article on KSP in the French mainstream press

[gosnold]

Le monde, one of the most prominent French newspapers, has published an article on KSP and educational aspects:

http://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2014/07/08/kerbal-space-program-le-jeu-video-qui-permet-d-apprendre-ses-cours-de-physique_4450674_4408996.html#xtor=RSS-3208

Google translate:

Kerbal

Kerbal Space Program, the video game that teaches his physics course

Play video games have never been very good. But with Kerbal Space, a Finnish developer has finally managed to reconcile play and learning.

The Monde.fr | 08/07/2014 at 18h53 • Updated 08/07/2014 19:00 | By Baptiste Garcin (Journalist)

Nicolas and Adrien would successfully launch rockets into space during their practical work in physics. After sending a craft in orbit and have reduced its holding in one piece, the two students studying science are conquered.

"It's more educational than paper," laughs while Adrien capsule parachute deploys. Both teens come to try to Kerbal Space Program. This simulator rocket is still in development but has already received honors from NASA. The U.S. space agency has participated in the creation of a mission pack for the game Squad A study by the Mexican game publisher shows that about 7% of players are hard for people from near and far to the aerospace sector.

Both students also see it as a way to vary the experiments in progress. "The coup shooting a ball falling and analyze its speed by comparing its position frame by frame, it does every year," says Adrian. "And then, in general, physics is that calculations, at least there is concrete," adds Nicolas.

The realism of this game is very thorough. "We have never compromised, we only simplified some rules," says Felipe Falanghe, the creator of the game For example, in Kerbal Space Program, spaceships are subject to only one gravitational force to times. Felipe Falanghe is passionate about space exploration. "When I was younger, I attached little green characters, Kerbals in fireworks and that's how it all began. "

Person in the development team has made ​​Kerbal astrophysics studies. "We had to learn everything ourselves," says the designer. It's a bit what is required by the game's fans. They are obliged to know the basics mechanical orbitals in order to achieve the goal they have set. "When we started to complicate the game, it was a real challenge, remembers Felipe Falanghe. And soon people began to learn about themselves in order to continue playing. "

The physical model that Felipe Falanghe created for Kerbal inspired some teachers, including Santeri Koivisto. The Finn is a former teacher who left his job to set up his business: Teacher Gaming. The purpose of this company is to adapt existing video games to make them educational.

His first adaptation involved Minecraft, a construction game "sandbox" which he developed the cooperative mode to suit the classroom. With Kerbal Space Program, he tackles a project larger. For now, Kerbal EDU is still developing and is very close to the "classic" version of Kerbal, but some features are very promising. A flight recorder has already been implemented. It allows to extract the variations of a large number of physical parameters for operation in progress.

Another feature allows to compare directly the results of a specific equation and the data collected by the flight recorder. "Ultimately, there will be an option to play in a more realistic solar system," says Santeri Koivisto. It is true that if the physical size of the game is very close to reality, the universe is not. Kerbin, the equivalent of the Earth has two moons, and Minmus Mun.

Sales figures remain secret but at least 40,000 people play EVERY day Kerbal Space Program. Felipe Falanghe, thanks to its quirky universe that the game is so successful. At Squad, nothing is sacrificed to the playfulness. "Whenever we introduce a new part or a new feature, we think of a fun feature before thinking about realism," says Felipe Falanghe.

"Traditional educational games are not fun"

If Santeri Koivisto of Teacher Gaming wants a little more realism, it considers that the fun part of Kerbal based on the tone adopted by the creator. "We work with professionals in the gaming industry because traditional educational games are not fun. These are not really games, they are not made ​​by gamers, "says former Finnish teacher.

