Educational Games
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Kahoot launches its own educational game subscription service
Kahoot+ offers multiple tiers of learning for kids.
Technology alone won't make your kids smarter
Ever plop your kids in front of some purportedly educational screen-based thing because you need 15 minutes of peace? Maybe, like me, you say to yourself, "It's 15 minutes. It's an educational app. It's not so bad. I just need to start dinner." There's nothing wrong with this, in theory. As a parent of two small children, I've learned lots of things. One thing that's helped: Kids love media.
Valve announces Steam for Schools, helps teachers create educational Portal 2 levels
Who ever said being a scientific guinea pig couldn't be educational? With Steam for Schools, teachers can now use Portal 2's level editor to create lessons focused on boosting critical thinking, spatial reasoning and problem solving skills. Announced at the Games for Change festival in New York City, the educator edition of Steam comes with a free copy of Portal 2 and the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker. Students and teachers alike can use the tools to create puzzles, but distribution is handled by teachers alone. (That's right, kids -- no level sharing unless the teach says so.) An accompanying website serves as a gathering place for teachers to collaborate, and aims to provide sample lesson plans centered on science, technology, engineering and math. If you're an educator who can't wait to bring a Portal-assisted physics lesson to life, see the links below to sign up for the ongoing beta. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to "study."
NASA debuts two new educational games for iOS, Facebook
NASA is no stranger to apps, but the space agency is branching out further into some new territory with its two latest offerings: a pair of educational games. The first is Sector 33, an air traffic control simulator for iOS devices that certainly won't be confused with Flight Control, but which NASA hopes will help teach math and possibly get folks interested in aviation. Those who prefer their games a bit more casual can also now try out NASA's very first multiplayer Facebook game, Space Race Blast Off, which tests folks' knowledge of various space-related topics (and is considerably more challenging than it first appears). Additional details and the games themselves can be found at the source links below.[Thanks, Mo]
UK education boss Michael Gove wants games in the classroom
Michael Gove has served as Brtitain's Secretary of State for Education since May of 2010. Since being appointed, Gove has called for a number of reforms for the British education system, including restructuring and intensifying language requirements both foreign and domestic, as well as strengthening standards in science and "maths." Now, Gove has set his sights on video games as a way of making the British education system more engaging for children. "When children need to solve equations in order to get more ammo to shoot the aliens, it is amazing how quickly they can learn," said Gove, speaking to the Royal Society in London regarding Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy's Manga High system. Manga High, which allows educators to schedule online assignments that automatically reward items in accompanying flash games, represents the future of early science and math education, according to Gove: "These developments are only the beginning." In related news, we somehow managed to make it all the way through this post without making an "Eh, Gove?" joke.
Select McGraw-Hill educational apps for iPhone and iPad free until 4/16
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is holding its annual conference this week and in honor of this event McGraw-Hill has dropped the price on select iOS educational applications. The sale started earlier this week and extends until the conference ends on April 16. During this time, the following applications will be free: Everyday Mathematics Addition Top-It: 0 to 10 basic addition and number comparison game Everyday Mathematics Subtraction Top-It: 0 to 10, 2-digit subtraction and number comparison game Everyday Mathematics Name That Number: Computation and order of operations game Everyday Mathematics Monster Squeeze: Octopus monster-themed number comparison and recognition game Everyday Mathematics Equivalent Fractions: Fraction flashcard game Everyday Mathematics Tric-Trac: one or two-player addition game Everyday Mathematics Beat the Computer: Multiplication (0-10) game Everyday Mathematics Baseball Multiplication 1-6 Facts: Baseball-themed multiplication game Everyday Mathematics Divisibility Dash: Number multiples and division practice eFlashcards: Vocabulary flashcards If you have elementary school-aged children and younger, this sale is a no-brainer. Normally, each app is priced at $1.99 and will jump back up to this price when the sale ends. These apps require iOS 3.0 or later and are compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
AMD doles out grants for educational game push
Perhaps as penance for all the brains it's helped to rot with WoW, Counter-Strike and Dolphin Olympics over the years, AMD has announced that it has awarded three grants for the creation of educational or "serious" games to build skills in science, technology and math.There are, of course, no specific games being talked about, but we've got some killer ideas if anyone wants to break us off a piece of that sweet, sweet grant money. (Oh, a sneak preview? How about a fully 3D version of Mathman? Yeah, we thought so.)
World of Warcraft as a teaching tool
Most of us were kids at one point. A portion of us probably played computer or video games even as kids. Thus, I'm sure that at least a good handful of us, when told by our parents to turn off the computer and go do homework, eat dinner, or get some fresh air, tried to counter with something like this: "But Mom, games are educational! They give you hand-eye coordination and map reading skills!" Now, all these years later, it seems we may finally be getting some backup from teachers and educators. Livescience.com recently highlighted some educators who are using World of Warcraft or lauding it for its educational values.
Plato brings educational games to PSP
Thought the DS was all alone on its mobile educational games? Think again. A company called Plato announced that they'll be bringing educational games onto the PSP as early as April 2008. Drawing software from the company's Achieve Now product line, the company could potentially port up to 57 titles over to the handheld system.The games are designed to help out elementary and middle school students in different academic subjects such as mathematics and language arts. While most of you reading this right now probably won't be needing this supplemental grade school tutorship, our kids or little cousins might benefit from a little brain exercise. We imagine these little second graders with PSPs will grow up extra smart, maybe even clever enough to learn how to hack their PSPs. Oh my, the vicious cycle.
Study: Educational software doesn't work
The U.S. Department of Education issued a report yesterday that educational software of all types, from the video-game-like to the ultra-dry, "has no significant impact on student performance." And folks like Elliot Soloway, professor of educational tech at U. Michigan, are miffed. Says Soloway, "It is the poor kids who will suffer, because it is their schools who will not get technology because of this study."That's one way to look at it. Here's another way: the study could help schools, both underfunded and not, because now their administrators might spend more money on good teachers and less on Oregon Trail. Shooting squirrels in a video game is fun, but it's no substitute for a real human showing you how to shoot squirrels.[via GameLife]
