Frog Fractions
I enjoyed playing Frog Fractions because it is educational. I had to utilize my hand-eye coordination. I also had to keep my focus on what I was doing with the frogs and the insects. This game will help with teaching students their colors and fractions all wrapped up in fun. I would recommend this game for the lower elementary students. I give this game high rankings for the sake of education!
Atticus and Boy Electric
I did not understand the concept of Atticus and Boy Electric. I do not know if I had to read the scripts to advance in the game.
Flipping Dead
This game is hilarious. Flipping Dead teaches respect for others and facing consequences. I would like this game in maybe the Kindergarten through 2nd grade classes. I played both as the good guy and the bad guy.
Organicraft
I appreciate this game. Organicraft helps with memorization. I would like to use this game for educational purposes. It is also rewarding when you complete one level and move on to the next. Each level in this game gets more difficult, which means exercising more skills.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Free Games Friday Minimalist
Snazzle
I enjoyed going back to my video game roots with these games on this free Website. I started out playing Snazzle which I thought was fun. It reminds me of the video game that I have played numerous times on my old Nokia cell phone, Snake. I was able to move up quickly through the levels until reaching level 5. I was confused as to how to move back and forth to clear the white squares. I tried to complete this task about three times before moving on to the next game.
Lud Wig von Beatdown
Playing Lud Wig von Beatdown would be fun if I did not lose as much as I did. One thing that I did not like is how I had to press on the keys of my laptop. I was more worried about damaging my laptop than actually enjoying the game. This game is not as memorable as the other four games.
No, Birdie No!
I feel the same as I did about Lud Wig von Beatdown as I do about No, Birdie No! I did not like having to hold the keys down on my laptop because I was in fear of them getting stuck. But I did have three scores of 650, 558, and 612. I did not see any other high scores, so I do not know if those were good scores or not.
Too Many Ninajs
This game reminded me of a childhood game I would watch my brothers and cousin play, Ninaj Gaiden. I wanted to keep playing Too Many Ninajs more than the other four games. This game has a very basic concept, especially because the player was not able to move around. I learned a trick while playing which was to hold the sword and the items the ninajs were throwing would reflect off of it and hit them.
Typing Karaoke
I was not able to play this game because it would not load on the computer I was playing on. I will try to play this game on a different computer.
I enjoyed going back to my video game roots with these games on this free Website. I started out playing Snazzle which I thought was fun. It reminds me of the video game that I have played numerous times on my old Nokia cell phone, Snake. I was able to move up quickly through the levels until reaching level 5. I was confused as to how to move back and forth to clear the white squares. I tried to complete this task about three times before moving on to the next game.
Lud Wig von Beatdown
Playing Lud Wig von Beatdown would be fun if I did not lose as much as I did. One thing that I did not like is how I had to press on the keys of my laptop. I was more worried about damaging my laptop than actually enjoying the game. This game is not as memorable as the other four games.
No, Birdie No!
I feel the same as I did about Lud Wig von Beatdown as I do about No, Birdie No! I did not like having to hold the keys down on my laptop because I was in fear of them getting stuck. But I did have three scores of 650, 558, and 612. I did not see any other high scores, so I do not know if those were good scores or not.
Too Many Ninajs
This game reminded me of a childhood game I would watch my brothers and cousin play, Ninaj Gaiden. I wanted to keep playing Too Many Ninajs more than the other four games. This game has a very basic concept, especially because the player was not able to move around. I learned a trick while playing which was to hold the sword and the items the ninajs were throwing would reflect off of it and hit them.
Typing Karaoke
I was not able to play this game because it would not load on the computer I was playing on. I will try to play this game on a different computer.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Chapter Seven Blog
This chapter touched on some good areas pertaining to education and involving students in learning. It is important to design video games that are educational and keeping up with the fast-changing field. It is interesting to study video games and incorporate that in learning. Some of the skills taught in school systems are needed in understanding video games such as visual arts, computer science, cognitive psychology, architecture, and animation.
