| Introduction | Description | Readings & Resources | Some Online Games | Assessment |
Learning Education & Games (or, a great way to find games for classroom learning)
Karen Schrier’s 2019 book, LEARNING, EDUCATION & GAMES, is a relatively new and a go-to source for some of the more thoughtful and innovative educational video games currently available. There are many games discussed in detail and each entry includes a link to where the games can be accessed online. Follow this link for more information. I do want to encourage you to choose one of these games for your Video Gaming exploration.
However, below you will find links to even more games and perhaps the very one you needed to find!!!
Three Introductory games that we’ll all play
- NEW–> Density | Measure the mass and volume of a variety of objects, then place them into a beaker of liquid to see if they float or sink. Learn to predict whether objects will float or sink in water based on their mass and volume. Compare how objects float or sink in a variety of liquids, including gasoline, oil, seawater, and corn syrup.
- Do I Have a Right | In Do I Have a Right? students run their own firm of lawyers specializing in constitutional law. They decide if potential clients have a right, match them with the best lawyer, and win their case. The more clients you serve and the more cases you win, and the faster your law firm grows!
- Math Baseball | Solve math problems to hit the ball and score runs. Based on the difficulty of problems, a hit could be a single, double, triple, or home run. Get problems wrong and strike out! The game is over after 3 outs.
NEW–> Field Day Learning Games | A Broad Range of Thoughtful Video Games & Simulations Our games bring contemporary research to the public. Want in? We’ll turn your amazing work into a game that reaches huge audiences.
iCivics | iCivics works to ensure every student in America receives a quality and engaging civic education and graduates from high school well prepared and enthusiastic for citizenship.
Paradox Interactive | Paradox is a leader when it comes to portraying various historical periods of the world in video games, through titles including Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria, and Hearts of Iron. Each title portrays a different part of world history and the challenges unique to that era.
Phet Interactive Simulations | PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. These tests include student interviews and observation of simulation use in classrooms. Tips for Using PhET | PhET simulations are very flexible tools that can be used in many ways. Here, you will find videos and resources for learning about effective ways of integrating PhET simulations into your class.
Gizmos are interactive math and science simulations for grades 3-12. Over 400 Gizmos aligned to the latest standards help educators bring powerful new learning experiences to the classroom.
DragonBox | Since the first algebra game was launched in 2012, WeWantToKnow has grown the series to include five fun and educational games. Children can explore two algebra games, varying in difficulty – DragonBox Algebra 5+ and 12+. Students can discover the world of geometry with DragonBox Elements. In 2015, DragonBox Numbers was introduced, which teaches kids number sense, and basic addition and subtraction. The newest game, DragonBox BIG Numbers was released in November 2016. This resource management game teaches children long addition and subtraction, with carries.
Mission US | Developed for use in middle and high school classrooms, Mission US engages students in the study of transformational moments in American history. Each mission consists of an interactive game and a set of curriculum materials that are aligned to national standards and feature document-based activities. The game immerses players in rich, historical settings and then empowers them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past.
Games For Change | Founded in 2004, Games for Change facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts. Essays and publications.
Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom | NOAA In this activity, students learn how carbon cycles through the Earth system by playing an online game.
At Desmos, our mission is to help every student learn math and love learning math. With that in mind, we’ve assembled a collection of unique and engaging digital activities, which are free for you and your students.
Lure of the Labyrinth | This math game has middle school students finding lost pets by solving puzzles. Teachers can take advantage of the professional development section of the website to use the game in class.
Molleindustria: Since 2003 we produced homeopathic remedies to the idiocy of mainstream entertainment in the form of free, short-form, online games.
Filament Games | “Real games, real learning…” Filament Games has partnered with organizations all over the world to create more than 115 best-in-class learning games and simulations.
Economics-games Here we have a purpose-built multiplayer game for the classroom. Economics-games.com is a free educational games site for teaching microeconomics, industrial organization and game theory. “Choose the game you want to run, enter the number of players and that’s it: You just have to communicate their logins to your students and have them connect to the site with their phones, tablets or laptops. You can then observe and debrief the game through your interface.”
