Brain Pop's movies. games and math

So this week we're taking on the M in the STEM subjects -> Math. There are many digitalized media out there that claim to teach you math and BrainPop is one of them.

I decided to watch a short animation about polygons. I was never a math person myself but I like those short clips that BrainPop makes, even if I think they are always a bit too fast. Slowing it down could be better for novice learners.

From the animation I went to the recommended game section, where games that something to do with polygons, have been pre-searched for me. There are 8 games that the website states have polygons in them and since there are no indications as to what they actually do (or for what age) I just clicked one of them.

As I didn't really understand the mission in this game and found no help section I decided to skip it. The only connection to polygons were that the robots were shaped like that.

I picked Pyramid Panic instead. And I did panic a little bit at first, seeing as I was eaten by some mummy creature after 20 seconds in the easiest level. But it's a trial and error while figuring out the rules. Thankfully I could just start again (because mummies apparently have a couple of lives) and look at the instructions.

I had to look at the rules several times before I got it, and then I had to look at them some more because geometrics are not really my thing.

The mummy is trying to get through the maze and uses geometric shapes of different size to get to the next safe place by building steps. The colored circles, drops etc. on the way represent points I can collect. The read line next to the mummy represents the red line in the geometric shape I have to select. To find that I have to look at the white lines that have the length on them. I also have to be aware of the way the red line is pointing when I make my selection because if it's aimed too high or too low I might end up bumping my head in the ceiling or in the volcano pit.

You're suppose to be able to fight off the evil mummy beast, but that was one of the many things I couldn't figure out.

When I went up a level (medium and hard) I immediately ran into problems because the math was just to hard for me to recall in 20 seconds.

There are a few things I noticed in this game. You can change the color of the line from red to blue. Wonder what the thinking is behind that. Also, I find it odd that they would pick a math game that had meters in it, instead of inches or feet seeing as BrainPop is mostly used in the United States.

Control of Pace - No
Reviews/Help - Yes and no (needed some scaffolding)
Ability to Backtrack - Yes
Levels of Difficulty - Yes (three)
Physical Interface - No
Speech Features - No
Childproof - Yes

Individual Use - Yes
Use with Pairs/Small Groups - Yes
Printer Use - No
Test/Recordkeeping/Game Save feature - No
Add-on Option-Can incorporate user content - No
Scaffolding - No

In relation to the polygons animation this game was not really related, except by the fact that it had some polygons in it. And it's understandable that it's hard to link that kind of informational video to a game.

Seeing as the games page is an aggregated project it's no wonder the games related to the topic are all so different. It would be a reasonable next step for BrainPop to issue some kind of style guide that all the games had to fulfill, e.g. in the terms of scaffolding and help.

Game review #2

Software Evaluation

Title:
 Toca Doctor Light (free)

Publisher:
 Toca Boca

Subject Area:
 Human anatomy and coordination skills.

Summary: The game is meant to teach young children about how the body works through different games/problems. This is the most popular game in the free section in the Appstore.

Ease of Use: This app is aimed for young children who are practicing their coordination skills. There are very few steps to get into the game itself and you’re usually just dragging and sliding things around on the screen. There are no instructions or guidance through out the game. There’s no way to fail and if you finish your four challenges you get four new ones.

Skill Set: This game is probably aimed at children between the ages of 3-6. That is a pretty big gap when it comes to coordination skills but it’s also meant to be used as a tool to start a conversation with children about what goes on in their bodies.

Program Design Features: Simple “yes or no” answers”

Control of Pace
- Yes, no timer

Reviews/Help
- No

Ability to Backtrack
- Yes/No - You can play a game again if you want to

Levels of Difficulty
- No, at least not in the free version

Physical Interface
- No

Speech Features
- No

Childproof (child reality ready) - Yes

Individual Use
- Yes

Use with Pairs/Small Groups
- Yes

Printer Use
- No

Test/Recordkeeping/Game Save feature – No

Add-on Option-Can incorporate user content - No

Scaffolding – No, not in the free version at least

Program Comments: The game is mostly supposed to strike up a conversation between parents and children about what goes on in their body. According to the parents information page it make combing the hair for lice is way more fun when the child can squash them on the screen at the same time. There are different problems (four at a time) that the child can choose from and it’s always associated with a body part. Some of the games are based on reality, like when you have to help by pulling splinters out of the character’s foot but there are obviously (hopefully) no cars in your bowels that have to make their way to end (like food).

I do think the game is a good educational game in the sense of striking up a conversation about different body functions but it’s not always scientifically accurate, like I stated before.

Problem Solving Skills:

-       Working backwards

-       Question posing

-       Procedural Thinking

-        Using Trial and Error

-       Communicating thought and learning-

-

Fun Factor: I’m sure it’s a fun game for the targeted audience but since there are no difficulty levels I’m sure they will grow tired of it soon because you can play it as often as you like. It’s easy programming and graphics aimed at children that are strengthening their motor skills so the movements felt a bit ‘strange’ for someone who has their full motor skills.

Supplementary Materials: I’m sure you could use it as a supplement to children’s books about the human body but you have to be aware of it not being completely correct.

Follow-up activities: I see this software mostly being used as a conversation starter; either while using it or after the games have been played.