Online+Digital+Games

=3rd World Farmer= []

3rd World Farmer is a turn-based game aimed at simulating the real-world mechanisms that cause and sustain poverty in 3rd World countries. It is best used with students in the //connected classroom// (i.e. a classroom with access to a data projector) and is a very good game to generate discussion.



Some computer games like the simulation game here are often much better ways to stimulate discussion than a reading text or photographs as they immerse the students in a problem-solving situation and help them identify with the character they play.

"In the game, the player gets to manage an African farm, and is soon confronted with the often difficult choices that poverty and conflict necessitate. We find this kind of experience efficient at making the issues relevant to people, because players tend to invests their hopes in a game character whose fate depends on him. We aim at making the player "experience" the injustices, rather than being told about them, so as to stimulate a deeper and more personal reflection on the topics." (find out more here: About 3rd World Farmer )

The game is an excellent way to lead into discussions about the developing world, agriculture, natrual disasters, etc.

As a follow-up, students can be encouraged to write about what happened to the family and reflect upon life as a 3rd World farmer.

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 * Learning Games for Change