3rd Grade: Runescape vs. Math Workbook

I have the privilege of being a "pal" with a 3rd grader at one of our local schools. (This is different than a "mentor", since as you see, we're both learning from each other.)

During my visit yesterday, I took along the EEEpc (see previous post) to ask for his input. He was impressed at the size, and at first struggled a bit with the trackpad, but once we added a mouse, he was fluid. I asked him to open the web browser and show me his favorite web site.

"How do you spell ruin-escape?"
"Ruin, as in ancient ruins? R-U-I-N."
"No, it's a game, ruin-scape."
"Let's google it... OH, RUNESCAPE."

After he typed the address in, what I saw was nothing short of amazing. A 3rd grader who struggles with reading and math took ME to school on the intricacies of this game. Here's a summary of his narrative...

First you get signed in, and then here's my character. (He's quickly using the arrow keys to move).

So at the bottom are all of the things I've collected. You fight with the goblins and get points, and then they drop things that you can pick up. (As he's killing a goblin)... yeah, he doesn't have anything.

These other people moving around are other players... but some of them aren't real people, but I can tell the difference. You can fight with them and take what they have. (I ask why the guy right there doesn't just whack him and take his stuff.) Oh, you have to be in a certain place, like the coliseum.

Here's a store, let's go in. Naw, there's nothing here that I want. Let's go over here to the exchange... see all of these people? They're trading things, so if I go to this screen (an online auction), I can sell some of my things. There are some things that are expensive, like this easter egg for (some bajillion points), but some things are pretty inexpensive, too.

So here's a discussion area, and this person was swearing, you can tell by the ****'s. Can you remember this for me? j134ssa (or some login), and now we have to report him. So I go over here and, what was that login again?, and we mark it as "inappropriate language", and now a message pops up down here.

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I thought I got to be the cool person with the laptop, and I was quickly humbled by all that my pal could do, but also the core skills he was demonstrating. Math skills in understanding the value/buy/sell of his possessions, spatial/geographic awareness in moving from place to place, ethics in understanding what wasn't appropriate, and certainly reading in the things that showed up on the screen.

Our Futures Task Force is struggling with the question of what a 21st century learning environment looks like, and the word "relevance" keeps flashing before me. My pal is a very bright student who is willing to put forth the energy into the things he sees relevant. Very eye-opening...