In France, when it comes to educational game, we immediately think of the Adibou series. Pierre-Yves Martin is a designer of educational games but in the form of game, is also a former professor of science, and to him, this license is a typical example of bad game "This is a game that works as a question / answer, like a holiday scrapbook. The problem is that it returns to practice knowledge that we have already, "he says before recognizing a good point. "Adibou worked well because he spoke directly to parents. It did not look like a game and did not suffer from the negative image attached to them. "For this former professor of physics and chemistry, a good educational game ludo advance masked. "If we said from the beginning that we will learn what is no longer a game Or, the school is a game"

When he discovers Kerbal Space Program, he is pleasantly surprised. "There are all aspects of a game, it's fun, it's a simulation done well, he analysis. The educational aspects are also present, there is much information available. "

Santeri Koivisto adapted Kerbal Space Program thinking this game as an experimental environment, a tool to check some physical laws. "Ideally, the teacher would begin by explaining the second law of Newton and ask his students to check through features Kerbal Space Program. "

Induction deduction against

This teaching approach raises a pedagogical debate between the proponents of induction and deduction of those. The idea of ​​Santeri Koivisto is more in line with the first. In fact, the inductive method starts with physical neglect some parameters to focus on one. In deduction, we take a simpler system to control all the variables.

In deductive teaching, "the French" Kerbal Space Program is too complex for high school students and caters more to students preparing or engineering school. "People who have decided to make science and who have chosen to be there, says Pierre-Yves Martin. A game like this is more for good students, who will try those who are going to want to succeed. "He dares estimate ladle:" 30% of people will not see it as a game, 30% will be paralyzed by the mass of information to be taken into account and 40% will have fun. "

When the preferred method is induction, as in Finland, the required level drops. This is why Santeri Koivisto was able to test the educational mode Kerbal Space Program with students aged 9 years. They focus only on a given and do not need to control all the mechanical orbitals.

Pierre-Yves Martin also sees an application Kerbal a view of emergent science to primary students. "In a workshop awakening, do not fix educational goal, he thinks. Ideally, we must let students play for an hour and tailor the course following their feelings. "In this case, the instruction that follows can all relate to the issue of balance weight / power required for a rocket schoolyard as the means for moving around a modeled three-dimensional object.

An illustration of the game Kerbal Space Program An illustration of the game Kerbal Space Program | Screenshot / LeMonde.fr

Inductive or deductive method, Nicolas and Adrian, both high school students do not think about too. What they see is the challenge. "When you play a game like this, you want to be the first to make his rocket into orbit, says Nicolas. Be competitive, it stimulates. "

Pierre-Yves Martin summed up their feelings in relation to the learning mode would Kerbal: "The important thing in an edutainment game is that the purpose is fun, the way should not be. Reasoning that has developed is even still stronger. We remember all his life. "

Edited July 8, 2014 by gosnold
clarify translation

[Thomas988]

Ha ha! KSP is really going places! I seriously think KSP's most popular days have yet to come.

[The Jedi Master]

KSP is not too complex for high school, 13-year-olds play it!

[Lilleman]

Nice, unfortunately, Le Monde don't really aim gamers, so it won't really serve advertisement of the game. But at least, it's nice to see a positive article about a videogames, for once.

[Javster]

EDIT: removed double post

Edited July 8, 2014 by Javster

[Javster]

Yay they have a french version (thought they didn't since the article on the OP was in English)

And the translation has a few errors "try to Kerbal Space Program" should be "try themselves at"

Wait. Google Translate, right?

[Chrisd857]

Can I have that flight recorder in stock KSP?

[Lheim]

I did the same thing with the google translate on that article .

Interesting tidbit:

"Ultimately, there will be an option to play in a more realistic solar system, " says Santeri Koivisto.

This is a guy from the teacher gaming company, so it's hardly official from the devs. But does he know something we don't?

[vexx32]

Who knows? If the KerbalEDU team have an aim like that, it's not impossible that it could turn out to be true. But I think it's still too early to say.

[Ravenchant]

A study by the Mexican game publisher shows that about 7% of players are hard for people from near and far to the aerospace sector.

Gotta love Google Translate (and I'm still waiting for my workshop awakening)

[Lilleman]

They are talking about a modified version of KSP, capable of recording flights and a lot of parameters. They plan to implement a "real solar system" later, but it'll probably be a modified version of RSS (just a guess).

It's a nice idea, unfortunately I doubt it will be experimented elsewhere.

A study by the Mexican game publisher shows that about 7% of players are hard for people from near and far to the aerospace sector.