Learning from play of video games give students and teachers the opportunity to gain knowledge freely. It opens avenues for teachers and students to come to one accord about information that will one day be applied in their every day lives.
Learning from play of video games give students and teachers the opportunity to gain knowledge freely. It opens avenues for teachers and students to come to one accord about information that will one day be applied in their every day lives.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Good Video Game Design
I located an article pertaining to good video game design on USM's library article database, Academic Search Premier. The title of my article is Pac-Man Meets the Minutemen: Video Games by Los Angeles Latino Youth. This article caught my attention because it is based on Latino youth reconstructing the basic game from the 1980s, Pac-Man to tell a story of their surroundings.
This article starts out with informing my that the youth attend an after-school animation class, a part of the Open Play project at the School of Cinema and Television at the University of Southern California (USC). USC collaborated with the Learning Games Initiative to study pedagogical and cultural uses of computer games.
I learned that Katynka Martinez used the basic video game design of pioneer video game to help guide students to learn about geography, power relations, and the allocation of resources in their neighborhoods. These students were growing up during the age of GTA and Guitar Hero, among other video games.
Martinez started out having the students draw maps of their neighborhoods and surroundings. The students went into detail about life's experiences they had faced growing up in these neighborhoods. Then he incorporated the video game he once grew up placing into this study. Martinez also spoke about the video game Grand Theft Auto with the students because it can be compared to the neighborhoods they lived in in Los Angeles. These students created a newer version of Pac-Man.
Martinez also discussed the demographics of races in current video games and asked the students how they felt about being stereotyped in these video games. Surprisingly, the students description of these racially biased video games were remarkable. One student talked about the skylight of one video game that some would be offended by because of the background and objective of the game's play.
These students used the lack of backstory in Pac-Man to turn it into a vivid story telling of the things they had and would face living in urban, densely populated neighborhoods near MacArthur Park. The students chose music their were familiar with for backdrops, the maps drawn in the beginning of the article for the maze, and their lives for the narratives in the text boxes.
Martinez then goes to conclude the article stating "it is essential that today's youth learn to deconstruct and read video games as they would a novel or poem in school." Also, I agree with Martinez about engaging We can use this to keep a student's interest in learning while keeping it fun with their input. We need to learn what we can give to video gaming that students can take from it.
There is also a website where we can view the games the students created.
http://iml.usc.edu/laproject/
This article starts out with informing my that the youth attend an after-school animation class, a part of the Open Play project at the School of Cinema and Television at the University of Southern California (USC). USC collaborated with the Learning Games Initiative to study pedagogical and cultural uses of computer games.
I learned that Katynka Martinez used the basic video game design of pioneer video game to help guide students to learn about geography, power relations, and the allocation of resources in their neighborhoods. These students were growing up during the age of GTA and Guitar Hero, among other video games.
Martinez started out having the students draw maps of their neighborhoods and surroundings. The students went into detail about life's experiences they had faced growing up in these neighborhoods. Then he incorporated the video game he once grew up placing into this study. Martinez also spoke about the video game Grand Theft Auto with the students because it can be compared to the neighborhoods they lived in in Los Angeles. These students created a newer version of Pac-Man.
Martinez also discussed the demographics of races in current video games and asked the students how they felt about being stereotyped in these video games. Surprisingly, the students description of these racially biased video games were remarkable. One student talked about the skylight of one video game that some would be offended by because of the background and objective of the game's play.
These students used the lack of backstory in Pac-Man to turn it into a vivid story telling of the things they had and would face living in urban, densely populated neighborhoods near MacArthur Park. The students chose music their were familiar with for backdrops, the maps drawn in the beginning of the article for the maze, and their lives for the narratives in the text boxes.
Martinez then goes to conclude the article stating "it is essential that today's youth learn to deconstruct and read video games as they would a novel or poem in school." Also, I agree with Martinez about engaging We can use this to keep a student's interest in learning while keeping it fun with their input. We need to learn what we can give to video gaming that students can take from it.
