Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/189657
VIDEO GAMES Learning Video games, virtual construction build confidence and geometry skills BY SHERRY POSNICK-GOODWIN "P 'Oh, they're just playing video games,'" says Tristan Grandy. "But it's much more than that." He logs in to a computer and enters what he calls "a world without limits that holds infinite possibilities." He is playing Minecraft, one of the hottest video games on the market, where anything can be built with cubes. Grandy shows off a virtual, three-dimensional replica of their school's gymnasium he and classmate Aiden Lawrence are building, while other student teams construct virtual classrooms, locker rooms or other areas of their Centennial High School campus in Corona. A shared drive allows a panoramic view of the entire "campus" under construction by teams, or the ability to focus on a single area. Through virtual construction, students are learning geometry from a teacher who thinks outside the cube. Brian Kenney, unlike most adults, doesn't consider video games to be a waste of time. In fact, Kenney teaches video game design classes at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels at Centennial, in a program that connects with nearby Norco College. He hopes to have "feeder" programs soon at the middle school. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT BUSCHMAN Educator 10 Oct 2013 v2.1 int.indd 47 E O P L E S AY, OCTOBER 201 3 www.cta.org 47 10/7/13 9:39 PM