Edheads | Online educational resource that provides science and math games and activities that promote critical thinking. Choose from Simple Machines, Virtual Knee Surgery or Stem Cell Heart Repair, among others. All activities meet state and national standards.
Independent Games Festival | Explore current entries and past winners of the IGF. Similar event to the Sundance Film Festival for independent game developers – the Independent Games Festival, has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash prizes (and brought major exposure and a much higher profile) to a multitude of indie and student game developers who have entered.
Learn With Homer | iPad app provides a comprehensive contextualized literacy curriculum. It brings the best early learning techniques together in one app. Learn With Homer does some of the same things a good kindergarten or preschool teacher would. It is interdisciplinary in that it “combines learning to read with learning to understand the world.” What does that mean? Kids are not only learning what the letter “A” sounds like and that “alligator” starts with “A,” but also taking virtual “field trips” to the zoo, where they learn about alligators. They also draw pictures, record their own voice discussing the subject matter, listen to stories, and play mini-games that emphasize the letters, sounds, and ideas.
Educational Games – Nobelprize.org: You don’t have to be a genius to understand the work of the Nobel Laureates. These games and simulations, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, will teach and inspire you while you’re having FUN!
The My Sust House games : A series of exciting interactive games exploring what sustainability means and how it relates to our homes and communities. It provides a resource for meaningful and effective learning and teaching opportunities across many areas of the Curriculum for Excellence. The material can be used in many ways, either for individual use or as part of a group activity.
Merritt Kopas is known most right now for her game Lim, which is about conformity and being an outsider. She has a background in academia and advocates for creating a space for games outside gamer culture. Here’s an excellent article of hers on the broader purpose of games. She runs a site called Forest Ambassador, that highlights quick, free, easy-to-play games about uncommon things, with the potential for broad reach.
This is the website of Lydia Neon. Her most popular game, Player 2, is about resolving conflicts in the player’s own life.
Anna Anthropy’ is a prominent game designer. Her most publicized game is Dys4ia, a game telling her personal story about gender dysphoria and beginning transition. It’s a great example of telling a compelling personal narrative through an interactive medium.
Poptropica | is a virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety. Every month, millions of kids from around the world are entertained and informed by Poptropica’s engaging quests, stories, and games.
PBS Kids Games | PBS KIDS creates curriculum-based entertainment. The games site hosts a number of browser-based gaming experiences based on popular literary and media franchises such as The Cat in the Hat, Curious George, Sesame Street, and more. Games are organized by subject-type, which includes math, healthy habits, science, reading, and teamwork.
National Geographic Kids | The world-famous National Geographic hosts over 100 fun, engaging, and interactive science, action, adventure, geography, quiz, and puzzle games. For a free game hub, the production quality on games or interactives is truly remarkable.
Sheppard Software: Fun free online learning games
Play Free Online Games – List of Free Multiplayer Games | Directory of free multiplayer online games. Features a screenshot and description of each game.
Minecraft Multiplayer games can be a great way to provide an interactive, collaborative experience in the classroom. With a little know-how, Minecraft players can interact. Read this article to learn more about teaching using Minecraft: Gamifying the Classroom with Minecraft – the Possibilities are Powerful and Endless!
Good Experience Games: These are online games that offer a “good experience” – according to Mark Hurst, which includes good game design with an overall attention to quality. Unless otherwise noted, they’re all free, online, and available right now.
Urbanology: An Online Game to Teach Users About Sustainability: Last month, the BMW Guggenheim Lab launched Urbanology online, a quick and fun game that forces users to make choices about urban issues, producing some quick findings based on the choices.
Web Earth Online: Nature’s game of survival in a Web based world of great beauty and danger.
Critical Mass (Purdue University) – An underground lab containing the finest scientists in the world is being attacked by robots controlled through artificial intelligence with the ultimate goal of world destruction.
The Radix Endeavor (MIT & University of Wisconsin) – Science is being kept from the people of this world by an evil ruler and you will become part of an underground society to bring science back to the people.
Space Chem by Zachtronics Industries – An indie puzzle on chemical bonding.
SOKOBOND an elegantly designed puzzle game about chemistry. It’s logical, minimalist, and beautiful. An indie puzzle game that requires you to bond atoms into a molecule.
Educational Technology in the World | David 