EPTThe topic I have been interested in for a long time is Starcraft and Education. I am currently completing an education degree and I have always believed that video games, specifically Starcraft, deserve a place in the school system. I can think of so many ways that my own body of knowledge was developed through Starcraft. During Brood war I played mostly use map settings games and I was a World War I/II fanatic. Although I was unaware of it at the time, I learned an incredible amount about European geography through those games. I also learned a lot about the events of the world wars. Perhaps even more important is that playing those kinds of games got me interested in learning about the actual historical events. I did research on my own to discover what parts of the game were actually true and just by sparking my imagination, that one UMS game series increased my knowledge of history a thousand fold.
Regardless of how much you can learn playing games that are based on one particular idea, such as history, I am always blown away by how much I learned by accident. When Warcraft 2 first came out my constant lanning with friends reinforced my understanding of left and right (I was a little spatially challenged at that point in my life). I still visualize which hand is my left by picturing a computer screen and remembering my favorite location in a Warcraft 2 multiplayer map.
The potential for Starcraft, and in particular the map editor, for educational purposes is immense. Imagine being able to play out some event from history through a UMS game. Despite the fact that the units would be zealots and zerglings, it is easy to imagine a student being caught up in a well written story being played out through their favourite video game. I know that some would argue there are better games for learning about history, such as Civilization, but the gaming engine and map editor of Starcraft are so well developed that the options are almost limitless. Starcraft could help bring in thousands of students who are dissatisfied with their schooling and get them excited about learning again.
The purpose of my blog is going to be exploring whatever education related Starcraft content I can find. Unfortunately Blizzard's current UMS setting system makes doing so slightly more difficult, but I will not be deterred. If anyone has any ideas or can point me in the right direction I would be grateful. Starcraft and Education is my mission and hopefully I can find some interesting things to talk about.
Hungry Cerberus
