more learning games in nyc

Schools in New York City are now using video games designed to help kids learn math, specifically a "video game world" called Dimension M. Sounds like the game designers did a good job - kids love it and can't get enough, apparently:

“We’re hearing from educators that their students are going in before school and after school and playing on their own at home,” he said. “We hear they can’t get them off the machines.”

And it's actually having an effect on grades because kids are, of course, really into video games and, like fiber in delicious breakfast cereal, they don't realize they are also getting something good for them. I think it's a great idea although it's not that new. I remember loving the "video game" type activities we did in middle school to get us good at typing and whatnot, and I also loved Math Blaster and other such learning games. Also, we definitely got to play the Oregon Trail in school, although that was mostly about getting dysentery and breaking wagon wheels. Still, it's a time-proven fact that video games are like crack for kids and if you can design one that teaches, schools might pay you a lot of money!

Ayman El Haddad, 13, who said he has been playing video games since he was 8, said he was skeptical at first about Dimension M but now plays it exclusively. He spends three hours a night, five days a week, on the game, often enticing a few of his classmates to join him.

As Ayman has improved at the game, so has his math grade — rising to a 93 at the end of the last school year, from 85 in the first marking period. He explained: “I started studying more because of the game.”

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