EVE General Discussion

Several years ago I used to be a secondary mathematics teacher (high school to our US friends I think). As part of my duties I was obligated to run a weekly after school session for some extra-curricular activity. When I was asked what I'd like to do I had two thoughts, one was Eve and one was golf.

I spent some time going through the merits of using Eve as a learning tool, even going as far as to describe the game to my head of department, but ultimately the logistics of running the game on aging computers and the red tape nightmare of ensuring the online security of the kids meant that I went with the golf option.

However, I still think that MMOs and Eve in particular could be a fantastic tool for teaching and learning. Putting aside the obvious problems of trying to run an MMO from a school network, Eve essentially encourages the following behaviours:

Communication
You dont get far in Eve solo, especially at the start and so learning to ask the right questions and listen to the answers is vital. A skill many youngsters seem to lack these days.

Cooperation
It's not just about teaming up but learning to work effectively together. Find someone who compliments you with a different set of skills like DPS and logistics or cloakers and tacklers etc.

Mathematics
Percentages, stacking penalties, skill planning, gun tracking, ship fitting, optimisation and absorbing technical information are just a few of the more obvious ones. Eve is full of this stuff and could probably cover 80% of a secondary maths curriculum.

In order to squeeze every last bit of dps and tank from your ship you need to delve into the numbers. The kids who spend the time to run the numbers will probably win the fights. Not a bad lesson right there.

Competition
Want to blow up your friends? You're going to need to understand the game mechanics, learn from your mistakes and experiment with different tactics and ship fits. You will have to accept ship losses as a learning experience and come back stronger for it. I've noticed a lot of kids these days deal very badly with losing which includes not getting their own way.

Sharing
Eve rewards you for working together but you wont find many people willing to team up with you if you keep taking all the loot for yourself. Learn to share and everyone benefits more than if you work alone.

Social Interactions
That contract in Jita selling a fully faction fitted Tengu for 100mil looks too good to be true, it's probably a scam. As with real life, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Better the kids learn this lesson with Eve money than with the real stuff.

Finance
Eve has an economy almost as complex as real life and the basic lessons of supply and demand are easily experienced. How do you minimise the cost of what you are buying and how are you going to maximise the value of what you are selling and what other ways are there to make money?

Spacial Awareness
Ok, the physics in Eve aren't as per proper space flight but you still need to be aware of where you are in 3 dimensions in relation to objects, other player ships and NPCs.

Other Stuff
I'm sure people can think of more but I've burned out for now.

When I have kids of my own and they are old enough, I certainly wont have a problem with them playing Eve assuming they are properly supervised. It teaches so many important lessons.

Playing MMOs in the classroom is probably unlikely to happen for some time, if ever, but the potential is there. When I was teaching, the older teachers were continuously agonising over how to engage kids in the classroom and make learning more holistic and meaningful. This could be an answer.

Eve online isn't just a spaceship game, it's a life skills simulator.

There's always one...

That's an interesting point, although I would say that someone who continuously breaks his word will struggle to make much headway (of course there are exceptions).

Pirates who get a reputation for not honouring ransoms will find their income takes a dent. A character that steals from their corporation will be lucky to gain entry to another.

By building an honest rep I have had opportunities to make significant isk that would not otherwise be open.

if I had my time over, I'd do that course again in a heartbeat. I loved it.

Only difference being, the second time around I wouldn't be such a lazy bum, and I'd go on to Masters and Doctorate level

Thus preparing them for success in the real world careers of investment banking, journalism, law, government, management, advertising, real estate, insurance............

I know! Some people are way too sensitive.

I think schools have a duty to prepare children for the world as it is rather than how we would like it to be.

And yes, I know how cynical I sound and I don't like it either.

Jumpers.

Banana.

You'll have to forgive me, I'm not familiar with the rules of your game.

Is "getting high in the corporate ladder" a euphemism?

Hah! Brilliant.

Also, didn't we banish you a few days ago?