Also, you can have your students play other Educational games from FunFlow: Arithmetic Challenge, Flags, Da Vinci Cannon (trajectory), Typing Challenge, Skill Test, Brain Test, Countries, Globe Trotter XL and Construction Fall (trajectory). These can all be played on a PC or Mac and they are standalone applications. The screenshot above is from http://www.yoyogames.com.
Second, students rate the educational games they played on yoyogames and/or FunFlow. This is important because students will learn what they like in a game, peaks their interest and engages them. Yoyogames has a great rating system for their games and I would suggest that you have your students use that system. Be sure to let them know, if the game they played was fun then it will probably be fun for others. Also, stress that the goal of an educational game is to make it fun while you learn.
Third, students download GameMaker for free by clicking “Make” at the top of yoyogames and then the download icon. This step shouldn’t take very long. After that you have students do these two tutorials – “What makes a good game?” and “Your First Game.” You can find these by clicking “Make” and look to the left for “Tutorials” or just put the word “Tutorial” in the yoyogames search tool. These two tutorials will get the student familiar with the GameMaker environment.
Finally, your students are ready to create their first educational game with your guidance. They will need to create a game plan: subject (Math, Science, English, History), title, idea of the game, and images needed. Don’t forget to mention copyright law! After that they will build their game in GameMaker. You’ll be amazed at what your students come up with!
Note: GameMaker is for PC only, but if you want a Mac alternative
( http://developer.apple.com/games/gameenginesonmac.html ).
Thank you Crystal for the great Web 2.0 site!
ReplyDeleteI ventured over to the website and found that this can be used in a lot of different types of classroom (science, math, etc). I even started making my own game. I like that!! Fun for me and my students!
Crystal thank you for sharing! I like the fact that students can create their own game as well. I am looking into incorporating games into the classroom. I was swimming in my community pool the other day and met a 12 year old who is obsessed with video games. He said that he has learned a lot from the games like the greek gods, history, and different artists. We need to embrace these games as educators to help the students learn. The boy actually went on to say that he learned about the ancient greek gods from video games and not from school. I will take a look at and think about using in my classroom. Thank You for Sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great website. I am always looking for good games to refer my students to. I teach math which is a subject that needs lots of repetition for mastery. Students get so bored with paper and pencil practice so I rely heavily on online games. I had not seen this website and it is has so many options. I am really excited to start using it in my classroom. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCrystal this is such an awesome tool. My students are constantly playing games when they finish and the administration hates that. This would be an amazing way to engage students with a tool they already love. I would love to get a copy of one of your projects so that I can make it fit my class.Please send one to me!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, that for sharing the tool. The fact that the students have the ability not only to play game but also to create them is awesome. I would really like to see how you use the tool in your class. Thanks!!
ReplyDelete