Category Archives: FA16-Project 2

FA 16-Project 2: Week 7

SMARTY PANTS: The Trivia Game For Everyone!

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The game I created was called Smarty Pants: The Trivia Game For Everyone!  This game was designed to help children learn and have fun doing so. The intention of the game is to help children with subjects they are currently learning in school. The game is designed based on trivia like questions. They have a pile of questions that must be answered in order to move forward and be able to spin the spinner to move their gaming piece around the board. The children are not only being social and able to have fun with their peers but they are learning which is benefiting them in the long run. The players were encouraged to interact with each other and help the other players if they got a question wrong. The learning objective was continually being enforced and was never affected. The number of players should be more then 3 but less then 6 to ensure the game is effective. The primary objective of this game is to answer the questions and to move forward on the board. Players must spin the spinner after getting the question correct to see how many spots to move their game piece. The game ends when one player gets around the board first and crosses the finish line. The game is very playful and encourages socialization. Players bond together and help each other when one answered a question wrong. The only times tensions arise is when players answer questions wrong and get discouraged but were resolved as soon as they began answering questions correct and were motivated to keep playing. The game is fully functioning and well be tested many times to make sure. The game is very easy to play and is for all ages. When different ages play, questions may need to be changed so they set up a challenge for the players playing. I am eager and look forward to testing this game more and hope the players enjoy it as well.

FA16-Project 2: Week 6

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How Can An Educational Board Game Benefit It’s Players 

For this week’s assignment, I put my stimulus to the test. My study focuses on school age children between the ages of 7 and 12. The participants were both boys and girls. They were recruited based on their ages and mostly family, with   a few friends. The experimental and control groups were selected at random to ensure unbiased results. To start the study I had all the children play a game of monopoly to get their focus on playing games and working together. After a  simple game of monopoly I separated the two teams. The experimental group played the stimulus while the control group continued playing a game of monopoly. The stimulus was a trivia like board game. The trivia questions were based on topics they were learning in school. If the player got the question right they spun a spinner that determined the number of space to move around the board. If they got the question wrong they had to move one space back. The first player to make it around the board won the game. The stimulus I created was presented like any other board game. The players were encouraged to have fun and try their best. The players were unaware of the questions beforehand therefore they had no way of finding out the correct answers before the game started. The responses of each player was recorded in notebook to keep track of every players attitude. I believe educational games will benefit its players and improve their cognitive learning, behavioral development and social skills. The study is to test this hypothesis and decide whether its true or not. The experimental group were eager to play the stimulus and participated to the best of their ability. They had a test on Friday and should have their grade on Monday so the study will have some results as of next week. I plan on repeating this experiment to see if the results are the same or different. My hopes are that each player benefited from the game and therefore proves my hypothesis correct.

FA16- Project 2: Week 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jom8qEl9WHo

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When I first thought of this topic I was against video games and thought they made children aggressive and were not beneficial but after doing more research I saw a different side. I was influenced by all the research done and was convinced that in fact video games were beneficial to young children. In the research I found that video games can help children with cognitive learning, behavioral development and social skills. All factors that will help a person succeed in life. It was very interesting to learn and see first hand that video games are helping today’s generation.

The purpose of my research topic is to bring this awareness to others. Most often video games are viewed as bad and harmful to our children but in fact its the opposite. When I first did some research every article was how video games were causing children to be more aggressive and lack everyday skills but after doing more in depth I finally found some research that said opposite. There has only been little research and studies on the positives of video games but in those short list of studies I was convinced that video games are helpful and decided to change my thesis.

It is predicted that video games can help improve and manage a child’s cognitive learning, behavioral development and social skills. These three processes all benefit from the use of video games. I am eager to learn more and do more research as I write this paper. My hope is to bring more awareness to the positives and hope people who were once against them change their minds and encourage others. I hope that parents in particular encourage and allow their children to play video games that will one day help them in the long run and for schools so see the benefits and keep in mind the ways they can help their students and therefore consider bringing video games into the classroom

FA16- Project 2: Week 4

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The topic I have decided to research is “The Effects of Violent Video Games on Adolescents.” I chose this topic because it is always something that has interested me. I have many little cousins that play video games consistently and I believe their attitudes and aggression has changed because of this. Everyday children younger and younger are playing violent video games that their parents buy for them. My hope is to bring awareness to parents of the affects these video games has on their child. I do believe some video games help children learn and development but the violent ones that encourage crime is taking its toll on the next generation. Games like “Grand Theft Auto” are encouraging it’s players to commit crime. The whole point of the game is to steal cars, sell drugs and cause harm to  society. This game is rated M for mature which means you have to be 17 years of age to buy it but many parents are buying these games for their children which is setting a bad example. Many parents do not realize the message these games are sending but I’m hoping that after bringing awareness to this topic parents will think twice about buying their children violent video games.

