There's probably a way to teach almost anything using a computer. The problem is in how to present this to the kids.
In school, computers are an afterthought, and aren't really part of the curriculum in any meaningful way (except those couple of classes on Word and Excel, which you do use).
In the best scenario, a teacher will seat the class in the computer lab, then tell them to do research on the web for a report for an hour. Usually though, a visit to the computer lab involves running some buggy "multimedia addon" that ships with the textbook. It is always of awful quality, and, if it runs at all, can be "explored" in about 5 minutes, with the kids wasting the rest of the time hiding a Flash game or YouTube from the teacher. Finally, since "this won't be on the test", most students don't care.
Here's what would work: a resource with voluntary participation. Something for interested students to explore on their own time. Yes, most kids would rather not do something that "feels like more work". I also know I would have enjoyed something like this at that age.
It doesn't even have to be a game in the classic sense. Usually trying to fit educational content in a game just feels fake and contrived, and the result is neither educational nor fun. Kids aren't dumb, and see right through that. In fact, different subjects may require different platforms.
This sounds like a great open-source project. A Wikipedia-style set of learning materials. Someone make this please :)
In school, computers are an afterthought, and aren't really part of the curriculum in any meaningful way (except those couple of classes on Word and Excel, which you do use).
In the best scenario, a teacher will seat the class in the computer lab, then tell them to do research on the web for a report for an hour. Usually though, a visit to the computer lab involves running some buggy "multimedia addon" that ships with the textbook. It is always of awful quality, and, if it runs at all, can be "explored" in about 5 minutes, with the kids wasting the rest of the time hiding a Flash game or YouTube from the teacher. Finally, since "this won't be on the test", most students don't care.
Here's what would work: a resource with voluntary participation. Something for interested students to explore on their own time. Yes, most kids would rather not do something that "feels like more work". I also know I would have enjoyed something like this at that age.
It doesn't even have to be a game in the classic sense. Usually trying to fit educational content in a game just feels fake and contrived, and the result is neither educational nor fun. Kids aren't dumb, and see right through that. In fact, different subjects may require different platforms.
This sounds like a great open-source project. A Wikipedia-style set of learning materials. Someone make this please :)