Learning Log 7: My Top 5 Educational Games (App-Based)
In this module, more than 20 app-based educational games are introduced. Given the plethora of the mobile, making informed decision about the educational games is a vital skill for a teacher. Please identify five app-based 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.
Prodigy
Standard Alignment: (This app covers a variety of different standards as students progress through their individually designed tracks. I included some standards that I saw while testing, however, many more are covered)
6.NS.3 Fluently add, subtract, multiply and divide multi-digit decimal numbers using a standard algorithmic approach.
6.NS.7 Understand and apply the concepts of comparing, ordering, and finding absolute value to rational numbers.
6.RP.3 Apply the concepts of ratios and rates to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
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.
6.NS.3 Fluently add, subtract, multiply and divide multi-digit decimal numbers using a standard algorithmic approach.
6.NS.7 Understand and apply the concepts of comparing, ordering, and finding absolute value to rational numbers.
6.RP.3 Apply the concepts of ratios and rates to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
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: Prodigy is an all in one game that engages players in a game world where they collect pets and battle monsters. "Battles" are fueled by the successful answering of math skill-based questions. After playing for a little while, student develop their own tracks based on the skills that they need more work on. Student progress can be tracked by parents and teachers alike through the app. I have seen this app used in one of my field experience classrooms and the students always seemed actively engaged in the game. Prodigy allows the customization of avatars, training of pets, and communication with other players to motivate content acquisition .
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Sources: Prodigy incorporates "game-elements to propel a learner through content with no alteration or changes to the content" (Kapp, Blair & Mesch, 2012, p. 224). It would be a great tool to implement into the classroom as a daily activity because of its high engagement and educational value. The game flawlessly works game elements like lives, avatars, and challenges into the presentation of content which "help deliver variety to instruction and keep students engaged to the point that discipline rarely becomes an issue" (n.d. Fischer). It also allows students to enter at their own levels and complete problems that have been specifically chosen for them to master certain skills.
History for Kids
Standard Alignment: 6.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the organization and transformation(s) of world civilizations to 550.
Description: History for Kids is another full experience app for 6th grade that incorporates many standards. In this game, student choose an ancient society to learn more about. Within each society there are icons to press that will give the student different information and games about the culture, important figures, monuments, wars, and general history of the antique civilization. This app would be a great tool to use for students to investigate before starting a unit on one of these civilizations. This way, students enter units of study being "experts" about the history and they will get more out of the instructional time.
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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). I believe that by engaging students in History for Kids before learning about a civilization, you give them more context other than just the textbook. The knowledge will also be more hands on and rounded out with the games and visuals that the students saw from the app.
Inventioneers
Standard Alignment: 6.P.3A.2 Develop and use models to exemplify the conservation of energy as it is transformed from kinetic to potential (gravitational and elastic) and vice versa
6.P.3B.1 Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to provide evidence for how the design of simple machines (including levers, pulleys, inclined planes) helps transfer mechanical energy by reducing the amount of force required to do work.
6.P.3B.1 Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to provide evidence for how the design of simple machines (including levers, pulleys, inclined planes) helps transfer mechanical energy by reducing the amount of force required to do work.
Description: Inventioneers is a fun, more informal way of teaching students about forces, energy, and simple machines. in the game you are trying to get an object from one side of the screen to the other using items from your "tool box" to help the object maintain momentum. There are inclined planes, ropes, levers, pullies, and springs that the player can set up to move the object. The player is given a choice between several settings as well as the ability to create their own levels. I would compare the goals of this game to the game Angry Birds, with a much heavier focus on the physics behind the actions of game. I would use this game to let my students experiment with energy and suggest for them to play it at home and bring back their findings.
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Sources: Inventioneers is a wonderful game to let students become the creators of their own learning. The game gives them space to engage in flow while investigating the causes and effects of motion and pushes them to higher levels of performance (Csikszentmihalya 1990). Inventioneers also incorporates the ability to earn stars and prizes for numbers of stars. These game elements keep students engaged and constantly striving to accomplish harder levels (Kapp, Blair & Mesch, 2012).
ZapZapMath
Standard Alignment: (This app covers a different standard for each game and is very standard aligned. I included some standards that I saw while testing, however, many more are covered)
6.RP.1 Interpret the concept of a ratio as the relationship between two quantities, including part to part and part to whole.
6.NS.6 Extend the understanding of the number line to include all rational numbers and apply this concept to the coordinate plane.
6.EEI.2 Extend the concepts of numerical expressions to algebraic expressions involving positive rational numbers.
6.RP.1 Interpret the concept of a ratio as the relationship between two quantities, including part to part and part to whole.
6.NS.6 Extend the understanding of the number line to include all rational numbers and apply this concept to the coordinate plane.
6.EEI.2 Extend the concepts of numerical expressions to algebraic expressions involving positive rational numbers.
Description: ZapZapMath is a wonderful learning universe that challenges kids in a variety of math concepts. The games are set to the backdrop of an alien world in which players have their own avatar and house. There is also a "movie theater" in which players can watch videos about content. There are specific apps for each grade level so I downloaded the 6th grade app in which students are presented with content about ratios, expressions and exponents, statistics, geometry, and number systems. The game has parent/teacher settings that would make it easy to implement and track student progress so I see a lot of potential in using it in the classroom.
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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). ZapZapMath is a whole universe of standard aligned games that give students multiple means of practice of mathematical skills with a choice between training, accuracy, speed, and "mission" games. Even as an adult, I found this game very engaging and I think that if introduced in the classroom, it would create Csikszentmihalyi's flow easily (1990).
Civilization VI
Standard Alignment: 6.1.CE Summarize how environmental factors influenced the interactions within and between early civilizations.
6.1.CC Analyze changes and continuities that influenced the organization and technological advancements of early and classical world civilizations
6.1.CC Analyze changes and continuities that influenced the organization and technological advancements of early and classical world civilizations
Description: Civilization VI is an emersive simulation game that engages players in creating their own civilizations. This game might be a stretch to use in the classroom, however, it has a lot of great elements for students to learn about the conditions under which civilizations can grow and flourish. You can start the game in any early or classical civilization, I chose Mesopatamia for my trial. In the game, you are the leader who is making decisions on what to produce and where your civilians should go. You can engage in warfare to protect your civilization, do scientific research, and even create period-appropriate monuments.
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Sources: I believe that with the right scaffolding, Civilization VI would be an excellent resource in the study of early civilizations. Bodekaer stressed the integration of simulations into traditional teaching as the most effective way to use instructional time (2015). Civ VI lets students interact hands-on with civilizations and discover, through success or failure, how civilizations grew to create history. This game "provides a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality" as represented in Csikszentmihalya's concept of flow (1990).
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
Bodekaer, M. (2015, October). This virtual lab will revolutionize science class. Retrieved September 18, 2019 from https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_bodekaer_this_virtual_lab_will_revolutionize_science_class/up-next
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
Bodekaer, M. (2015, October). This virtual lab will revolutionize science class. Retrieved September 18, 2019 from https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_bodekaer_this_virtual_lab_will_revolutionize_science_class/up-next
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