Choosing a Gaming System

If I were choosing a gaming system for our elementary school library, I would probably choose a computer based system, not a console system, since there are already 12 computers in the media center and it would be less expensive to use them than to buy consoles. In choosing software, I would ask students what kinds of games they enjoy playing. I would also read reviews of games. I would talk to teachers about where they think games might be a useful addition to the curriculum and how they could be implemented. I would want to be sure that the games I chose were in an appropriate area and that they reinforced skills that would be valuable and so that they would be actually used by the teachers. I might also talk to the IT person to see what information he had about games and the best way to set them up for students in a classroom/library setting. I would talk to librarians I knew to see if they were using games and if so, which ones, and ask about the benefits and disadvantages and try to find out which games were well received.

I would probably start small. That is, I would probably find one teacher or group of teachers who was willing to try working on a project including gaming. Once the project was successful, I would then approach other teachers about incorporating games into their curriculum (or hopefully, they would approach me) and then, I would purchase more games with their assistance.