Read – An Industry Snapshop
Research by Ambient Insight shows that global sales by game-based and simulation-based learning companies hit over $1.5 billion US dollars last year alone. Their researchers have predicted that the serious games market will grow to $2.3 billion in 2017. That is an increase of 8.3% in the next 3 years (Adkins, 2013).
Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2013/09/demand_for_game-based_learning_simulations_continues_to_grow.html
This number grows to a staggering $9 billion US dollars if it includes simulation-based learning games (Adkins, 2013). And its not just educational software providers developers getting in on the act. In 2005, Nintendo launched Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day on the NintendoDS handheld. Brain Age and its variants have since sold over 37 million copies worldwide, and remain one of Nintendo’s greatest recent successes.
The market is thriving, and much of that is on the backs of a number of industry leaders and trendsetters. From the massive multi-player worlds of Math Blaster and Minecraft, to ever-popular series like Civilization and Reader Rabbit, to the cutting edge DGBL developers like Brainpop and Sokikom, the industry seems, more than ever before, to be in creative and capable hands.
Adkins, S. S. (2013, 08 22). he 2012-2017 worldwide game-based learning and simulation-based markets. Retrieved from http://www.ambientinsight.com/Resources/Documents/AmbientInsight_SeriousPlay2013_WW_GameBasedLearning_Market.pdf
Participate – Research an Industry Leader
Research one or more of the following industry leaders. Consider what these developers and organizations are doing to effectively integrate gaming into education.
1. MinecraftEDU – An organization with the mandate to “Bring Minecraft to the classroom”.
2. BrainPop – An educational game developer with a successful subscription based service.
3. DiscoveryKIDS – Discovery channel’s award winning extension into educational gaming.
4. Lumocity – A company specializing in improving your brain power through games and puzzles.
5. Gamedesk – An innovative company specializing in blended learning solutions.
6. STEM Challenge – A video game development competition for kids.
7. Gamestar Mechanic – A video game design community with tutorials, development tools, and shared games.
8. Knowledge Adventure – Educational video game developers, creators of Math Blaster Online.
9. Kodu – Microsoft’s self-publishing tool allows users to create games for the PC and XBox.
10. Sokikom – An edu-tech company specializing in game-based curriculum for mathematics.
Comment – Post Your Response
Select one of the industry leaders in the list above, or choose your own not mentioned on the list. Post your remarks on the following in the comments section below.
1. Summarize the significance of this industry leader.
2. Reflect on the educational value of this industry leader’s contributions.
3. Express whether or not you would use, or have used, a product or service from this industry leader, and state why.
Discovery Kids started as a TV channel in the US. and aired programming for children with an emphasis on real-life adventures, nature, science and wildlife from all over the world. In Canada, Discovery Kids TV has become Nickelodeon; not sure that it retained its focus on exploration and education.
Well, I have to say that this Discovery Kids website offers dozens of games, from skill games to puzzle games, build and play games, etc all for free. Discovery Kids is definitely worth a viewing to see all that they offer. The games seem to span the 3-13+ age range, I would suggest, although I can see having a little fun with these games myself if I was stuck in a ferry line-up or such.
While some games, for example the space puzzles, clearly have educational value, I’m not sure that Pet Spa Challenge has much learning to offer. I love the show Mythbusters, and there is a game for that as well as an ‘Inside Your Body’ game. For those with a fascination with Presidential Dogs, there is even a game for you!
I can see why this website and series of games is award-winning. They appear entertaining and engaging. A minor disappointment was some subtle product placement in some of the games.
http://gameful.org/
This website is a community of gaming developers. Here you can find opportunities to join or launch your own idea and get he within. I really like the idea that a community is willing to get together to achieve a common goal. How often have you had a great idea, but because you are “only” a classroom teacher you felt you didn’t really have the tools or connections to make it real? There are a number of great ideas in this website and I encourage you to take a look at what is going on.
Kodu is a very interesting tool that I have only been exposed to in the last year. It is a very strong competitor in the educational programming languages. I feel that this toll is significant because: 1) It is free to download and use. 2) It is quite simplistic (at its core) and easy to pick up. 3) It allows for the programming of software that can function on a computer or on an XBox (high appeal to students) 4) Many built in tutorials and an active community ( http://www.kodugamelab.com/)
I am glad to see more people entering this market with strong products that allow students to not only engage in game-based learning, but also game creation-based learning. I feel that this tool should be used in more classes and I would like to see more teachers see the value in it, not just in a computer class, but integrated into everyday curriculum.
Sokikom is like a combination between ClassDojo (http://www.classdojo.com/) and Mathletics …. One is for classroom management and the other one for Math program for children that also relates to the curriculum. I am not sure if this is an industry leader, definitely have my doubts to use it in class. I have tried both of the aforementioned programs and neither really gets me excited – I do think that ClassDojo is more of a distraction – and Mathletics is more for at home practice – both things that are not necessarily needed to integrate into school time.
I have considered Luminocity a site that trains or excercises the brain of those aging. Perhaps the marketing that I have seen for Luminocity is that which is targeted for adults. I have not considered this a teaching, educational games and exercises site. You have made me think about Luminocity in a different light. The areas that Luminocity is known for would benefit school aged learners as well. The personalized training program would be beneficial to differenciate the learning of students. Also it could address (I say this with my fingers crossed) the increasing number of students that struggle with focus and lack of attention as attention is one of the categories it attests to brain train.
