This makes them think about what they're seeing and why. A few years ago, Perrone had an idea. MUDs feature different rooms or spaces, such as ballrooms, closets and prisons, each with its own entrances and objects. Perrone wondered how MUDs could be transferred to an educational setting. She talked with Repenning, who had been working on Agentsheets for a number of projects, and David Clark, a computer instructor at Platt Middle School, about developing a game for students.
Kids tend to tune out what teachers say.
They love the Web. But simply turning them loose on the Web exposes them to a huge information base with no focus. I thought if they build their own game, it would be something they created without teacher or adult intervention, and they can give them a starting point to learn about different topics. WebQuest is an interactive simulation scavenger hunt-type game that combines the Agentsheets programming with the Web for elementary and middle school students to play, create and share games based on questions that use the Web's reference tool capabilities to find the answers. At first, WebQuest is a blank game board.