Try Bidmas Blaster to Practice Math Skills

Fans of the old Math Blaster series appreciate how a video game can generate interest in developing math skills in order to advance in a game. Check out Bidmas Blaster over at Manga High. Players have to key in the proper answers to blow up, shoot, or otherwise destroy advancing rogue robots. Cool stuff for boys of a certain age.

Houston, We Have a (Mathematics) Problem: DimensionM

Some media interest has percolated about the decision made by Spring Independent School District in suburban Houston to adopt Tabula Digita’s DimensionM product, a 3D VIE designed to teach upper level math concepts. Here’s the press release sent my way. THE Journal picked up the story here. Actually, Spring is a city in its own right even though the articles indicate it is in Houston. There has been some academic research surrounding DimensionM lately, particularly out of U. Florida.

Tabula Digita Introduces New Video Game for Pre-Algebra

Crossing the transom today is a press release from Tabula Digita about their new Pre-Algebra videogame. Math Evolver, Virus Origins follows the template from previous efforts by Tabula Digita like Dimension M, where students engage in mild fantasy violence action sequences while engaging Algebra skills to progress in the game. The release says MEVO will be available at retail outlets for $19.95.

Free Math Games & Activities at Education.com (and Some Interesting Articles)

Taissia Belozerova over at Education.com dropped me an e-mail about my article Magnificent Math Sites, that ran in the Summer, 2005 issue of TechEdge. Taissia pointed out that Education.com has a vibrant section devoted to free games and activities for K-12 math.

While the math portion of the site is more concerned with RL activities than videogames, our discussion led to two articles from their magazine. The first is Are Video Games Educational? by Jayel Gibson, which offers a nice introduction to the topic. The second one was by Danielle Wood, reporting on the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) last year, who put out a statement asserting kids need more videogaming (not less). Below is the key excerpt:

Their report, based on advice from nearly one hundred education, science, and game industry experts, calls on the federal government and the Departments of Education and Labor to fund video game research and development. Video games, they argue, hold the potential to help address one of America’s most pressing problems – preparing students for an increasingly competitive global market.

Wood concludes the FAS asserts videogames can teach kids a variety of higher order thinking skills, strategies, and problem solving techniques.

Most interesting were the visceral responses from readers the article generated. Many statements by responders are flat out wrong. For instance, the latest research shows videogames help students diagnosed with ADHD, not causing it (Farrace-Di Zinno and colleagues disproved the videogame-ADHD link in The British Journal of Educational Technology way back in 2001). Gaming (especially online gaming and MMORPGs) has been found to be very social rather than isolating in general. The list goes on. It makes for interesting reading, especially for those of us into educational gaming, who hob-knob together, to see how the non-researching public sometimes views our field.

Thanks to Taissia Belozerova for letting me know of the resources on Education.com. Well worth the visit.

References:
Gibson, J. (2008). Are video games educational? [Online]. Available: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Video_Games_Educational/

Farrace-Di Zinno, A.M., Douglas, G., Houghton, S. Lawrence, V., West, J. & Whiting, K. (2001, November). Body movements of boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during computer video game play. British Journal of Educational Technology 32(5). 607-618.

Wood, D. (2007). Scientists say kids need more video games. [Online]. Available: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Ed_Scientists_Say_Need/