Learning Log 6: My Top 5 Educational Games (Web-Based)
In this module, hundreds of web-based educational games are introduced. Given the plethora of the online games, making informed decision about the educational games is a vital skill for a teacher. Please identify five games that are appropriate for your subject discipline and justify your choices by citing sources introduced in this course.
Click on the game pictures or corresponding button to access the games.
PEMDAS Exhibit
Standard Alignment: 6.EEI.2c Evaluate real-world and algebraic expressions for specific values using the Order of Operations.
Description: PEMDAS Exhibit is a multileveled game to practice the Order of Operations. In 6th grade students have just learned how to evaluate exponents and they should now be able to evaluate expressions using the whole PEMDAS mnemonic. In the game, the student is given 12 equations to solve which will complete their "gallery". I especially like that this game has multiple levels so students can enter where they are comfortable and grow their skills. However, in 6th grade students should be able to complete this game on the highest level.
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Sources: According to Kapp & Cone, the gamification of content "increases engagement, relevance, and immersion and assists with the transfer of learning to the actual situation" (2012). While playing this game, students will be engaged in relevant problems parallel to the ones they will be presented with in the classroom and throughout their lives. The game has students do 12 practice problems which is an appropriate number to master the content, but keep students in a consistent flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1990).
3D Nets
Standard Alignment: 6.GM.4 Unfold three-dimensional figures into two-dimensional rectangles and triangles (nets) to find the surface area and to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
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Description: 3D Nets is a great game for students to practice identifying the types of nets. The game has two modes: identify the shape the net will form and identify the nets of a particular shape. It also appreciate that after the student chooses a net, it slowly folds up to show the student the shape each net will form. This can be a good confirmation when students answered correctly, but it is even better reinforcement when students were incorrect. I would give my 6th graders this game as an enrichment activity within a lesson or as an option during free time.
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Sources: In class we have discussed the use of games to enhance and supplement the content that we are already teaching. According to Gentile, games "use many of the techniques that a truly exceptional teacher use[s]" (2011). I feel that nets are a concept that is easier in a more concrete-visual form. 3D Nets shows students how the nets come together and gives them valuable practice in identifying shape and net correspondence.
Geo Tombs
Standard Alignment: 6.GM.1 Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into rectangles or decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
Description: Geo Tombs is a versatile game for practicing area and perimeter of two-dimensional shapes. In the game, players are presented with a problem at the top of the screen. They must navigate around the game to find the correct chest with the number representing the answer to the problem. In order to unlock the box they must also have acquired a key. I like that this game has lots of gameplay options. First there is the choice between area and perimeter. There is also a menu to choose the types of shapes that the player will encounter. When playing with my 6th graders I would use are of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids to challenge them appropriately.
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Sources: Geo Tombs has many different game like aspects that entice the player to continue from challenge to challenge, level to level. I can see this game as being one that will induce Csikszentmihalya's flow. Flow "provides a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality" and "pushes the person to higher levels of performance" (1990). I believe that Geo Tomb fosters that performance and engagement level with challenging problems and added game elements such as keys, coins, and lives (Kapp, Blair & Mesch, 2012).
Kid Hero Theme
Standard Alignment: 6.RL.8.1 Determine figurative, connotative, and technical meanings of words and phrases used in a text; analyze the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone.
Description: Kid Hero Theme is a Language Arts game where students read a passage and determine the theme selecting from three options. When they answer correctly, students are given a choice between three characters to place between the ogre and the king at the bottom of the page. This integration of game elements makes the learning more engaging and motivates the students to answer quickly and correctly. The game ends when the ogre overtakes the king. Kid Hero Theme is a game that I would incorporate as a station or early finisher activity to give students some fun extra practice.
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Sources: The incorporation of the king, ogre, and defensive character at the bottom of this game makes it a great example of structural gamification. According to Kapp, Blair & Mesch, structural gamification has “game-elements to propel a learner through content with no alteration or changes to the content” (2012, p. 224). These elements engage the learner and encourage them to answer quickly, however they do not impact the questions and content being learned.
Ms. Rose & the Water Cycle
Standard Alignment: 6.E.2A.3 Construct explanations of the processes involved in the cycling of water through Earth’s systems (including transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, precipitation, and downhill flow of water on land).
Description: Ms. Rose & the Water Cycle holds a series of mini games that teach you about the more complex steps in the water cycle. For example, students are asked to know the structure of a water molecule, the types of clouds, and even the conditions to most efficiently facilitate transpiration. The game seems like a good review of concepts from previous years with sophisticated language and steps appropriate to 6th grade. This game would be best used as a station game or given as at-home enrichment since it is a little long.
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Sources: This game is more of a simulation as the students act out the steps of the water cycle. According to Fischer, simulations "help deliver variety to instruction and keep students engaged to the point that discipline rarely becomes an issue" (n.d. Fischer) This engagement is very important since this game has a longer gameplay than the others that I choose for this module. This game is also the closest that any of my choices got to Anderson's Bio-Hazard 5 simulation (2012).
References
Anderson, P. (2012, April 24). Classroom game design. TEDxTalks. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qlYGX0H6Ec
Bavelier et al. (2011) Brains on video games. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12 (12), pp. X763-768. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.drdouglas.org/drdpdfs/Nature_Reviews_Neuroscience_2011.pdf
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). The Conditions of Flow. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from http://ww2.coastal.edu/clee/Public/Coastal/EDIT670/_reading/M04_The-Conditions-of-Flow.pdf
Fischer, M. (n.d.). Simulations engage students in active learning. Education World. Retrieved September 30, 2019 from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr391.shtml
Kapp, K. (2015, September 21). An Elusive Definition: "Gamification for Learning". Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elusive-definition-gamification-learning-karl-kapp/
Kapp, K, Cone, J. (2012). What every chief learning officer needs to know about … Retrieved September 30, 2019, from http://karlkapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/clo_gamification.pdf
Bavelier et al. (2011) Brains on video games. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12 (12), pp. X763-768. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.drdouglas.org/drdpdfs/Nature_Reviews_Neuroscience_2011.pdf
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). The Conditions of Flow. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from http://ww2.coastal.edu/clee/Public/Coastal/EDIT670/_reading/M04_The-Conditions-of-Flow.pdf
Fischer, M. (n.d.). Simulations engage students in active learning. Education World. Retrieved September 30, 2019 from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr391.shtml
Kapp, K. (2015, September 21). An Elusive Definition: "Gamification for Learning". Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elusive-definition-gamification-learning-karl-kapp/
Kapp, K, Cone, J. (2012). What every chief learning officer needs to know about … Retrieved September 30, 2019, from http://karlkapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/clo_gamification.pdf