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Oct 23, 2006

"Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual." --Arthur Koestler

A Video Game That Teaches Economics

Students taking Economics 201 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro don't come to class -- they just log in to the Internet. The entire microeconomics course is a video game that students play online to earn three college credits. Such sophisticated tools for learning could transform the face of education as we know it. "This is a game in which the students are literally immersed in a story. And they take on the role of a character," Economics professor Jeff Sarbaum explains. "So all of the reading material, all of the content, all of the examinations and homework, if you will, are built inside the engine of the game." As the game goes on, the characters talk more and more like economists. Sarbaum's inspiration? His 8-year-old son.