News: What's In an Educational Game?

[News Bot]

An anonymous reader writes "I work at a non-profit whose mandate is to increase science literacy and awareness. One of the methods that we've started exploring is in making free, online educational games. Our target demographic for the games is kids aged 8-12, but there is no reason the games could not also appeal to a broader age range. What would you look for in an educational game? Does length and depth of gameplay matter to you, or would you rather play a trivial game with subconscious educational value?"


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[TheOneOmega]

I think the idea is for the game to be appealling as well as educational

[BlkRb0t]

If a game can both entertain and educate you at the same time then it can be considered to be an educational game.

[jim_T]

...as long as you learn something new through a game, whatever it may be, it´s an educational game imho. If you're doin something you already know how to...then you ain´t progressing...

[kumutha]

The objective for kids is to arrange the cards in the correct sequence and describe the events illustrated on the cards. Great game for developing and improving verbal language skills, logical skills and learning to reconstruct stories.

[MarieWoodell]

I thnk often educational games are actually simpler than some other games. Take entropia for example. Not necessarily ment as educational but some of the enterprenuerial (No i don't know how to spell that word. I can't say it either) skills it teaches as well as social skills etc if bothered with are actually really quite useful. I'd say it was educational to the people that bothered to learn.

[BlkRb0t]

Originally Posted by MarieWoodell

I thnk often educational games are actually simpler than some other games. Take entropia for example. Not necessarily ment as educational but some of the enterprenuerial (No i don't know how to spell that word. I can't say it either) skills it teaches as well as social skills etc if bothered with are actually really quite useful. I'd say it was educational to the people that bothered to learn.

Everything is life is educational, you have something to learn from everything.

[MarieWoodell]

Originally Posted by BlkRb0t

Everything is life is educational, you have something to learn from everything.

You are probably quite right there. Maybe the problem then is not needing more educational games but needing mroe people willing to learn. Some people seem to think ocne you are done at school thats the end of life's learning. I like learning something new everyday.

[g0odtimes]

an educational game is something you can gain from whether dealing with sharing or sportsmanship

[bradpit250810]

* Enjoy an intense dance experience - follow the moves of a real dancing coach dressed according to the style of the song, learn iconic dance routines and improve your ability to be a good dancer.
* Get the party started - challenge your friends, play with up to 4 friends and invite others to follow your steps.
* Different iconic dance styles, music and moods - Show off and improve your dancing skills, add your own style to the moves to out-do your friends, keep an eye on your score and an ear on your audience.
* Have fun and feel good - Move your body like a dance superstar. With no career mode in the game and no pressure, it is all about playing for pure pleasure!