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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LOGINGamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 10/11/08 at 07:43pm
Chuma: http://theweaselking.livejournal.com/3048562.html
Chuma: http://theweaselking.livejournal.com/3048562.html
Posted 10/11/08 at 07:24pm
Kincyr: the JT/Palin article has quite a few duplicate posts
Kincyr: the JT/Palin article has quite a few duplicate posts
Posted 10/11/08 at 06:02pm
lordlundar: each one they are doing is 36 missions focussing on a faction per, so it's going to be 96 missions altogether
lordlundar: each one they are doing is 36 missions focussing on a faction per, so it's going to be 96 missions altogether
Posted 10/11/08 at 05:16pm
Hitodama: @ZippyDSMlee: As long as I don't have to buy multiplayer agian, I might be alright. Blizz isn't stupid, must have somethin else.
Hitodama: @ZippyDSMlee: As long as I don't have to buy multiplayer agian, I might be alright. Blizz isn't stupid, must have somethin else.
Posted 10/11/08 at 03:51pm
ZippyDSMlee: Star Craft 2 going to be a 3 parter....ouchy!
ZippyDSMlee: Star Craft 2 going to be a 3 parter....ouchy!
Posted 10/11/08 at 02:19pm
VideolandHero: @ ezbiker555- At this point I think he knows he is wrong but he doesn't want to admit it.
VideolandHero: @ ezbiker555- At this point I think he knows he is wrong but he doesn't want to admit it.
Posted 10/11/08 at 02:04pm
GoodRobotUs: ...about sarcasm over his browsing.
GoodRobotUs: ...about sarcasm over his browsing.
Posted 10/11/08 at 02:04pm
GoodRobotUs: LOL I detect a guilty conscience. Apparently it's ok to accuse us of being on Crystal Meth, but he gets all uppity....
GoodRobotUs: LOL I detect a guilty conscience. Apparently it's ok to accuse us of being on Crystal Meth, but he gets all uppity....
Posted 10/11/08 at 12:59pm
ezbiker555: He can't win. JT can't win. I honestly want to cry after reading his comment about Virgina tech. How can he still blame video games for VT when there was none proven to be involved. I'm at a lost of words here.
ezbiker555: He can't win. JT can't win. I honestly want to cry after reading his comment about Virgina tech. How can he still blame video games for VT when there was none proven to be involved. I'm at a lost of words here.
Posted 10/11/08 at 11:47am
gamepolitics: T-Bone, ur correct. No one will touch this.
gamepolitics: T-Bone, ur correct. No one will touch this.
Posted 10/11/08 at 11:09am
TBoneTony: Also I would like to add that with each passing generation there is always hope for videogames no matter what is said.
TBoneTony: Also I would like to add that with each passing generation there is always hope for videogames no matter what is said.
Posted 10/11/08 at 11:07am
TBoneTony: also Palin has also got a few things she wants keep quiet about, so she won't go anywhere near JT
TBoneTony: also Palin has also got a few things she wants keep quiet about, so she won't go anywhere near JT
Posted 10/11/08 at 11:06am
TBoneTony: I don't think that Palin wants to get herself into any more trouble than to get involved in the antics soon to be disbarred laye
TBoneTony: I don't think that Palin wants to get herself into any more trouble than to get involved in the antics soon to be disbarred laye
Posted 10/11/08 at 10:13am
gamepolitics: if you are having problems getting registered for GP, shoot me an e-mail : dennisATgamepolitics.com
gamepolitics: if you are having problems getting registered for GP, shoot me an e-mail : dennisATgamepolitics.com
Posted 10/11/08 at 08:07am
Matriculated: http://www.slobsofgaming.com/article/103880/9-esrb-ratings-that-should-exist
Matriculated: http://www.slobsofgaming.com/article/103880/9-esrb-ratings-that-should-exist
Posted 10/11/08 at 06:04am
gamepolitics: if elected, I will not serve... LOL, hilarious, GRU
gamepolitics: if elected, I will not serve... LOL, hilarious, GRU
Posted 10/11/08 at 12:14am
Hitodama: @GoodRobotUs: Haha, nice. Though I can see the edits on moving things. :s
Hitodama: @GoodRobotUs: Haha, nice. Though I can see the edits on moving things. :s
Posted 10/10/08 at 11:36pm
GoodRobotUs: http://tinyurl.com/3qqvb4 LOL
GoodRobotUs: http://tinyurl.com/3qqvb4 LOL
Posted 10/10/08 at 10:49pm
Sigvatr: Predicting this in the next slew of articles: http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/10/10/2331236.shtml
Sigvatr: Predicting this in the next slew of articles: http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/10/10/2331236.shtml
Posted 10/10/08 at 10:24pm
GoodRobotUs: I suspect the site wasn't set up to handle more than around 300 replies
GoodRobotUs: I suspect the site wasn't set up to handle more than around 300 replies
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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.