What other games work in the classroom?

A pioneer of educational video games is Civilization, says Bill Mackenty, head of instructional design at Hunter College High School in New York City and a former Massachusetts elementary school teacher. In Civilization-called "Civ" by devotees-students literally build acivilization and learn how it survives through the ags with technology ( like the invention of the wheel), agriculture, commerce, and the role of government. SimCity is anther favorite of Mackenty's. While planning nd creating a virtual city, the game shows students how to build revenue through taxes, provide water and power sources, build industrial and residential zones, and learn why distances between them are important. Other titles he recommends are Age of Mythology, Age of Empires, and any title by the company Muzzy Lane. Aren't video games violent? Games like Grand Theft Auto are popular with kids, but are "spectacularly inappropriate for the classroom," Mackenty says. Look for games with age-rating labels and do your research to weed out the violent titles.