I question if there is a base of knowledge that is required before beginning the brain training. When the “player” is given three letters and is asked to type in as many words as they can that begin with those letters, it is assuming that the “player” has an adequate vocabulary base. Although, other exercises, would be beneficial. The memory game matching faces of customers to accurately take their order would not rely on as much of a knowledge base.
Too bad there is a fee to train your brain otherwise I would be brain jogging 15-20 minutes a day, and maybe my students would too.
Continuing my thoughts..
While Luminocity appears to be an interesting training tool I am not sure that I would back it as a Venture. Having to pay up front to train is not appealing to the masses. Look at a game like Candy Crush. It is a brain-training game, very simplistic, that is raking in big bucks. It is a free game, that makes it’s money with add-ons. That is an innovative venture.
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-candy-crush-makes-so-much-money-2013-10
An inventive educational game that sticks with the old school business plan is not going to jump very far. Take a look at the games, apps, social media sites that are making money. They don’t charge up front for access or service. There is so much choice on the Internet that is free, unless it is over the moon amazing, I will, and most will stick to the free stuff, but might get sucked into paying 99 cents to keep playing.
Gamestar Mechanic is a game that teaches kids to create well games. It is designed for children aged 7-11 and is a pay site but student subscriptions run $2 a child. At first glance it would seem that this program would be a good way to incorporate. Critical thinking and design tie into a technology curriculum but the teacher in me wonders if there is a possibility for cross curricular activates. These games can be shared after they are completed so what about the program being implemented, students being divided into groups and asked to create a game that teaches a concept from a class? Then it could have a broader impact and could be used to develop a shared knowledge and gaming culture with in the class, school, community, and even the entire world. I would be interested to look into this more.
I had never heard of the STEM challenge before and I am impressed with the information I read on their site. The STEM challenge has students develop their own game with prizes available for the engaging/creative/well-balanced games. I think this has great potential to challenge students who are already interested in game development and programming, however it only represents a certain percentage of the kids in any given class. If I was an IT teacher and/or a junior school teacher, I might encourage some of the students who showed interest in these areas to participate. Possibly, they could introduce a specific award the best educational game to promote a gaming and learning combination.
KODU, a simple visual programming language for XBox and PC, is very significant in the GBL industry. Not only does it provide easy, straightforward access to the programming language and teach students great problem solving and storytelling skills, I think it is going to help solve a problem that employers are starting to have and will likely continue to have for several years in the future – the lack of graduates of post-secondary education with technology skills (particularly programming and development). With so many jobs relying on technology (in all fields), students aren’t given the confidence and encouragement to enter into post-secondary education in computer programming and development. Starting students early, giving them fun, immersive challenges can help pave the way to more advanced skills and the pursuit of education in the field. I haven’t personally used this service, since I don’t teach in a classroom, but I would love to give students access to this if I was teaching (especially a grade 7-8 class – can you imagine how excited they would get?). I see this as a way to really encourage boys to undertake a more creative way of expressing themselves in non-traditional areas (combine more traditional areas like STEM with art and language skills).
Lumosity is a web based brain training service that connects cognitive training, neuroscience and game based learning. It is an industry leader as previous game based brain training services were based on hand held or console gaming systems.
The educational value of Lumosity is reflected in the cognitive skills they target through a variety of games. At this point, the service seems directed at an adult market, however it could be easily adapted for daily classroom use in schools with adequate access to technology.
When I first heard about Lumosity I was interested and tried it for a short time using the free games they offer. I enjoyed them and so purchased a membership. I have since used it steadily for a year and a half. The idea of “exercising” your brain through game based activities like I would my body, made sense to me. I have continued to use the product as I feel that I have benefitted from consistent use, most notably in my mental math skills. I would be absolutely interested in a game based brain training service that had games appropriate for students working at K-5 level in a platform similar to Lumosity.
Stemchallenge.org is a great resource for teachers wanting to incorporate game design into their practice. As the site outlines, game design is an engaging way to develop a wide range of STEM skills as well as higher order thinking, systems-thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills. Proficiency in these areas are presently in high demand and will become even more so in the years to come. Unfortunately, these are also the skills with which our students seem to struggle the most. We need some effective strategies to overcome this gap and one possibility could be to use game design.
This site is an invaluable tool for teachers and students who are new to game design as it provides both motivation and support for game design. It invites middle school (grades 5-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students to compete at designing video games. Winning teams receive a laptop for each member as well as $2,000 for their school or a non-profit organization of their choice. This website offers resources to help teachers introduce students to game design, as well as links to programs for students to use to develop games, ideas and inspiration from previous winners, and forums to seek feedback and advice from professional game designers.
An indication of the potential of game design for teaching may be suggested by the fact that over the three years of the challenge there have been more entries every year and the games have become more ‘complex, challenging and creative’.
I would love to use this site to incorporate game design into my classes. I think it would be easier to do if I taught an elective course such as Media Arts or Digital Design but it may be more educationally valuable to have students design games to teach specific concepts in my Science classes. The biggest obstacle would probably be to convince parents and administration that it was an effective use of ‘Science’ time.
Unfortunately, this contest is only open to American students. However, many of the resources would be useful to any teachers interested in pursuing game design in their classrooms. Perhaps we will eventually develop something comparable in Canada. For now, there are a few game design camps popping up across the country http://www.camps.ca/game-design-camps.php