Cool School Where Peace Rules

Reported December 2008

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Amid growing concern surrounding the effects violent video games have on children, a new computer game could be the alternative parents have been waiting for.

Kids who play together also argue together. Fights over games, toys and friendships are common, but when arguments heat up, it's time to solve them before things get out of hand. A new computer game teaches kids how to solve playground and classroom quarrels that kids face every day in a positive way -- without fists and fights.

"It helps them resolve conflicts by giving them a chance to think about what happens in the course of an actual conflict episode," Melanie Killen, Ph.D., a human development expert at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., told Ivanhoe.

The game, called "Cool School: Where Peace Rules" -- designed by a team of human development scientists, teachers, government mediators, computer game developers and animators -- helps kids solve school violence and bullying while still having fun.

"You're learning things, but at the same time it's having fun with it," student Ellen Yaffe told Ivnahoe.

Animated objects come to life and depict common conflicts. Kids experiment on how to settle each argument. Players have the option of threatening the peer, telling the teacher, forgetting about it or talking things through. Players are rewarded for choosing positive solutions to resolve conflicts with letters they collect to win.

"What this game is doing is it's empowering children to make choices and decisions and to see what unfolds based on their own decisions," Dr. Killen said.

Parents and teachers praise the new game, and kids love it for their own reasons.

"I think they make it very realistic with like the names and how the school looks," student Jacob Tycko told Ivanhoe.

The best part is the game is totally free. You can download it online by visiting www.curriki.com and searching for "cool school."

The American Sociological Association contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

David Ottalini, Senior Media Relations Associate
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-4076

Jackie Cooper, Media Relations Officer
American Sociological Association
(202) 383-9005, x332
JCooper@asanet.org

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