http://www.funbrain.com/math/index.html
Funbrain.com has a math baseball game that I would use with my children. The game mixes mathematical questions with a baseball game. The user is given a pitch (a math problem) and the answer represents a batters swing. If the answer is correct a positive outcome i.e. single, double, triple, or home run. If the answer is incorrect the user is given an out. Three outs and the users turn is over and the user is given a score of how many runs they scored with the option of playing again.
The audience of this game is children grades 1-5.
The mathematical problem include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. With different difficulty settings, easy, medium, hard, and super brain.
The game is easily picked up and could be used by a child independent of an adult present.
I would suggest to users to have scrap paper to write on because with in the game play the only space to be filled in was the final answer. Scrap paper would allow the user to get and answer using the steps taught to them and the game would be the device to check their answer.
http://pbskids.org/writerscontest/create-stories
pbskids.org has a create a story program that I found that could help children speak their imagination. Simply designed this game allows stories to be created using different backgrounds and objects. Text can also be added to add the depth of the story the author wants to create. Their is a paintbrush with multiple fine points for small brush strokes to large brush strokes. The eraser feature is quite useful when modifying the brush strokes.
The audience would be children grade k-3 with adult help and grades 3-12 independent.
This game teaches the nuances of creating a story and how it connects with an audience. The immediate feedback of this is how your story is looking is great for the author and the game allows the author to make subtle or drastic changes as they see fit.
The simplicity of adding pages to the story is what I found works best about this game. An in depth story that has twist and turns could take hundred of pages for the author to communicate and this game allows the author to add pages as they see want to.
The background and object choices seemed quite limited and the game lacked the ability to add a different backgrounds or objects other then the ones in the game.
Freerice.com was a rewarding educational experience that I would advocate strongly in favor of. The game itself is designed to help ones english vocabulary. The nifty part of the game is when you get an answer correct. For every correct answer rice is being donated to those people in need. To me this is a win win and the game designers should be commended.
This game is for anyone who wants to expand their vocabulary and donate food to the hungry at the same time.
The english language can be tricky but this games teaching objective allows the user to see one word and match it to another word out of four. This teaches the user which words are similar in meaning and which are not.
Thought this game works well overall. When I played the lead-times took longer then expected. i can not determine if this was due to the wi fi at mellow moods or hopefully so many people in the world were playing and donating that the servers were overloaded.
The game could be improved by increasing the amount donated for each correct answer. If some in the 1% celebrity, politician, or professional athletes could help by donating large sums of money the amount donated for each correct answer could in increased by a little at lease.
Education.com has a game that teaches kids how to tell time on a clock face. The player matches the digital time with the time on the clock face with four different possibilities.
The audience of this game would be children in first and second grade.
The teaching objective is teaching children how to tell time to the half hour and two the hour by recognizing the hands on a clock face.
The game is a simple game that can reinforce what the child is being taught. The inability for the player to move the digital time to the wrong clock took out the possibility of making an error.
The game could be improved by adding the ability for the clock hands to change to minute and adding an am and pm difference so kids could learn the difference between am and pm.
Funbrain.com has a spell check game that works great in helping kids and spelling words correctly. The game gives the player four words and the user must decide which word is spelled incorrectly. After the user decides which word is incorrectly spelled the player must spell the word correctly in the field provided.
The audience of this game can vary between grades 2-8. The two different difficulty settings, easy and hard and the player to see words that match where they are academically.
The teaching objective of this game is to help kids learn how to identify correct and incorrect spelling of words.
The game serves its purpose but their is a lack of fun and no sense of an artificial reward. The game will tell you when you are correct but not in a fun captivating manner.
This game could be improved by adding a fun element for correct answers. A way to compete against another player could add more enjoyment as well.
Cardplayer.com has a Texas Hold em odds calculator I found most useful. The game allows the user to create potential hands and the odds of winning the hands based on the cards in each players hand, and the cards and the flop, turn and river. The example in the screen shots depicts ace king suited verse pocket sevens. At first the sevens are mathematically favored but when the flop gave a flush draw and the turn gave a straight draw the odds change as the hand progresses.
The audience of this game is Texas Hold em players. I doubt people who do not understand Hold em would find this useful and probably couldn't tell the difference between a turn card and a river card but for those who embrace the odds of poker this game is for them.
The teaching objective of this game is to help people become better poker players by giving the odds of winning the hand. As a poker player I often look back and analyze where I was in the hand. Was I ahead before the flop? How did the flop change the odds? This game clearly defines each situation with a percentage of winning.
This game is great tool for self analyzing ones play.
The downfall of this game is when you play poker you do not know what the other player cards are. you can have an idea based on how they beat, and any other tells a person can pick up. This game is good for after you are done playing and want to analyze hands you played to see if your were ahead the whole time and they got the miracle card to win or the other way around where I was dominated pre flop and the miracle card came on the river for the win. This game shows you the exact odds of that card coming.
This game looked awesome but I didn't have the steam application downloaded. If you do you might enjoy
