As a kid I was pretty lucky. My dad worked for various computer companies back when that was a thing and so we had a decent computer for as long as I can remember! However for the most part we were only allowed to play educational games on it so we had the whole slew of solid 90’s educational computer games like Reader Rabbit, 3d Dinosaur Adventure and my favourite Gizmo’s and Gadgets. I loved how these games ‘hid’ complex concepts in activities that I found interesting and kept me engaged, seemingly tricking me into understanding the concept because it was embedded in a problem that I needed to solve in order to move on. I can’t remember if I was able to apply this newly created understanding outside of these context, but what I do know is that this experience provided me with the exposure to learning in a different environment than the traditional classroom.
Hey Kari, really enjoyed the post! I also like how this activity was short and sweet – definitely allows for us all to get to know each other a little better without reading 20,000 words.
I played a LOT of Gizmos and Gadgets as a kid, in Elementary School, along with Civ, Treasure Mountain, Midnight Rescue… all the “Super Solvers” games really. You were quite lucky to have such wide access to these games. I could only play them at school!
It’s fascinating how many people I’ve reminisced with over the years who remember clearly/fondly their time with these games. Sure, they were colorful and well-made, but I really think they taught us important lessons as well. I do wonder what the current equivalent of these games in schools is. AR? Mathletics? Or is there one?
Thanks for the memories 🙂
-Scott
Hi Scott,
I wonder if minecraft (or is it mindcraft?) would be today’s equivalent? Or do you think that there is just way too many options out there today? I don’t have kids or work with school aged kids so I don’t know what the cool things are now!
It’s Minecraft (you ‘mine-‘ resources and then ‘-craft’ cool stuff using those resources), and perhaps… Although Minecraft is not a “new” thing anymore, and is perhaps more on its way out than when it initially exploded into the public eye.
Perhaps coding is the most educationally-trendy equivalent, as suggested by another student in our class? Hard to say!
Interesting! I suppose I must have missed the whole craze. Oh well!
I agree – I think coding/programming is 100% a great idea. I WISH I had at least taken an introductory course in programming. There are some really neat looking resources out there to introduce and make programming interesting for younger kids. I think having at least a foundational understanding of the logic behind programming would be beneficial!
Cheers,
I totally think you should connect with Trish. I guarantee she’ll inspire you to take your first steps into coding, and she’ll find you resources that make it 1) not so intimidating and 2) fun 😀
Hi Kari,
I was also one of the only kids on my block who grew up with a computer because my father’s company provided one. That being said we had very different experiences with games. The ones we had were not very educational. I remember the games were on huge floppy disks, and we had classics like Snake, Frogger, and Wheel of Fortune. While I was ahead of a lot of my peers when it came to my computer skills I wasn’t as engaged and challenged to think critically as you were.
Hi Kari! Your post brings up an important question – do educational games actually help students understand and apply new concepts? I did a cursory investigation of the educational research last year and the results were inconsistent. I know that for many schools including my own, we have become adept at introducing new technologies, but need improvement in scrutinizing and evaluating technology for effectiveness and impact on student outcomes.
HI Gordon,
Good question. I think a major challenge in using gamification in learning is helping students recognize what they learned and apply it outside of the game. But for teachers I suppose it is clearly defining what they want student to learn through the game. I also think that the games that are the most engaging are also very complex and thus the learning objective can be lost and thus students have a harder time generalizing that knowledge.
I also wonder if we discredit some of the intangibles that are learned through game play, like what Sarah talked about above. While I may not remember the mechanical engineering principles embedded in Gizmo’s and Gadgets I did learn at an early age to not be afraid to click around a page, to explore a digital space until I found what I was looking for and other digital problem solving skills that my peers without computers may have taken longer to acquire.
Cheers!
“these games ‘hid’ complex concepts in activities”
As I mentioned in another post many of the first online classes were PDFs of the Print courses that were available. Some of the schools have now included video and activities, while others have gone full-on gamification. I have found high school students enjoy the interactive activities — but they still want a hard copy of the notes to study from. What do your students want from an online class?
Christopher
I don’t have students, but I think it really depends on how they are being assessed. Are you ‘teaching’ a concept through a game but then returning to a multiple choice exam to assess? Well then yes the student will likely want something in hard form to study from because they will perceive/realize that there is misalignment between activity and assessment. But If they are being assessed in a way that helps them connect what they learned in that activity with how they are being assessed then perhaps had copies aren’t necessary?