Mathgamesblog.com

When children are playing online math games “Are they really learning”?  Recently, I have visited a few popular online math game sites. These sites I have witnessed being used by school districts as computer lab math time. They are also listed on the school website as links for education.

Cool Math Games or Not

The first site I visited was cool math games this site contained a variety of games to choose from. The first game I played was Gravitee. There was some strategy involved, it also shows in very small numbers the degree at which you are aiming your shot. There are clues or problem solving steps to teach the student that it you aim at x degrees will accomplish hitting y. It is more of a trial and error theory for the child.

The second game I played was Sugar, Sugar, 3.  Again, there is strategy to draw lines at certain angles to fill the cup with sugar. You can draw up to three lines in each game play. Nothing but trial and error her for most kids. I played several games on this site, and in my opinion they really are not teaching the kids any real number concepts, or mathematical problem solving skills.

Let’s Get our Game On

Another, site I visited was math games.  Now this online math game was a little more promising to teach some math skills. The game I played first was at a first grade level called King of Math. In the game play you have to choose the right answer ex. 10+30, if you get it right the king shoots at a knight. The one thing I did like is you could choose different age levels all the way up to eighth grade. There are several skills to pick from like measuring, time, money and algebra to name a few. I also chose an 8th grade level skills test and it was age appropriate and again was able to view a long list of strategies to teach.

Have Fun and Learn

So chose your online gaming that will be fun, but actually teaching your students something. Do not rely on the online gaming world as a teaching method to resort to. Use it as a reward occasionally. I feel that some students just go in and press buttons in hope to guess the right answer. Consider playing real math games in the classroom setting instead. You are teaching social skills, visual learning, problem solving, planning and communication with real people. Your students will gain more knowledge from a real teacher!