that partnering Nat Geo WILD and
Sesame Street turns "passive television viewing into a creative, immersive
experience.
Microsoft
aims to push the "boundaries of traditional television and gaming to help
inspire and train the next generation". Of course the cynic in me can see
this as a highly profitable move on Microsoft's part to capture the growing
market that targets our youngest and most vulnerable learners - the kiddy and
prep kids who are already overwhelmed with an abundance of commercialised
products based on their favourite television programs. This at least is a
positive move to see educational aims fulfilled and new digital pedagogies
applied.
Another experience 'Project Columbia' "encourages a love for books and changes the way children read". Children are able to interact with the text and images and immerse themselves in the plot. Microsoft claims that "by using the multisensory and active nature of Kinect, the power of play can help emphasise understanding and the meaningof what is written, not just decode it.'
It looks like the marriage of Disney/Pixar, Sesame Street and Xbox will reap positive benefits for our younger pupils and promote literacy and learning that is fun.
Images
Sesame Street - http://cfs.wisc.ed/news/CFS_Affiliate_Participates_in_Sesame_Workshop_Financial_Education_Initiative.aspx
Another experience 'Project Columbia' "encourages a love for books and changes the way children read". Children are able to interact with the text and images and immerse themselves in the plot. Microsoft claims that "by using the multisensory and active nature of Kinect, the power of play can help emphasise understanding and the meaningof what is written, not just decode it.'It looks like the marriage of Disney/Pixar, Sesame Street and Xbox will reap positive benefits for our younger pupils and promote literacy and learning that is fun.
Images
Sesame Street - http://cfs.wisc.ed/news/CFS_Affiliate_Participates_in_Sesame_Workshop_Financial_Education_Initiative.aspx
The Incredibles - http://www.picturesdepot.com/wallpapers/207909/the+incredibles+movie.html
This is interesting, Jenny. I agree somewhat with your stated cynicism regarding the motives of Microsoft in exploring this target market. However, if as you suggest, that this video game educational "marriage" is reaping positive outcomes, particularly in terms of literacy, does it matter? It would be great to investigate this a little further and establish what research the gaming company has engaged in to create these educational video games. The article refers to their educational expert (Alex Games) without elaborating on his pedagogical credentials in this field of work.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I like to relate these concepts back to how it might affect the teacher in the classroom or the teacher librarian in the resource centre. Will such developments in the video game field impact upon them? I think it might in terms of delivering more literate students to our early childhood classrooms - a better foundation with which children are equipped to tackle the ever increasing rigour of primary education. Therefore, there could be a form of social change if this concept is widely adopted by families and schools, especially within the context of a National Broadband Network and other such technological developments, which are supposed to make access to such resources more equitable across Australia.
Would we be able to utilise these resources in our schools? Would the cost be a barrier? And digging deeper, is it ethical to involve corporations into innocent young lives when there is always the possibility of subliminal or implicit or explicit advertising or bias towards their world view? Again, with every new development I seem to have even more questions.