MINISTERS trying to think up ways to woo teachers could do worse than give them each a free Sony Playstation 2 - the eagerly awaited new games console “with emotions” that also has Internet access and plays DVDs.
It might help convince teachers that computer games do have educational value (the Diary’s expert, aged eight, assures us this is true).
David Puttnam and learning and technology minister Michael Wills both think games are grea, and that the same techniques should be used in education.
To that end, Puttnam this week chaired a session with representatives from games creators and educational technology firms. All the usual suspects turned up, but games people were thin on the ground. Too busy creating the next Lara Croft, presumably.
“We have to capture the imagination of the games makers,” said one attendee. Throwing wads of cash at them might help.
