“Gamification”

Has your middle schooler talked about playing games during recent science classes?

A new interactive video game, released a couple of weeks ago, is gaining traction now that academic testing has ended.

According to the MIT developers, “Vanished” inserts problem solving and critical thinking skills into a scientific context.  That makes sense, because the game was developed for the Smithsonian as an experiment in alternative science education.

As gamification grows, we’ll be seeing more crossover of game playing in education.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/vanished-smithsonian-0415.html