New Video Game Teaches Kids About Shakespeare

"Speare," a new video game that teaches about Shakespeare, takes advantage of studies that have shown that children learn faster when they are taught using a hands-on, or interactive, approach.

A Canadian University has taken the attitude of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." They've spent $44,800 to develop a video game that introduces Shakespeare to kids while entertaining them at the same time. The game, which took two years to make, is being launched in conjunction with the anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The new game called "Speare" is evidence that a hands-on approach to learning is more effective than learning by reading or listening to lectures. Studies in the past have found that students who engage in interactive learning score higher on tests than those who are not physically engaged. While playing the game, kids can get up to speed on the facts behind Romeo and Juliet and shoot at spaceships to piece together the text of the famous story. "The game is a way to capitalize on the time that kids spend on computers," said Professor Daniel Fischlin who headed the team at the University of Guelph in Ontario that developed the game called "Speare."

"I don't know of another medium that has seven-year-olds spouting Shakespeare," Fischlin added in response to charges the game might trivialize learning. Before launching the game, developers tested the game on 100 sixth grade students in hopes to later publish their findings as part of a study. One of the best things about the game is that it links directly to an online database the university created about Shakespeare called "Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare." It's the first game of its kind to link to an online database of this type. The Web site also contains lesson plans for teachers and, interviews, and access to the Bard's plays in book form online. The university decided to create the video game after it discovered that its primary audience was young, perhaps students looking for information for reports for school. It has already proven successful, as some of the students who tested the game said that they learned more from the game than they did from books. "Some of my grade 8 friends have just been learning from a book, and they say this is a more hands-on approach, and they learn more because it's fun," she said.