Little Big Education – Sackboy makes learning fun

Posted by station6 on Nov 25 In Little Big Planet General | 4 Comments

Little_Big_School

I may be alone here but, it has occurred to me that Little Big Planet is actually teaching me things.

Okay, here’s what I mean. At the heart of Little Big Planet is the game element. Load up a level and play a pretty much standard gaming formula. Various puzzles to solve, hazards to avoid and goals to attain. Granted this is all done to the highest degree of quality. Graphics and sound are top of the class and the interaction between you and Sackboy is almost parental in feeling. Add to that the ability to go on wild adventures with your friends and the game is propelled into the realms of a Masters Degree and beyond.

Essentially though, this is gaming, and as we all know “gaming is of no value”. Or is it?

The other side of this game is the “create” mode and this is where the fun starts…oops, I meant to say learning starts.

Now I’ve only published one level and even that is still locked and unfinished. But in that level is an extensive amount of painstaking calculating, problem solving, evaluating. I’ve used maths, geometry and even the odd bit of English here and there to ensure the finished article wasn’t spoiled by some bad grammar. Physics and electronics are paramount to ensure pistons lift and projectiles, well, project correctly. My living room floor is awash with graph paper, tracing paper, layout paper. I have tech plans drawn up with overlays of switches, hazards and routes. Every probability has been looked at, angles, arcs, gravity, trajectories we are talking actual rocket science in some cases!!!

My brain is being tested and it’s fun, I really am enjoying being hunched over a ruler and pen plotting courses and blueprinting inventions.

As an adult in my 30’s I’m refreshed by the way in which LBP has stirred long distant memories of the skills I strove to achieve in school. If I was a parent, I’m sure I’d be coming up with various challenges for my kid to solve. Not in the sense of creating something for them to play, but come up with a problem and have them come up with the solution using the basics of school….maybe that’s just me though.

A big kid at heart :)

  • AR

    I am in education and have just been given a PS3 and Little Big Planet to trial with the children in school (4-11 yr olds) to see what educational possibilities there are. I would be interested in what other users have discovered, or are exploring, with this game especially the benefits they have found for enhancing children’s learning (academic and social). Having said that we are also using PSPs with the camera attachments so feel free to offer any support here as well! Thanks.

  • AR

    I am in education and have just been given a PS3 and Little Big Planet to trial with the children in school (4-11 yr olds) to see what educational possibilities there are. I would be interested in what other users have discovered, or are exploring, with this game especially the benefits they have found for enhancing children’s learning (academic and social). Having said that we are also using PSPs with the camera attachments so feel free to offer any support here as well! Thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/I_teach_ICT Wes Warner

    I too am in education but unfortunately there is too little information and no contact information for us to communicate and collaborate. I am @i_teach_ict on twitter

  • Nicci

    LBP is a great game, I played the first edition with children (ages 7 to 12) as part of my fieldwork on kids and games in SA. They love customizing characters, so LBP has the potential to be more gender neutral, although I found girls still make girly sack people and boys want funny, ‘boy’ sack people. How they design their sack-people says a bit about performing gendered identities and the kinds of characters they want to play. Also, during levels there is a lot of collaborative play, where a pair will work together. However, at the end of a level, there can only be one winner, so kids negotiate cooperation and competition. Learning to win or lose is also an important life lesson. I really love this game and think it’s great for kids and most importantly AGE APPROPRIATE:) I was shocked that none of the children that I’ve met throughout my fieldwork have heard of or played this game, but then again, it is a PS3 exclusive which is expensive for middle class parents here in SA. Most kids have pc, PS2 or Wii. LBP needs to go cross-platform to reach kids. Because it’s a PS3 exclusive, I’m a little confused about who they intended their target market to be? Adult males? My boyfriend enjoys it, so yes. I think it could be a great family game too.