Thesis: Playing violent video games has caused children to behave more aggressively.

 

FA 16- Project 2: Week 3

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTHQFNwHoaU

This week the game I chose to play was called Dumb Ways To Die. This game was played by downloading it from the app store on apple or android devices. The object of the game was to make sure your character did not die. You have three chances to survive. The learning objective of this game was to make sure everyone is aware of their surrounding. The game pointed out all the ways people can die, doing something they do everyday. The game was animated and did not show real life situation but each level was based on the way a person as died. The first I played when starting the game was making sure my character did not fall through the gap when getting on the train once I passed that level I was able to move onto the next level. They player cannot advance until the level before was beat. This game was a single player game and the player had three chances before the game was finished and had to be started again. I would recommend this game to all age groups. It was very easy to play with some levels being harder then others but not impossible. The most important part was the learning objective. This game showed that many people die doing something dumb. Everyday we do things that could cost us our live and we don’t even know it. Life is so valuable and we don’t realize until its too late. The game as silly as it sounds was very eye opening and made me more aware of my surroundings. I was judgmental about the game in the beginning and thought it was going to be a dumb game but it turned out to be very fun and very informative. I was glad i had the opportunity to play this game. Once the player beats the game, which in my opinion won’t be very fast the game’s creator has made a second edition with even more levels that can also be downloaded from the app store.

FA16- Project 2: Week 2

The game I played this week was called “That’s Your Right.” The game was very enjoyable because it teaches you about the amendments and your rights as a human being. The game can be played with multiple people or as a single player. When selecting single player the computer will generate an opponent for you to play against. At the beginning of the game the player picks 5 amendments to learn about. They are then given cards that have different scenarios and you must match the amendment with the scenario. For example the amendment might said freedom or speech and the scenario card would say “You are not arrested after your neighbor calls the cop on the presidential sign on your front lawn.” This is an example of our right to say what we feel without being penalized for it. It is our constitutional right to have a say. This is a great learning experience because while you are enjoying the game you are also learning about the amendments and becoming educated on the rights as an individual. This is an educational game that would be great for children to play in school when first learning about the amendments. Not only are children justing their brain to think and apply each amendment they are also having fun while doing it. The game is very enjoyable and helpful. The game was designed perfectly with no broken aspects, it was fully functioning. It was very easy to navigate. At first the game can be tricky but once you realize how to move the tokens and apply they to the scenario cards the game was a breeze. I would recommend this game to teachers who are trying to teach the amendments as while as parents of young children. The game is a great learning experience for children. I believe all age groups would enjoy this game. Whether you are trying to leaner and teach the amendments or if you already know them and just wish to refresh your memory. “That’s Your Right” is a must play!

FA16-Project 2: Week 1

Hello Everyone!

The game I played was “Save The Park.” This game was created to teach it’s users the importance of keeping the park and environment clean. The game can be played at the following website;  http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/save-the-park/.  I enjoyed playing this game but at times felt it was very repetitive and easy. The game is for many ages and can easily be played. Before each level there was a “Did You Know?” fact that was very interesting. The player was able to have fun and learn at the same time. In order to move on to the next level you had to clear the level before. You could not move on unless you had enough points from cleaning up garbage, planting trees or collecting soil. The object of the game was to keep the parks clean and save them from pollution. I believe this is a great game to teach kids the importance of cleaning up their mess when at the park. The simply act of making sure your garbage is in the can before you leave can help the environment and help influence, people around you to do the same. It only takes one person to make a big difference. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a fun, easy game to play. I would especially recommend this game to parents of young children. It will help teach children at an early age the importance of keeping our environment clean. Everyone needs to do their share to keep the parks clean and an enjoyable place to be. One person can make a huge difference!