ED IT 742
Susan Kenney
Game Notes

6/17/07

I went to check it out two games with a 12-year-old and her 14-year-old brother.  Sarah tried a game called “Hidden Treasures of Al-Jabr”.  She was very interested and could probably have done much better had she had more time to play with the game.  She was confused especially because she had no background in algebra.  She would like to have spent more time with it.  Her brother was convinced that it was a game trying to help him with algebra and since he feels confident with math he did not want to try it.

I started the game “Rock Concert Entrepreneur.”  See them was interested in this game and started without paying attention to the directions.  He just started pushing keys and investigating the screen.  I gave him some verbal cues and he quickly maneuvered the game.  He chose the first band, set up a concert, and did the actions he needed to complete.  After the first concert he made so much money that he paid back the entire loan of $56,000 and had $91,744 left.  He set up a second concert and made an additional net profit of $121,606.  His comments were that the “game was okay. It's good for an educational game."  He said wouldn't pay to play it but if it were in a match class, he would enjoy it.

I noticed several of the strategies he used.  When he chose his band he immediately negotiated for a better percentage of the profits.  He also spent a lot of money on advertising and spent the rest buying the T-shirts, caps, and posters.  He also looked very carefully at the provided graph, when setting ticket prices.  He mentioned that he loved the game Roller Coaster Tycoon.  I imagine that the skills he learned in the Roller Coaster Tycoon help him succeed in this new game.

Sarah mentioned that she did have a computer pets that died when she forgot to feed it.  Sam mentioned that he really enjoyed a free game called Battle for Wesmoth.  He showed me the virtual environments and the characters in that game he tried to share some of his strategies for that game but I really couldn't follow his thoughts.  He mentioned that a great source of games is techgage.com/print/top_10_free_linux_games    He enjoys Never ball and Never putt.  Those games seem to be more eye hand coordination than actual strategies and complex learning opportunities.

Sharing the games with these two students was a great opportunity to imagine the potential benefits of using virtual games in an educational setting.

A different 12 year old student I was visiting mentioned that she had a computer pet but she called it a Neo pet or something.  She forgot the password after 3 days and later found out that the dog had died.  She just seemed embarrassed not traumatized.

In Prensky's book, Don't Bother Me Mom -I'm Learning! It talks about the positive things kids can learn from playing computer games.  Problem solving, commitment to excellence, a sense of competence, the ability to multitask, think quickly, and think globally are desirable skills.  Sam appears to be an example of one who has gained many of these skills from playing video games.

 Chatting about Games on line

I found this game on the Shell website that reminded me of the robot construction we're currently doing in class. I found it fun. :)

http://www.shell.com/home/PlainPageServlet?FC=/aboutshell-en/html/iwgen/shell_real/shell_solutions/films/app_view_film.html

You have to click on 'Energy Drive' on the right side. Also, I thought the movie that pops up in the center of the screen was a good use of film and interactivity to teach about energy conservation. I'd recommend viewing it as well as an example of the potential of a narrative versus a commercial to promote alt fuels and an idea.

shutterbugbug15: oops?

J0Ryan1: Try gamebattery.com and there are hundreds of games there

J0Ryan1: Mah jong isn't virtual reality

shutterbugbug15: are they free?

J0Ryan1: yes

J0Ryan1: I do tetris, mah jong, and sudoku

shutterbugbug15: cool

J0Ryan1: You might have to try a few links to get a good game.  Some send you to places where you can buy a game but most have free versions that are good

J0Ryan1: I also play bubble shooter when I need something mindless

shutterbugbug15: these are supposed to help with something educational

J0Ryan1: Some of the game types are "action games, puzzle games, strategy games, "

J0Ryan1: What grade level are you looking for a game for?  You or kids?

shutterbugbug15: It  is for my robotics class

J0Ryan1: hm

shutterbugbug15: I want to get something that will interest kids with behavor problems and get them thinking & learning without realizing it!

J0Ryan1: Check out the www.gamebattery.com site.  Then clean out your cookies.  I am sure some of the sites have cookies

shutterbugbug15: I forgot how to clean the cookies

J0Ryan1: control panel

J0Ryan1: then internet options

J0Ryan1: then under browsing history select delete

J0Ryan1: then choose cookies

shutterbugbug15: Thanks!

J0Ryan1: you can also select the Privacy tab and select how sticngently you want cookies blocked.

J0Ryan1: stringently

shutterbugbug15: but then you miss alot of good things

J0Ryan1: right.

J0Ryan1: So I usually keep it at medium high

J0Ryan1: rather than high

shutterbugbug15: sounds good

J0Ryan1: Why don't you check out the website and play a game or two and some time will pass

shutterbugbug15: k