Student Demographics - The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game - page 210

For example, 80% of the students in Denishia Buchanan s class in our first case

history fall below the poverty line. Some schools in under-funded systems may
not be able to provide a laptop for every student. And few see game consoles as a
priority in every class. Just the opposite!

'

Even though several contributors here have mentioned using technology to
supplement their classes, none need it. Neither do my own. A multiplayer
classroom can be designed in its entirety without ever requiring a student to turn
on a computer. Compare that to schools that spend thousands, tens of
thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars on hardware and software.

This is not to say that computers aren t needed. They are desperately needed.

Our education system, once the envy of the world, has been gutted to the point
where we are in crisis. And we use computers to assist in that decline, more than
to arrest it. The more we concentrate on standardized tests and standardized
syllabi and standardized teaching methods, the more we rely on computers to
measure success, and the deeper the hole we dig.

'

Computers should not be used in the classroom simply to make it easier to grade
multiple choice exams. But even if we don

'

t have them to help with creativity
and critical thinking, we can still give students the benefit of games to foster
creativity and critical where the most technologically advanced

teaching aids are blackboards, paper, markers, scissors, and glue.
Lower income classes are typically underachieving classes because standardized
teaching methods fail to reach this student population. As we can see in the
student opinions of Ms. Buchanan

thinking —

including the complaints from
those students who learned biology in the more traditional way

' s classes —

— games have

the power to engage anyone.

Creating the right game to reach your audience is essential. Let s assume you

now have done your homework. You know your audience inside and out, and
when necessary, have researched the best ways to engage them. After a visit to
Texas Tech University, it will be time to tackle the details of game design and
development.

'