I think if used responsibly gaming can be used to encourage our youth into career in ICT.  Studies have shown that the number of students pursuing degrees/careers in ICT are dwindling and in the next ten years country’s like China and India will be the primary source of engineers in the marketplace.  We need to show our children that these games are more than that, they are a creative outlet as well as a viable career.  I think the work that Balanced Gaming is doing is a big step in this direction.  Why not tailor learning into a medium that we know children already enjoy.  Use these games as a tool to spark their interest in technology rather than babysit and show our children that there is a world of creative, enriching jobs available in a medium they enjoy.

Thank you for your note!

Computer games are powerful motivators, and they can spark an interest in IT and computer science / computer engineering. I know of many-a-geek who started with computer games and then went on to broader application of comp sci.

I’m not sure if this a chicken-and-egg thing.

People inclined to IT are drawn to games, or people play games and then are drawn to IT. Especially when students start modding games, and get under the hood, their insatiable curiosity about how things work gets lit up.

Thank you again for your post