Blog Archives
Science Educational Games with Max and Ruby
You don’t find too many science games for preschoolers, but this is a good one. Max and Ruby is one of my sons favorite shows. He was so excited to hear that they have a game with the characters from the show. The game seems very easy at the beginning, but then it becomes more challenging as the player makes progress. This game has good scaffolding, good graphics, good music, and most importantly good science. My son loves it!
iGameMom writes that;
“I am a firm believer that science should, and can be taught at a very young age. I also agree it is challenging to teach science concepts to young kids. You have to convey the concept in a manner that young minds can understand and grasp. It takes the full understanding of science and early childhood education to perfect the task. Max and Ruby Science Educational Games is a science app teaching preschool to kindergarten kids science concepts with fun engaging games. It does wonderful job in conveying the science concepts via fun games.”
To read the full article on iGameMom click here;
BrainPOP’s Allisyn Levy on video games in education, BrainPop’s goals with animation, and top quality educational games through GameUp
“In a world filled with boring educational games that are only purchased by grandparents, Allisyn Levy is part of a company that is creating games that are not only educational, but are also entertaining. Levy received her Bachelors of Elementary Education, Art, and Art History from Skidmore College, and earned a Masters of Education in School Administration and Technology from Western Washington University. This published scholar has coached a Lego Robotics team, developed documentaries with students, was an elementary educator for 11 years, and has received grants from Donors Choose and Nike. Now as BrainPOP’s Senior Director of Educator Experience, Levy is using her extensive background in education to help teachers better integrate technology into the classroom. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Levy about her thoughts on using video games in education, BrainPOP’s background and goals, and its latest feature, click GameUp.”
To read the full article by Clelia Rivera click here.
Coding and Gaming
Rebecca Grant wrote this article under the title “Why play when you can code? MakeGamesWithUs breeds next generation of gaming prodigies.
“A startup called MakeGamesWithUs is . . . teaching high school and college kids how to build iPhone games.
MakeGamesWithUs graduated from the YCombinator Winter 2012 and just launched its first social game in the AppStore. On the website, students take project-based tutorials that focus on hands-on, practical experience, rather than theory. Once they feel confident in their iPhone game development skills, they can begin building original games.
Students can engage with the MakesGamesWithUs community during the development process to get help, give/receive feedback, nurture ideas, and troubleshoot problems. As it nears completion, the MakeGamesWithUs team will incorporate professional art and music, help with debugging, and assist in adding trickier features. When the game is ready, MakeGamesWithUs will publish and promote the games for a share of the revenue.
To date, the startup has published seven games on the App Store. It just launched its first social game, Name That Jam!, where groups of friends challenge each other to name songs, earning more points the faster they guess. The game was built by a brother and sister team, still in high school, using MakeGamesWithUs’ Turn Based Multiplayer software development kit (SDK). This new tool makes it easy for aspiring developers to build social games, even without back-end knowledge.”
I believe that some of these kids will soon write better educational games than we have now. They know what they need to learn and they know how to make games that are more fun for their own generation!
Related articles
- A call to arms: Why every kid (and kid at heart) should write an iPhone game (makegameswith.us)
- There’s never been a better time to be a 14-year-old developer (pandodaily.com)
Games are better than textbooks
NEWCASTLE, England, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ —
An NHS mechanical hoist is one of the first pieces of medical machinery to have its traditional training manual converted into an immersive 3D smartphone training App. The change is part of an effort to improve the performance levels of staff by creating more engaging, mobile training games instead of textbooks.
A mechanical hoist widely used throughout the NHS to help lift disabled children onto their beds is the latest piece of medical machinery to undergo a major training operation. Great Ormond Street Hospital Online Learning & Development (GOLD) commissioned award-winning serious game developer, Caspian Learning, to help with the innovative project.
GOLD’s aim was to create a more engaging type of hoist operation training that could potentially replace existing textbook training. The new project has seen Caspian Learning successfully convert the contents of a Mechanical Hoist Operation Manual into an interactive 3D computer simulation.
The simulation in its new form can be played anywhere in the world via the internet or downloaded as an app for smartphones. A free demo of the mechanical hoist safety simulation is available to download from the Google Play Marketplace.
Major benefits of the conversion include cost-saving without reduction in output, wider distribution possibilities and improved learner engagement.
Lee Rushworth, a Caspian Learning spokesperson said that “converting a textbook into an interactive, immersive 3D simulation that could be an app for an iPhone or Android device like GOLD have done here opens up so many new possibilities for us. For example, with this app, GOLD could potentially train an entire course remotely, saving an enormous amount of money on logistics in the process.”
“If this could be achieved with a mechanical safety hoist, imagine what else could benefit from this kind of ‘immersion conversion?'”
Caspian Learning developed the entire simulation in their Thinking Worlds software, which is available to download for free here.
About Caspian Learning
Caspian Learning are a multi award-winning serious games technology and design company. Formed in 2002, they are the developer of the acclaimed Thinking Worlds, whose globally unique technology allows instructional designers to create fully immersive 3D sims & games at costs previously restricted to 2D development. They are the global leader in the use of 3D games and simulations technology for performance improvement, having developed over 100 sims or games for clients all over the world including IBM, BBC, QinetiQ, Accenture, Volvo, the Ministry of Defence and the European Union among others.
Contact Details:
Lee Rushworth
Caspian Learning
Tel: +44(0)191-5561043
Email: lee.rushworth@caspianlearning.co.uk
SOURCE Caspian Learning
PR Newswire
Gaming and Education 