1. Making Learning Fun Again Sarah Kim Education and Computers http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/01/01/research-based-games-219/

2. Why is Gameplay Important?  Children are naturally curious  Younger children learn mainly through play  Sense of play is lost in school environment  Games can help engage children to want to learn

3. VINCI Education  Designed to meet Common Core standards  Children learn concepts in math, language arts, and science  Based on constructive play theory  Information on child’s gameplay is analyzed in servers and sent back to teacher as a progress report.

4. Actual Program  Scaffolding Approach  Start simple and progressively move on to more difficult challenges  Language Arts  Letters & sounds  phonemic awareness  words and sentences  Math  Simple concepts  Counting  Manipulation of numbers  Science  Plants, animals, the water cycle, ecosystems

5. Highlights  Prepares children at young age for Common Core  Don’t even notice that they are learning  Have options on which game to play  Developmentally appropriate

6. Pitfalls  Reduces social interaction  Lacks variety  Reduces need for class setting  Children may have specific game preferences

7. My Opinion  Program alone: not ideal  Used with other activities (ClassVINCI): better idea  Needs breaks for social interaction.  Teacher-child interaction is very important for language development

8. ClassVINCI Learning Management  http://youtu.be/GRfj-etFytI http://youtu.be/GRfj-etFytI

9. Your Thoughts  VINCI Education is currently developing a curriculum covering up to 3 rd grade. Do you think this approach to learning will be helpful to older students as well?  What other problems might occur with these digital gaming devices?  Did any of you have an experience in which playing a game helped you understand a concept in your class?