I don't play many online games but I do see the value in them for educational purposes. I just read about the use of MineCraft in schools. It's such a great idea to use a game kids love for educational purposes!
I have, I admit, recently become addicted to one online game called Trivia Crack.
The basic idea is that you answer questions in 6 subjects: Art, History, Science, Geography, Entertainment, and Sports. The goal is to earn characters from each subject area in order to beat your opponent. You can play multiple games at once. So far I've played against my husband and friends in Florida.
Here is the Link to it:
http://www.triviacrack.com
And here are the characters you earn along the way.
These remind me of the gamification mechanics in our digital technology class...they are the "badges" or "rewards".
As we were traveling last year we did not allow our children to have gaming devices or other electronics, only Kindles for reading (no internet access) However, there were two games that I kept on my phone for us to play sometimes, which are educational and a lot of fun:
Whirly Word
This is a great game for spelling and vocabulary practice. It gives you 6 random letters and you have to make as many words as possible out of them. It is also equipped with a dictionary so you can learn the meaning of new words. Of course there is a point system whereby you earn points, the more words the more points!
Stack the Countries and Stack the States
These are great games for geography, history and social studies. You have to answer questions about countries (or U.S. states depending on which game you're playing) As you answer correctly you earn countries which you have to stack to a certain level to win. Again, gamification mechanics that I see in Digital Technology class.
These games, used responsibly could be a great tool for the classroom. I could envision using the games themselves as a reward for hard work...i.e. you earn 10 minutes of game time if you complete an assignment correctly...or something along those lines. Or maybe even as a homework assignment...have students report 5 new things they learned about a place or 5 new words they learned. There are lots of possibilities.
I have, I admit, recently become addicted to one online game called Trivia Crack.
The basic idea is that you answer questions in 6 subjects: Art, History, Science, Geography, Entertainment, and Sports. The goal is to earn characters from each subject area in order to beat your opponent. You can play multiple games at once. So far I've played against my husband and friends in Florida.
Here is the Link to it:
http://www.triviacrack.com
And here are the characters you earn along the way. These remind me of the gamification mechanics in our digital technology class...they are the "badges" or "rewards".
As we were traveling last year we did not allow our children to have gaming devices or other electronics, only Kindles for reading (no internet access) However, there were two games that I kept on my phone for us to play sometimes, which are educational and a lot of fun:
Whirly Word
Stack the Countries and Stack the States
These are great games for geography, history and social studies. You have to answer questions about countries (or U.S. states depending on which game you're playing) As you answer correctly you earn countries which you have to stack to a certain level to win. Again, gamification mechanics that I see in Digital Technology class.
These games, used responsibly could be a great tool for the classroom. I could envision using the games themselves as a reward for hard work...i.e. you earn 10 minutes of game time if you complete an assignment correctly...or something along those lines. Or maybe even as a homework assignment...have students report 5 new things they learned about a place or 5 new words they learned. There are lots of possibilities.
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