Quest to Learn

I just finished listening to a podcast from National Public Radio on a recent addition to schools of alternative learning. A new school in New York, Quest to Learn, is focused around the idea that children learn best through video games. The philosophy behind the school is that video games are essential to 21st century learning and literacy. The public school has students work together in a virtual town, Creepytown, to complete ten week missions. In a recent mission Creepytown entered a recession of its own and students were challenged to figure out how to make money and bring Creepytown back to life.
Listening to this podcast, all the children interviewed loved what they were doing. The teachers, students, and parents believed wholeheartedly in the mission of the school and in the success they think it will have. I am unsure about learning through video games. I was never successful in the virtual world. I did, however, once beat a few levels of Spyro the Dragon under close surveilance of my older brother, and I know how to play Pong. I think its safe to say that I am not the audience the school is looking for. I have no idea how effective video games will be in teaching and learning, but having heard the excitement in everyone's voices I believe the students will learn a lot in the Quest to Learn environment. Any school that gets children excited about learning can only be a good thing in my mind. I will be intersted to see how things progress as Quest to Learn enters its second year.