Review of Games Found at http://www.edheads.org/
At the web site http://www.edheads.org/ there is a suite of educational games. These games tend to be related to a science class and seem to be geared toward the middle school age group. In these games students can take on the role of holding a real career. Some careers are that of doctors, police officers, and meteorologists. The students are then guided through problems such as performing surgery on the brain, investigating the scene of an accident, or predicting the weather. During these games the player is instructed on each step of the process. The games are structured to benefit certain aspects of education. For instance, the game about investigating a crash scene might benefit a physics class that deals with determining forces of impacts. There are also games about identifying parts of a machine that give a mechanical advantage. These might be used in a physics class as well.
These games expand upon factual information and give students the chance to participate in an application of learned material. Students must broaden their knowledge and problem solving abilities by answering questions and drawing conclusions about a situation. The games do a good job of using relevant vocabulary for students to expand their knowledge. The answers are not given to questions asked until after the student gets it correct. The web site could do a better job of explaining answers, right or wrong, and give additional support to students’ responses.
The games on the website have a moderate amount of graphics that might be interesting. Most of the time, students achieve tasks by clicking on the screen and there is the ability to click randomly in order to advance in the game. This means that some students could simply click everywhere to complete the tasks. Teachers should ensure that students are completing the games in a way that encourages learning. In other games, calculations and recording on paper are required. A teacher should be available when doing these tasks to make certain that the student is successful. In some games many of the data obtained in one part are used in another so the teacher should ensure that all students have the necessary information before progressing to avoid disappointment at the end of the game.
I think the game would work well as an extra resource for students to use. It may not have directly beneficial applications in the classroom. Because relevant vocabulary, formulas, and observation skills are necessary; this would be valuable for students to do, perhaps on their own. I think they would find it interesting because of the animation and the opportunity to be as hands on as possible for some of the tasks, such as surgery. Using the surgery example, I think it is important for students to see how the things that they are learning are used outside of school. The students are able to look at X-ray pictures and view CT and MRI scans. They are able to make decisions about the steps to follow to achieve the task of performing the surgery. I think students would enjoy these activities.
