Computer Games - Educational vs. Commercial

Today we played educational computer games. I had the consultants play in groups of 2 and they played the Nutrition Decision game and the Food Detectives game. They seemed to have a good time playing them. There was quite a bit of laughter amongst the consultants. Working in pairs really helped so that there was a system for everyone. They did, however, get bored quickly and had to be reminded to stay on the task at hand.
We had a discussion on the value of games in education and the consultants were in agreement that they would prefer to learn some things through game play - providing that the games are age appropriate and offer some challenge and adventure. The consultants had a good time playing and replaying the music videos on the Food Detectives game, but then decided the songs were a little annoying.
We also had a game design activity where I asked the consultants to design a game and a peripheral and present it like it would be on the game box. Some took there time with the activity and really put some thought into it while others rushed through it. Once again, I think that this was a task that was difficult to execute with 8 consultants. Some finished more quickly than others and wandered around or asked to play games, which was disturbing to the ones whom had not yet finished. I think that I should have broken up the activity into 2 days so that the consultants could have put more time and effort in to the assignment.
This groups needs a lot activities to keep busy. With 8, even the open game play can be overwhelming. Next week I think I will try breaking up open game play into stations including handheld, computers, and the gaming systems. It is a learn as you go process.