There is also a website where we can view the games the students created.
http://iml.usc.edu/laproject/
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Top 50 Video Games for Gamification
Study media conversion and how to design games for learning. Professor Henry Jenkins discussed with James Paul Gee about learning and trusting each other with game development and collaboration.
We need to consider the learning environments and integrating games in school curriculum. Schools block avenues students find easier and relaxing for learning.
I think it is great for students to work together to gain knowledge and work on exams. I have experienced working together with my classmates on assignments and how we each pull together to find answers showed progress and hope in learning systems.
We need to consider the learning environments and integrating games in school curriculum. Schools block avenues students find easier and relaxing for learning.
I think it is great for students to work together to gain knowledge and work on exams. I have experienced working together with my classmates on assignments and how we each pull together to find answers showed progress and hope in learning systems.
Chapter Six Blog
I agree with the student, Andrea in the beginning of this chapter. Most basic school subjects (K-12 and even the first few years of college) are generically taught. We as students are being taught what someone wants us to know, not what we need to know.
I agree that understanding the "why" is just as important as knowing the "how" of things. I have always been the type of person eager to know why things are done. I really did not appreciate anyone giving me a reason without explanations. Show me proof to your "truths."
When Andrea was interviewed about why her friends decided to leave the group study, I understood where they were coming from. I felt like that when I first started playing Rome: Total War. It was not as easy to understand as other games I have played and I wanted to give up. But I am pushing forward and desiring to learn more about this game.
Playing a game with a common interest does bring about new friendships. The day we were dismissed early from class brought about discussion for our current video game play. We stayed in class and talked about our gaming experiences and what each other could do to make their experiences of video game playing better. Video games do bring about communities for discussion and social interaction of peers and professors alike.
I enjoyed the rest of this chapter, reading how the students opened up to learning and discussion. I also liked how they had learned so much from playing Civ. The video game sparked the interest in these once rebellious students.
I agree that understanding the "why" is just as important as knowing the "how" of things. I have always been the type of person eager to know why things are done. I really did not appreciate anyone giving me a reason without explanations. Show me proof to your "truths."
When Andrea was interviewed about why her friends decided to leave the group study, I understood where they were coming from. I felt like that when I first started playing Rome: Total War. It was not as easy to understand as other games I have played and I wanted to give up. But I am pushing forward and desiring to learn more about this game.
Playing a game with a common interest does bring about new friendships. The day we were dismissed early from class brought about discussion for our current video game play. We stayed in class and talked about our gaming experiences and what each other could do to make their experiences of video game playing better. Video games do bring about communities for discussion and social interaction of peers and professors alike.
I enjoyed the rest of this chapter, reading how the students opened up to learning and discussion. I also liked how they had learned so much from playing Civ. The video game sparked the interest in these once rebellious students.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Gaming Devices
I played a version of the Civilization game on the Ipad. The handling on the Ipad was easy, but grasping the concept of the video game was more difficult. We have talked about the game Civ before in our class literature so I would have thought I would have been more familiar with how to play it, but I was wrong.
I played a Mario Bros. game on the Nintendo 3DS. I grew up playing Super Mario Bros. so this game was a breeze to play and was enjoyable. Super Mario Bros. would be good to use in an elementary classroom setting because students can learn basic educational tools such as their colors and simple motions and controls.
I played a baseball game on the PS Vista. I like the Play Station console and was a little familiar with the PS Vista. I also played baseball games before because my younger brother is a fan of the sport. If I would have played this game more I would have progressed farther.
I played a Mario Bros. game on the Nintendo 3DS. I grew up playing Super Mario Bros. so this game was a breeze to play and was enjoyable. Super Mario Bros. would be good to use in an elementary classroom setting because students can learn basic educational tools such as their colors and simple motions and controls.
I played a baseball game on the PS Vista. I like the Play Station console and was a little familiar with the PS Vista. I also played baseball games before because my younger brother is a fan of the sport. If I would have played this game more I would have progressed farther.
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