Actually, it's more like "7% of KSP's players have a close or distant relation with the Aerospace sector". Or maybe not, I don't know and I don't want to know...

[McFarnsworth]

A Finnish developer?

So did Finland move to Mexico, or the other way around?

[Lilleman]

I think they are talking about the guy who develop the educational mod, he also made one for Minecraft.

Edit:for those who missed the link in the article

Edited July 9, 2014 by Lilleman

[Sky_walker]

About mining industry? lol

[djnattyd]

I know the mainstream media aren't always fantastic at fact checking but how on Earth can you get Mexico and Finland mixed up??

[Caelib]

KSP is not too complex for high school, 13-year-olds play it!

Both my 7 & 11 year old kids played it! I am strong believer is letting my kids try anything ... nothing it too complicated! Exposing them to "hard" things is good! Kinda like this article: http://raymmar.com/7-reasons-youll-never-do-anything-amazing-life/

I’m talking about skills that cannot be taught in a classroom or in a textbook. Skills you can only learn by doing; by learning how to fly after jumping off the cliff.

Skills that can only be developed when you find your true self. When you put yourself on the line or otherwise expose yourself to the possibility of failure.

The skills you can only develop when you are willing to risk it all in order to do that one amazing thing.

[SolarLiner]

-snip-

Also, about the more realistic solar system, Santeri Koivisto explains that "at the end, there will be an option to play in a more realistic solar system". The guy is from Teacher Gaming and works with the EDU version of KSP. He explained too that a flight recorder was already implemented, and there was plan to compare equations to a flight profile, along with extracting physical parameters out of a profile.

I want the flight recorder so much, I want it to be on the stock KSP

Edited July 10, 2014 by KasperVld

[Justin Kerbice]

I know the mainstream media aren't always fantastic at fact checking but how on Earth can you get Mexico and Finland mixed up??

it's not mixed up, it's either a google-dumbslation or you've misundertood, they talk about general education way in Finland (as the quoted people is Santeri Koivisto).

[Pecan]

I know the mainstream media aren't always fantastic at fact checking but how on Earth can you get Mexico and Finland mixed up??

Check your sources. Amazing as it may seem, this English person read the French newspaper, talking about a Finnish educationalist who was recommending a Mexican game. What's the question?

[djnattyd]

Check your sources. Amazing as it may seem, this English person read the French newspaper, talking about a Finnish educationalist who was recommending a Mexican game. What's the question?

"Play video games have never been very good. But with Kerbal Space, a Finnish developer has finally managed to reconcile play and learning."

That clearly says "A Finnish developer" not educationalist.

[Lilleman]

They are talking about the Finnish Developper who made KerbalEdu.

But I agree, this is poorly written, even in French. Lots of people now think Harvester is Finnish... Press and videogames...

Edit: Plus, the article in general is more of a critic of the French educational system, and how lame it is compared to other European countries ("for a 9 year-old finnish kid, it's okay, but for a 13-years old French, too hard..."). They also point out how lame was the last french educational videogame ("Adibou"... I agree, I never seen something this -snip-y before).

Like I said earlier, it's nice to see a positive article about videogames for once. But it won't serve the advertisement of KSP. Le monde don't aim for gamers, but people in their 40-50's.

Edited July 10, 2014 by KasperVld

[rkman]

Le monde don't aim for gamers, but people in their 40-50's.

People have been playing games since the 1980's, and KSP does not exclusively target young gamers.

[Blind Dead McJones]

Le Monde is a dead serious newspaper. They generally don't talk about video games because that's not "serious journalism" material. Like Lilleman said, this article isn't about KSP so much as it's about using computer games to get children more interested in learning.

[Pecan]

Yes, and this is really the point, isn't it :- Link 'education', 'NASA' and 'KSP' and think how acceptable it makes KSP to all those people who would usually write-off even the most studied simulator as 'just a computer game, must be like space invaders'. This is the sort of press to kill for, out of the 'gaming' niche and into mainstream and education.

[Rowsdower]

Is Squad from Finland now? No? Well, maybe we'll relocate. It's a small price to pay for such a great feature. Great metal and great hockey? Time for an office in Finland!