Inside the Haiti Earthquake

We were introduced to this online game called “Inside the Haiti Earthquake” by Miss Yoon and I must say, this is one interesting game. It was a heart wrenching game too. I have to admit, I never really followed the news when the Haiti earthquake occurred, all I knew was they experienced a major natural disaster and many people were affected. I didn’t really know how Haiti looked like after the disaster, how it felt like being one of the survivors, how everything was like, until I played this game.

They offered three characters to choose from, a journalist, a survivor and an aid worker. I played the game three times as I wanted to know how it felt like being each of them. The footages shown were so surreal and difficult for me to comprehend as I felt the pain of seeing so many people being affected by the disaster. It really allowed you to picture yourself in their position, to see what they see, to hear what they hear, and to feel what they feel. I liked that I was allowed to make my own choices in the game. Also, I liked how they also included footages of people singing and praising God despite what happened. This game is definitely something I would recommend people to play. By committing to the various strategies, we experience the consequences from our choices.

I would definitely use this game to conduct a writing lesson. There are two ways in which I would use, the first would be writing a narrative essay. Students will be asked to play the game and note down whatever they have experienced in the game. Then, I would ask the students to write a narrative essay out of the points they have noted. Students are required to write the essay in 200 words, with titles, "As A Survivor During the Haiti Earthquake", "As A Journalist During the Haiti Earthquake" and "As An Aid Worker During the Haiti Earthquake".

Another activity would be: Students will be asked to play the game and later, write down their thoughts on the game. Students are required to write a passage in not less than 100 words.

One thing I recommend while playing this game? A good Internet connection.