March 2007 — News
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A Second Life for Middle School Science
Another game teaches students that energy is never lost, but can be converted from one form to another. Users manipulate objects such as a hair dryer, learning how energy is conducted. When students make the right choice on the screen, they're rewarded with fireworks.
With the project in its second year, "we know our tools are fun and we know that kids like them," Chang said, but they've collected only preliminary data so far on how well students are learning new concepts from them. Once that review cycle is completed and incorporated with feedback from teachers, Change said, he hopes to expand the program into other schools.
Another of the island's games: Energy Golf
Game development
Developing the games took perhaps six months for each graduate student, working five to 10 hours or so a week. To leverage that investment and make the games available to others in the coming months, Chang said he hopes to open a second island, which will be open to other young people, not just students in specific schools.
Is it hard to convince teachers that a so-called game can be a useful learning tool? Chang said no. "Once we show them what we are doing, it becomes an easier task. We don't have any violence... In fact, you don't have to call it a game. It's a 3D simulation of a scientific experiment."
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