Family Computing, v2(12)

~1 minute read

Dec 1984

BEHIND THE SCREENS: PEOPLE, NEWS, AND TRENDS

Reading, Writing, and... Zork?

Linda Williams

School's an adventure in Millers Falls, Massachusetts, where Micki Siegel and Mike Lipinski, fifth- and sixth-grade teachers at Erving Elementary School, use Infocom "interactive-fiction" games to teach reading, writing, and organizational skills.

In these games, a player takes the role of the main character, typing instructions — where to walk, what to pick up. etc. To solve them, you have to think logically, plan, and use ingenuity — plus, you have to use correct spelling and grammar.

"All the skills — mapping, directionality, reading for understanding — that the children would ordinarily learn by other methods can be done through the games." Lipinski said.

"You learn how to make your own decisions, how to do it on your own without the help of adults," said sixth-grader Cherie Willoughby. "You have to keep going back to places you've been and objects you've found, and asking yourself "What's the purpose of that?' and then figuring out exactly how to use it."

When the Erving classes got stumped in figuring out one game, Deadline, they wrote to Infocom for hints. The company offered help, and also sent its first "junior adventure," Seastalker, which was still in the testing stage. "They sent evaluation forms for the kids to fill out — and the kids were very perceptive about what the game was lacking." said Siegel.

Infocom later invited the classes on a field trip to its Cambridge headquarters, where the students spent a day with the company's programmers.

This article appeared in
Family Computing
Dec 1984

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