That said, I subsequently embarked on a mini-journey of digital discovery— scouring the Internet—being led by Google entries, like “learning resource,” “learning resource games,” “online games” and plethora of similar Google-always-knows-what-I-want-or-need inquiries. After quite a bit of searching, I realized I needed to sharpen the scope of my search and decided to look for math-related games.
It’s common knowledge that finding a good math teacher is difficult, so I asked myself the question: “Can I find a simple and user-friendly—yet still educationally-effective—math game online?” Fortunately, I found my answer: Math Popper on Funschool.kaboose.com.
Math Popper’s colorful banner graphic—with its Mario Brothers-esque carnie character—caught my eye first. Then, I knew I was in business when I read the line, “Pop the balloons with the correct answer before time runs out!” One reason I think I get along with kids so well—besides our shared love for swing sets, snacks and naps—is I have a VERY short attention span and I gravitate towards both simplicity and constant action. Back to the game—I clicked on the game’s “Play” icon and came to its page. Carnival music greeted my ears and the carnie waved his wand to invite me to play. Though, before I dived right in, I read the game’s description—which I have to say is in very small print, making it easy to confuse it for a legal disclaimer:
Add, subtract, and multiply numbers fast in Math Popper. This carnival math game is ideal for kids looking to perfect their addition and subtraction skills as well as learn multiplication tables. The objective of the game is to pop the balloons with the correct answer before time runs out.
Now having read the game’s succinct instructions, I was ready to get started popping balloons—and to see how far my horribly-deficient math skill could take me—and hit “GO!” Well, my gaming efforts were delayed by the “How to Play” screen that popped up, but after a quick few seconds of speed reading, I was ready to go again and hit “GO!” for a second time.
Once the game started, I was instantly hooked:
- the synergy of the bright, friendly colors with the game’s simple layout/design virtually eliminated any extraneous cognitive load,
- the game’s fast-moving dynamics and the sounds readily kept my addition,
- the action of the balloons reminded me of the hot summer nights when, as a kid, I loved playing carnival games at the Ramona Country Fair,
- and my desire to keep on pace—while also trying to rack up a high score—kept me actively engaged.
Alas, as many cunningly-precise business reports, profusely-reference academic papers and neurotically-detailed technical manuals I can pump out at a seemingly inhuman rate: my basic math skills—and especially my ability compute even the simplest equations with any rate of speed—are still deficient and I was only able to make it to Level 4 in the game.
I should say, my I-should-really-be-embarassed-because-I’m-not-smarter-than-a-5th-grader performance in no way limited my enjoyment of the game or biased my likelihood of referral.
Why?—you may ask.
Well, I’ll tell you: I enjoyed playing the game.
For me, in the few once-in-a-blue-moon times I do play a game—be it educational or otherwise—I’ll keep playing as long as I’m having fun. I know my last statement might stand as obvious fact for many of those reading this, but I think it’s important to remember when attempting to use games and/or simulations to teach children.
One of the main reasons I love spending time with kids is because their “mental computers” haven’t been corrupted yet and they aren’t—for the most part—soured to the world. This matters when designing educational games/simulations because as adults we have to remember kids aren’t drawn in by viral marketing elements. All of the tactics waged by marketers—status, access, power and stuff (Zichermann, 2011)—aren’t effective on children when applied to educational gaming.
Simply put, games/simulations for children need to be simple, easy-to-use and fun. Math Popper has all of these elements—and to further augment its appeal: it’s FREE!
Now, with my personal narrative detailing my personal experience complete, the following ARCS analysis concludes my report.
ARCS analysis (Keller, 2010):
A(ttenion)
Playing Math Popper grabbed my attention in an instant. The dynamics of the game and my experience playing it captured—and held—my interest, while concurrently stimulating my curiosity. Each new level of play refreshed my engagement and left me wonder what was to come next.
R(elevance)
A facet of my learning resource/online game search I didn’t touch in my personal narrative—but kept in my mind throughout —was the necessity of ensuring the game I chose contains design and play elements relevant to children. Knowing full well that attempting to explain to a school-grade child the imperative importance of learning basic arithmetic is most certainly an effort-in-vain, I wanted the game’s relevance to implicit/at the subconscious level.
C(onfidence)
Looking back, I realize I didn’t comment on the game’s ability to inspire confidence in players because I took for granted the fact I understood a correct answer—or pop of the balloon—results in the player succeeding and enabling a vehicle for success. As with relevance, the confidence Math Popper instills in learners is: covert, implied and implicit.
S(atisfaction)
Ah, now here’s a facet of player motivation made very explicit in the game. Pop the right balloon to answer the math equation and score a balloon on the scoreboard. Score five balloons and move onto the next level. This process reinforces player accomplishment internally—the mechanism case-dependent for each learner—and externally via a quantifiable score and auditory/visual reinforcement.
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