Where in the World is Educational Engagement?
by Anonymous
(USA)
When I was a kid, I absolutely loved “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego”.
At the time, I just knew that I was engaged in the game play (you play as a detective tracking a criminal across the country using nuggets of information scattered throughout the board).
It’s only in retrospect that I realize I was learning geography and getting practice using logical reasoning (process of elimination and hypothesis testing feature prominently in the game play).
I still have a certain nostalgia for the game. It was incredibly basic—a text based interface.
The flashing green text on a black screen can’t hold a candle to the artistic and interactive way that computer games are presented today.
Yet, at the time, I didn’t notice anything to criticize about the way the game was played. I just wanted to keep playing the game.
Because of my experience with Carmen San Diego, I still think that computer games have an unparalleled ability to engage kids and teach them something while entertaining them.
