Spore is one of those games that is really flexible and open to different students and different learners. I remember one of the funnest computer games in school was playing Oregon Trail. You could choose to have one kid on the journey or 5 kids. You could give the kids medicine when they got sick, or allow them to die. You could go hunting for animals to eat and decide which route to take.
When I was playing some of Spore it gave me that same sense of freedom that kids (and some adults) really enjoy in games. I think that the Spore concept is very similar to it's predecessors of Sim City, because it allows the player to create or destroy and really experiment with real-life concepts.
Spore would really be a great way for students to explore the idea of evolution and also allow them to take another look at animals and environments that they perhaps have over looked. I created this creature with huge claws and a big spiky tail, so it would've been interesting to play the full game and see what progressions could be made, and perhaps how strong my creature would've survived.
Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 or 6 boys from my old school that would really get into a game like this because it allows them to create, and I can already imagine them creating silly creatures, big creatures, etc. When you give students a "no-limit" environment for learning, they will come up with new discoveries, and a deeper appreciation than they would have if a teacher or text book had given them the information. I hope that my classroom has several computers with games like Spore because it is limitless and interesting; and oh yeah, educational too!
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I was so busy trying to think of ways to use this game in the classroom I forgot to mention it will be fun! That is the best part-kids learning when they think they're just playing a game-how great is that?
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