Move to Bring America's Army Game to High Schools Raises Questions

Given recent criticism that the America’s Army game is being used to recruit children for military service, perhaps the last place you’d expect the Army to take its game is to America's high schools.

But in a move that’s sure to raise eyebrows, the Army has teamed with non-profit organization Project Lead The Way “to enhance student curriculum by using a variety of Army technologies to promote student interest in the engineering and technical fields.” 

The platform used for the curriculum will, of course, be America’s Army. Col. Casey Wardynski, project originator and director of the game project said:

The U.S. Army is committed to educating today's youth. We are honored to work with Project Lead The Way to employ our technologies to allow students to explore critical subjects like math, engineering and the sciences in an innovative and hands-on manner.  Encouraging our youth to develop expertise in science and engineering is imperative. The America's Army Technology Education program provides a unique offering by combining the power of gaming and simulations with real life equipment to create a compelling academic program.

AE: Reading the press release, it looks like the partnership will be doing more than simply dropping the game in students’ laps and saying, “have fun.”  Rather, it appears they‘ve used the game as a backbone for specifically tailored educational software with a pro-military slant.

Via: Water Cooler Games

-Reporting from San Diego, GamePolitics correspondent Andrew Eisen...