Teaching with Game Tech Powers Up Algebra Scores
Teaching with Game Tech Powers Up Algebra Scores
June 16, 2008
A study at the University of Central Florida has found that using educational video games can increase students' math skills and raise standardized testing scores.
As reported by the journal, 193 algerbra and pre-algebra students from Orange County participated in the experiment. Those who played the games over an 18-week period did better on district-wide benchmark testing than those who did not. Students using the games improved their scores by 8.07 points on average, while those in the control group improved by just 3.74 points.
Tabula Digita's DimensionM games (screenshot at left) were used in the study. Company CEO Ntiedo Etuk commented:
These research results are remarkable and support previous studies which have concluded that interactive games are more effective on learners' cognitive gains than traditional classroom instruction alone. We are teaching a new generation of students, which requires unconventional teaching strategies be put into practice in the classroom. And when schools use our games, the student benefits speak for themselves--a greater desire to learn and higher test scores.
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Posted 09/06/08 at 05:52pm
Freyar: I prefer Mid-night snack.. Because I can eat in the middle of the night without feeling too stupid, or whatever.
Freyar: I prefer Mid-night snack.. Because I can eat in the middle of the night without feeling too stupid, or whatever.
Posted 09/06/08 at 05:35pm
TJLK: I like brunch, because you can have waffles but it isn't in the morning.
TJLK: I like brunch, because you can have waffles but it isn't in the morning.
Posted 09/06/08 at 02:07pm
Dark Sovereign: @GP: This list, number 30, for the librarian story: http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/
Dark Sovereign: @GP: This list, number 30, for the librarian story: http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:55pm
gamepolitics: is there a better meal than breakfast? If so, I've not experienced it...
gamepolitics: is there a better meal than breakfast? If so, I've not experienced it...
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:30pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: mmmm syrup *lick*
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: mmmm syrup *lick*
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:21pm
Freyar: Buy Waffles, tasty waffles with lots of syrup.
Freyar: Buy Waffles, tasty waffles with lots of syrup.
Posted 09/06/08 at 08:30am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @Waffles: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIVIDE BY ZERO, DAMMIT!? NOW SHADOW IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VOID!!! -T.O.S.
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @Waffles: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIVIDE BY ZERO, DAMMIT!? NOW SHADOW IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VOID!!! -T.O.S.
Posted 09/06/08 at 05:32am
King of Fiji: @MaskedPixelante: Is it me or in a way dose he look like what the AVGN will look like in a few decades in that picture? xD
King of Fiji: @MaskedPixelante: Is it me or in a way dose he look like what the AVGN will look like in a few decades in that picture? xD
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:14pm
ZippyDSMlee: BlackIce: its funny it dose not mind zippy speak tho :P
ZippyDSMlee: BlackIce: its funny it dose not mind zippy speak tho :P
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:40pm
BlackIce: @Zippy: Yeah, it does. Fucking thing..
BlackIce: @Zippy: Yeah, it does. Fucking thing..
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:31pm
MaskedPixelante: This new Jack picture should be the official picture whenever there's an article about Jack.
MaskedPixelante: This new Jack picture should be the official picture whenever there's an article about Jack.
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:19pm
ZippyDSMlee: Tyler Baumbarger: Iuse <br/> withno troubl, it dose like catching links as spam tho.
ZippyDSMlee: Tyler Baumbarger: Iuse <br/> withno troubl, it dose like catching links as spam tho.
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:11pm
BunchaKneejerks: Couldn't sleep 'till I got this one last idea for a 'shop out my head.
BunchaKneejerks: Couldn't sleep 'till I got this one last idea for a 'shop out my head.
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:35pm
Tyler Baumbarger: Hmm, maybe I should take the <hr/> off of my sig. Keeps being flagged as spam.
Tyler Baumbarger: Hmm, maybe I should take the <hr/> off of my sig. Keeps being flagged as spam.
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:12pm
Freyar: I do love Italian foods..
Freyar: I do love Italian foods..
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: Then you must agree I iz not quit "humanz" either :P I dunno what worse thinking your "Garfield " or thinking your odie trying to be as smart as Garfield. =0-o= UHg I fail ! but then the joy of life is trying not to. ^_~
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: Then you must agree I iz not quit "humanz" either :P I dunno what worse thinking your "Garfield " or thinking your odie trying to be as smart as Garfield. =0-o= UHg I fail ! but then the joy of life is trying not to. ^_~
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:05pm
Freyar: I recognized the Garfield joke. *grin*
Freyar: I recognized the Garfield joke. *grin*
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:04pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: No but I could probably mail self to you in lil pieces :P last time I went brown box I wound up in Abudobie... (Garfield joke BTW). Sadly I am in the US =0_o=
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: No but I could probably mail self to you in lil pieces :P last time I went brown box I wound up in Abudobie... (Garfield joke BTW). Sadly I am in the US =0_o=
Posted 09/05/08 at 05:56pm
Freyar: Are you British? Otherwise you won't have a hope in hell of queing me.
Freyar: Are you British? Otherwise you won't have a hope in hell of queing me.
Posted 09/05/08 at 05:51pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar:*chases you with my battered tung* I'll que uuuu!!!!! :P
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar:*chases you with my battered tung* I'll que uuuu!!!!! :P
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Comments
As long as it's fun I don't mind.... But I wish I had this when I was in School...
Sounds great – as long as it is fun though.
That's pretty freaking cool. Score 1 for edutainment?
I wish I had something like this when I was getting into Calculus.
That's bleepin' excellent. Like other commenters, I wish games like this had been around when I was in school (especially for those math courses I wasn't so good at). The best we had was Number Munchers.
Mmm... yummy numbers.
It's fantastic to see positive results in this area. I'd love to give this one a try myself, actually, but alas, I don't see a personal use/evaluation version on their website.
Cool, I do wish this would be implemented in wider fields but it seems like a great concept. Plus its from UCF which is just awesome. Nice to know my school did the study.
I just gave the closing keynote at the NUTN 2008 conference in Utah last week and used this game as an example of games that educate. It is a freaking great game in it's own right and the developers of the game, MindControl Software, are an awesome developer (TD is the publisher). There are so many great games on the market that actually teach right now that educators had better start paying attention...
Math blaster is still the king of math edutainment if you ask me.
Not very surprising. Alot of schools still have chalkboards - how is someone droning on, writing in black and white, going to compete with all the sounds, color, and interactivity the kids have when they go home at the end of the day? Alot of people learn by doing or seeing, and public schools are only really set up to teach those who learn by hearing/reading, so we're just screwing our kids over left and right.
As someone who actually worked on making this game I am very pleased to see that it continues to be positively recieved even though it has been completed for a couple of years now. Even while we were developing the game for Tabula Digita they would tell us about their successful tests that they had with kids playing beta copies of the game and how much they enjoyed learning and gaming at the same time and would even stay late after school.
It is pretty refreshing to see more scientific evidence that games can be used to increase the learning potential within children. So cudos to Tabula Digita for producing this game as well as cudos to Mind Control software, and the significant contributions by Max Gaming Technologies and 21-6 Productions for making the Single and Multi-player components to the game which made all this a reality.
Hurray for UCF! That's my school. :) It's great to see all the cool stuff that's coming out of our awesome university.
s the lead on the Multi-player project which was made by 21-6 and Max Gaming, I have to say that it was not a project I thought we would ever be involved with, but at the end of the day I would have to say it was one of the most rewarding projects.
Seeing kids actually playing the games so intently and knowing that they could only be successful by doing the math was really what I consider one of the most rewarding experiences I have had since entering the game industry. I have even had my daughter playing the SP and MP games, and though she was already a good student she has been able to accelerate her skills by using the products.
congrats to Tabula Digita for having the vision that we all could build off.
It is pretty cool to see UCF do something really cool study like this. Being a student here and seeing this, it makes me very happy to be here as a reminder of all the great research that is done here in most of the departments here.
I remember when I used to play Math Munchers and other games like that in my elementary school days back in the 90s and I have to say, it really is awesome way to sharpen your math skills. It is a shame that there are not many well known "edutainment" games out there that deal with HS/College Level math like Algebra (which this good sounding study has shown) and Calculus. Hopefully in the future, as more good research like this comes along, we'll get to see more of such things.
As long as the game is fun, that is all that matters,
10 years ago, my mom got me this PC game called MAvis Beakon and it was a typing game that was meant to improve typing skills in young children.
I did not play the game that much because it was not fun or enjoyable.
another game that I got 10 years ago for the PC was Where in the World is Carman Sandiago?
It was a great game because you had to catch this crimminal who made off with one of the world's land marks and you had to ask questions to people and the people will give you clues where this crimminal went around the world.
It was a fun game and I remember that I did get to know about different countries of the world, but most importantly the game was fun and enjoyable to begin with.
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